Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. -Albert Einstein
Mini – Baha Contest: Innovation at Its BestAbhinav Das Kumar (4th Yr MAE)
One of the most prestigious events is being organized by Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for the first time in India, the Baha SAE competition. The objective of the competition is to design and fabricate a prototype of a rugged, single seat, off- road recreational vehicle intended for sale to the non professional weekend off - road enthusiasts.
Twenty-seven college teams, including the 10 member team from ASET, were short listed out of 52 teams by stringent selection process. The vehicle has to be designed according to rules specified which are based on racecar safety standards. 88 page rule-book have been provided to all the teams.
The team from ASET named METTLE started the project with research on the subject and sponsorship drive. The research included studying the requirements of the rough terrain and thus making the best possible design. Stressing on the developing quite a unique design solutions for suspension power train and braking systems.They have stressed on material research so as to optimize the performance of the vehicle.
The use of CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) packages like Pro-Engineer, Solid works, Catia and ANSYS has enabled the team to validate its design and stimulate the components. They have followed the theory that "this is race car engineering and we need to predict at what load a particular bolt is going to fit, so we actually stimulate every component before putting on the car. Some of components are being optimized using C++ programs. The vehicle would also be using advanced electronics for data acquitting which are being developed by the team.
The sponsorship drive was also extensive and more then 300 companies were approached. The hard work of the team paid off and the biggest automotive research firm Delphi agreed to become the team METTLE's official sponsor.
The extensive learning curve which the team experienced in developing vehicle has encouraged them to go for international events like the Baha South A.frica, Formula SAE Italy and SAE Supermilage