DETAIL

DRAWING (OLD
DESIGN)

DETAIL
DRAWING
(MODIFIED
DESIGN)

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION
Due to the lacks of materials and time to manufacture the parts, we
decided to improve and simplify our design (components) by using different
materials and approaches to save time and cost. Although we were using
cheaper materials, the safety of the car and the driver remained intact as our
main objective. There were several components that need to be improved. By
using alternative solution, we manage to overcome this problem.
Firstly is the body part. Before, we chose fiberglass rather than aluminum
sheet metal because fiberglass is lighter than the aluminum sheet metal. The
problem we were facing is the mold. It is more convenient to use aluminum sheet
metal as the mold due to the smoothness of the surface. However, aluminum
sheet metal was not available in the workshop. Furthermore, it is harder to bend
the aluminum sheet metal. For an alternative solution, we used wire gauze/box
as a mold. These materials are less convenient than aluminum sheet metal but it
is much easier to shape these materials and save cost.
Next is the floor. We chose pattern aluminum sheet metal as our floor to
cover the base area of the cockpit. Due to the limited stock of this material, we
managed to the exact length but less width. Chassis did not put X steel on the
cockpit area to hold the floor. Instead of adding one long steel or X shape steel
on that area, we decided to put the bracket on each side of that area to hold the
floor. This will make the car a lot lighter and can save cost.
At first, for seat, we want to fabricate the plastic seat which can be found
normally in the classroom. Due to the lack of time and many processes that need
to be done, we decided to take a banquet seat as our seat. We will cut the leg
part of the banquet seat and make it shorter. Also we do not need to add sponge
on the seat as the seat itself already has its own sponge. This will cut lots of
manufacturing processes and save time.
Lastly is the impact attenuator. At first, in the impact attenuator, we were
going to fill it with polystyrene. But as we were done making it, we realized that
the aluminum sheet metal itself is already strong and can withstand high impact.
Thus we decided to make it blank on the inside of the impact attenuator. As for
this, we managed to save our cost.