Good points RiNaZ,
Like many of us over 50, I was a computer novice. I talked with several people doing CAD drafting and most said the same thing, "buy it and teach yourself". However, I have learned that usually when you teach yourself something it is slower and you learn lots of bad habits.
I compared prices for various schools and ended up taking the beginning AutoCAD course at the local University. It cost less than the computer I bought to practice with at home. I was hired by an engineering firm before the semester was over so it worked out very well. I am currently a Design Drafter V and I use AutoCAD 8+ hours a day on a huge variety of projects. (no houses)
Over the years I have taken classes for skiing, flying, driving, racing, diving, dancing, motorcycle street riding (after racing dirt bikes for 30+ years), autocross course design, and many other interests, and in all areas I have friends who were self taught. Every one of them would have improved if they had taken a class with a real instructor, and most would have avoided serious problems that came from their learning "experience".
However, this thread is about a high school FSAE car design/build team. I strongly disagree with those who say that high school students are not capable of designing and building a safe, competitive car. I know that some students are capable of great things and if given a direction and (very importantly) an interesting goal, they can astound people.
After all, what makes a college team SO MUCH smarter than a high school team? Pride? Or perhaps the drinking parties? We have several EIT's (engineer in training) here that have a degree, but no common sense design ability. They come up with the most complicated and often lousy designs that would never be built. So everyone learns and that starts with reading. Reading what others have done before and understanding why it worked or why it did not. Then, after a thorough understanding of the theory and practice, build on that with new ideas and directions. Not everything will be an improvement though. Do you remember the 6 wheel (Benneton?) Formula 1 car? They spent a ton of money to see if that would be an improvement over the competition. It wasn't they learned. And now we have Audi with the Diesel Sports Racer. So many said "It will never be competitive" and "It won't work". Now look at the results! Not that I am eager to go out and buy a diesel sportscar, I do appreciate the new thinking and possibilities.
After examining pictures of all the entries in the FSAE events for the past few years that I could find, I see that some teams do not have a basic understanding of chassis design, which anyone can get by reading the many books available. So what? They are learning something, even if it is only what not to do.
As I look at the pictures of the Carter Students car I see many excellent design solutions and original thinking. The build quality appears in the pictures to be first rate too.
It is true that a High School team could be just building to the design of the instructor. Just as some Univerity teams now probably get more than a little direction. However, I have seen or read about high school teams building boats, houses, kit cars, and even at least one built a Kitfox airplane. True, they did not design them but they still learned a lot in the process. However, as for Carter Student Engineers, it does sound like the students are resonsible for the design of their car.
So I say GOOD ON YOU! and I do hope the FSAE sees the benfits to have you enter officially.
 |
|
|
Reply With Quote
