2.810 Manufacturing Processes and Systems

Team Project

The group project will consist of the fabrication of N identical radio controlled cars for each group of N students. Each group starts with the following list of materials:

• Per car: front steering assembly components, rear wheel assembly components, electric motor.
• Per team: one set of batteries (+ back-up), battery charger, radio controller, steering servo, speed controller, transponder.

Each team will need to design and fabricate the remaining parts for all cars. The parts and the processes to make them will include:

• Chassis: designed & cut from aluminum sheet on an abrasive waterjet machine
• Shell: designed & thermoformed
• Wheels: injection molded (all wheels are of one standard design)
• Tires: overmolded onto the wheels using injection molding
• Drivetrain, steering, suspension, bumpers, etc.: designed & fabricated from sheet metal, plastic or other available materials.
• Control box: designed & fabricated to (a) contain the battery, servo, receiver, motor controller and transponder, (b) attach securely to the car while allowing quick transfer between cars.

The performance of the cars will be evaluated in a race contest on the final day of class. The contest includes the driving of each car around a designated loop (with speed bumps) and the transfer of the control box from each car into the subsequent one.

Lab & Project Schedule