SolidWorks Formula SAE Design Project
06-06-2010, 09:30 AM
#2
Melting Slicks
Pretty cool. I wish tools of this type had been around while I was in my engineering program. I have been considering take some courses in SolidWorks at a local school.
06-07-2010, 09:59 AM
#6
I didn't participate in that program when I went to college, for several reasons, but I checked it out.
Gunman is right, it is a lot of work, and I ended up doing my senior project on an automated plant care machine (to keep plants from dying when you go on vacation and your friend doesn't come over to water them like he said he would)! lol. Looking back on it, I probably should have been involved in the SAE project. oh well, hindsight.
Gunman is right, it is a lot of work, and I ended up doing my senior project on an automated plant care machine (to keep plants from dying when you go on vacation and your friend doesn't come over to water them like he said he would)! lol. Looking back on it, I probably should have been involved in the SAE project. oh well, hindsight.
06-07-2010, 02:17 PM
#7
Advanced
Member Since: Jul 2009
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I was a core FSAE memebr at my school, which is a top 15 FSAE team with a long history in FSAE and relationships with SAE/GM/CarrollSmith/etc.
I can definitely say, 100% hands down, it is THE best intercollegiate engineering program worldwide for anyone who has any enthusiasm for motorsports or the automotive industry. We had many people who were strictly IT/Management majors, no machining/mechanical history and they benefited greatly from understanding how to work beside engineers in the shop, as well as how to get common sense in regards to designs and their implementation. It seems the true success stories are the ones who find out the quickest what works in real life and what only works on paper/computer.
I got 3 different contracts jobs immediately upon graduation (3 months each) on the spot basically because of my FSAE past. In fact, 2 out of the 3 my employer (the bosses in both cases) both had a history in FSAE, so we hit it off immediately. Very different industries as well...Defense contractors to Reflow over machine designers.
Definitely takes over your life though...but at any leading engineering school you pretty much have no life anyways, so this is just another way to motivate you to finish your regular class work quicker
Not only is it a great program and great experience, but almost every team I know becomes very close and great friendships are made. Plus, its a HUGE industry to get connections in.
www.fsae.com is where the main forum is, some sweet stuff in there, and a lot of future automotive designs can be seen in fsae before they hit the commercial or even F1 market. I know several teams (including, at the time, ours) who have joint research projects with F1 teams. Brain power is still the best asset to have in any economic market
I can definitely say, 100% hands down, it is THE best intercollegiate engineering program worldwide for anyone who has any enthusiasm for motorsports or the automotive industry. We had many people who were strictly IT/Management majors, no machining/mechanical history and they benefited greatly from understanding how to work beside engineers in the shop, as well as how to get common sense in regards to designs and their implementation. It seems the true success stories are the ones who find out the quickest what works in real life and what only works on paper/computer.
I got 3 different contracts jobs immediately upon graduation (3 months each) on the spot basically because of my FSAE past. In fact, 2 out of the 3 my employer (the bosses in both cases) both had a history in FSAE, so we hit it off immediately. Very different industries as well...Defense contractors to Reflow over machine designers.
Definitely takes over your life though...but at any leading engineering school you pretty much have no life anyways, so this is just another way to motivate you to finish your regular class work quicker
Not only is it a great program and great experience, but almost every team I know becomes very close and great friendships are made. Plus, its a HUGE industry to get connections in. www.fsae.com is where the main forum is, some sweet stuff in there, and a lot of future automotive designs can be seen in fsae before they hit the commercial or even F1 market. I know several teams (including, at the time, ours) who have joint research projects with F1 teams. Brain power is still the best asset to have in any economic market
06-07-2010, 10:34 PM
#8
06-08-2010, 11:46 AM
#9
Advanced
Member Since: Jul 2009
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I liked using Unigraphics stuff, but it all has its specific applications. For example we found SolidEdge to be the best sheet metal program. For making complex assemblies with fully driven models, we could create custom enclosures and sheet metal assemblies in literally minutes with just entering some dimensions.
