Team
- Daniel Cohen
- Cesar Perez Mesta
- Alexander Prideaux
- Aidan Zajac
Mentor
Professor Christopher Muir
Overview
The need for energy, space, and cost-efficient vehicles is high, especially in densely populated areas. Battery-powered hand drills are a common household item, and current models are powerful enough to drive much more than screws. Our team decided to see if it was possible to utilize this everyday tool as the power source for a human-sized go-cart. The cart design itself was split into four subsystems: Frame, Drivetrain, Steering, and Braking, with each team member responsible for a different system. Each member designed their respective assemblies and ran simulations – iteratively improving their designs and the overall efficiency of the cart. To incentivize greater efficiency, two teams of Mechanical Engineering seniors were given this same project (operating under the same requirements and specifications) and will face off in a 1-on-1 go-cart race. The winner of the race will be given an A in the project.
Acknowledgements
The team would like to thank Professor Muir for his guidance and help throughout the entire process, as well as Mike Pomerantz, Jim Atkins, Alexandra Ferrarese, Christine Pratt and Marc Haddad for their knowledge and time during and beyond the manufacturing process.