Northeastern Electric Racing

Ergonomics System Head

24A Render

Starting in January 2024 I became the Head of the Ergonomics System. In this role, I manage the entire ergonomics system, consisting of 5 projects (Pedal box, Harness, Seat, Headrest, Driver IO. I work with the ergonomics project leads, ensuring that their projects can be completed successfully, while managing 2 of my own projects (pedal box and harness.

Design - 24A

Starting in summer 2024 I worked with the reset of the team on initial design concepts for 24A, the team's next vehicle. My first priority was determining the driver position - where the driver would be located relative to the roll hoops, how the driver's back would be angled, and how much space was needed in the nose of the car for the pedals. This is a critical task, as the driver is the single largest mass on the car, so has a large effect on performance.

As part of this design process, I designed and built an Ergonomics Test bench to allow driver positions to be tested, with real feedback collected from team members. This was designed out of a frame of aluminum extrusions.

Specific focus was placed on driver recline angle and front roll hoop height. A more reclined driver would result in a lower car center of mass, which is important for handling performance. Compromises between those factors, and space for other projects were a critical design step, and data from the test bench was necessary in this.

Testing was preformed at a number of positions, with a number of drivers of varying builds. Initial testing was focused on driver recline angle and visibility, while later testing focused on shoulder and arm clearance.

One of the projects that I lead personally was the Pedal box. I worked to simplify the design significantly from last year, resulting in a large weight decrease (over 50%).

I used Solidworks FEA to optimize the geometry of both pedals and their mounts to reduce the weight while maintaining ease of manufacture.

One of the primary features of the pedals is their adjustment to fit drivers of various heights. The total adjustment of each pedal was determined by testing drivers on the ergonomics test bench.

Brake Pedal Assembly

FEA on brake pedal

The harness project required design for mounting points for the harness. This requires strict adherence to the competition rules on location and strength. Compliance was ensured using hand calculations for strength, as well as FEA.

FEA was preformed both on the mounting tabs themselves (in solidworks) as well as the entire chassis (in ansys). This was used to ensure safety in a collision.

I also prepared documentation, including technical drawings, for submission to our competitions to prove rules compliance.

Manufacturing - 24A

One of my focuses over the semester has been learning TIG welding, for manufacture of the chassis, and welding on mounts for projects. In December 2024, I participated in welding the chassis itself. From Top left and clockwise, the chassis still in jigs partially welded, the welding team, and the chassis after removal from the jigs.

Competitions

In spring and summer 2024, we attended Formula Hybrid + Electric (FHE) in New Hampshire, and FSAE Electric in Michigan, and competed against top formula student clubs from across North America. This was the first time our club attended FSAE Electric, and being able to compete at this competition was a long term goal for the club.

At each competition, I presented our car at technical inspection to ensure compliance with safety regulations. At both events, we passed Mechanical and Electrical inspections. Passing the inspection at FSAE was a major accomplishment for our team, and is uncommon for a first-year team to do.

I also participated in presenting our car to a panel of automotive industry experts. These presentations covered our design process, and car features.

We ultimately came in 44th out of 70 teams at FSAE, and 7th of 30 teams at FHE.

Ergonomics System Lead

Ergonomics system projects and chassis

From summer 2023 until December 2024 I was a lead in the ergonomics system. I was in charge of design, manufacturing and installation of three project for car 22A. These projects are: Pedal Box, Driver IO, and Floor. They are explained more in depth below.

Design - 22A

From summer 2023 until the beginning of fall semester 2023, I worked on design for each project. I inherited the pedal box design from the previous lead, and worked to finish the design. I started the floor and the Driver IO from scratch. All of these projects are for car 22A

Pedal Box

In the pedal box project I designed a brake pedal, accelerator pedal, and their mounts to the car. I ran finite element analysis on parts and assemblies in soldiworks. Above is the design for the pedal box.

Driver IO

In this project I designed the dashboard for car 22A, shown above. This includes a waterproof box for a raspberry pi and display, as well as mounts for components that the driver must be able to access while driving, for example emergency shutoff switch. This was designed entirely in SolidWorks. Above is a the design for the dashboard.

Floor

My final project was to design the floor for car 22A in SolidWorks. This protects the driver from any track derbies. I used finite element analysis to ensure that the driver could step on certain segments of the floor as they exit the car. Above is a screenshot from SolidWorks of the floor on the bottom of the chassis.

Manufacturing

Pedal Box

In the pedal box project I used HSMworks and a tormach 1100M to mill aluminum and steel parts. Shown above is the Accelerator pedal. The slideshow below shows more parts manufactured for the pedal box.

Driver IO

For the Driver IO project, all of the acrylic for the display enclosure was laser cut. I used fabcreator to prepare the parts to be laser cut.

Floor

For the floor, all of the aluminum panels and steel weld tabs were laser cut. I used fabcreator to prepare the parts to be laser cut.

Other Projects

Outside of my role as Ergonomics Lead, I assisted in two other projects.

First, I worked on designing and running FEA on accumulator mounts. The accumulator is the enclosure for the battery, and therefore its mounts must be able to survive a 10g deceleration during a collision. I used these simulations to help prepare the Structural Equivalency Sheet, which was submitted to FSAE to ensure the safety of our design.

I also simulated the front airfoil of the car, to determine its deflection. The FSAE rules define a maximum amount of deflection the airfoil can expedience when a load is applied to the end. I first created an assembly in solidworks of the airfoil and mounting, and ran FEA on it to determine the deflection.

Drivetrain System Member

My first role on the team was as a member in the Drivetrain System. This was my role for the spring semester 2023. I worked on design, fabrication and testing car 17D, which was taken to a competition in late spring 2023. I also worked on design for the drive train for car 22A, which at this time was in the design phase.

Highlighted Projects

Motor Guard

I helped to design a motor guard to protect those around the car from the motor should it fail. I also assisted in its installation on the car. To design this I learned solidwoks sheet metal tools. Above is the motor guard attached to the car

Differential Mount

I used the simulations feature in SolidWorks to run finite element analysis on the mount for the differential for car 22A. Using these results, i worked to reduce the weight of the part to improve car performance. Above is the result of a simulation run on one of the differential mounts.

Catch Can Mount

I redesigned the mount for the catch can for car 17D. This is an overflow for the water used for motor cooling. I updated the designs using soldiworks, and 3D printed it, and installed on the car. By redesigning it, i was able to simplify the mounting, making it easier to remove. The mount is the red and gray pieces above.

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