{"id":5482,"date":"2020-02-18T12:18:26","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T18:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dunwoody.edu\/news\/?p=5482"},"modified":"2020-02-18T12:18:27","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T18:18:27","slug":"supermileage-bound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dunwoody.edu\/news\/2020\/supermileage-bound\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermileage bound"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dunwooody\u2019s Supermileage team is making progress, but still has a ways to go<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A team of School\nof Engineering<\/a> students is hard at work this semester getting ready\nto compete in the SAE Supermileage competition<\/a>, which takes\nplace June 4-5 in Marshall, Michigan. The competition tests undergraduate and\ngraduate students\u2019 engineering design abilities and requires them to build a\nsingle-person, fuel-efficient vehicle with the goal of completing a specified\ncourse with the highest miles per gallon rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Team members test the cardboard prototype built last semester. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last year\u2019s competition featured 20 teams with\nan average of nine students per team. Most other colleges have entered the\ncompetition before \u2014 some for many years \u2014 which means they have existing\nvehicles they are currently modifying and optimizing for the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Dunwoody\u2019s first year in the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot only do we have to make a car that\u2019s fuel\nefficient, but we have to make a car from the ground up,\u201d said team project\nmanager Eric Frisbie. \u201cSo that\u2019s where most of our challenges stem from right\nnow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All five pioneering members of the team are\nseniors who will be part of the first-ever Mechanical Engineering<\/a> graduating class\nthis May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PLAN<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Last semester, they formulated a plan, created\ndesign drawings, and sourced materials. So far this semester, they\u2019ve focused\non constructing a frame out of aluminum tubes, to which they will then attach a\nmetal skid plate with holes drilled in it to reduce weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Plans
Team members reference plans for the SuperMileage build as the pipe is cut and laid into place for the frame. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To construct the frame, the students have been\nspending a lot of time over in the Welding Program. Cutting the tubing using a\nmetal saw went smoothly as it was a matter of measuring the various lengths,\nmaking the cuts, and then filing the end pieces smooth. Joining the tubing to\ncreate the frame is requiring more time and \u2014 learning additional skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cutting
Micah Hovland watches the cutting process. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Three members of the team \u2014 George Ellis, Mike\nRhode, and Micah Hovland \u2014 have put in practice time to hone their welding\nskills. Working with aluminum is tricky because it cools more quickly than\nsteel and isn\u2019t as strong. That means welds need to be steady and robust but\nquick so the welder doesn\u2019t punch holes in the aluminum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Test
Members of the SuperMileage team practice Tig welding on pieces of aluminum pipe. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Even before welding could take place, the team\nneeded to figure out how to cut the tubing so it would fit together. For that,\nthey came up with a clever idea: they found a hole saw blade the same diameter\nas the tubing. This allows them to cut half-moon shapes into the end of one of\nthe tubes so that it can then fit over another tube and be welded to it. The\nsaw also lets them cut across tubing for diagonal joining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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