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FEA should not necessarily be a design-driving tool, but rather a validation tool, but just verifying the part works as it should and for what it is designed for.
Solution:
Utilize intuition and hand calculations prior to using FEA, to effectively plan and design without relying on the estimation that FEA results give
This means that we need to ensure that everyone that is designing a part that goes through FEA has the proper knowledge basis, whether that means knowing at minimum, a basis level of intuition in Solids, Statics, Materials, etc., as well as an idea of how to conduct hand calculations
Welding training is a good idea in theory, but needs some sort of tangible way to quantify if someone has been successfully trained or not
Solution
Set a sort of curriculum to ensure that everyone has a basis level of how welding works
Conduct tests/have welds reviewed to check knowledge on welding theory, as well as check integrity and consistency of welds.
In addition, encourage members to weld on parts without apprehension, to the point where any mistake or shortcoming can be corrected by a veteran member, and the member-in-training can learn in a realistic environment
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Carbon Fiber may not be the most efficient/effective in all applications in terms of cost or @(such as for the seat or steering wheel)
Solution
Investigate what application or situation you will be putting each material in
Is it as cost effective as it could be, could you find a material that is just as stiff without the weight? etc. etc.
In terms of making the steering wheel, what is structural and what is not structural?
Solution
i.e. if we want to make a carbon fiber steering wheel, are we making it hollow, are we having a core material? We need to actually discern how this design would work.4
Ergo Jig plans are good → need to be refined to be more accurate and useful to us
Solution
Need to set some standards to make the data more accurate (take the measurements ourselves, streamline the process for taking the measurements)
Narrow down the survey size to be only people interested in driving the car
Be more granular in what you measure (not just height or weight, look at torso height, leg length)
Egress needs to be modeled so we can prepare for it
Solution
Make some sort of physical jig or setup to try and test egress
We need to account fofor adrenaline and overall how hard the driver presses on the pedal
Solution
Research how much adrenaline amplifies the force a person can exert on a pedal
Find a way to empirically test for the amount of force a person can exert on a pedal and add on a factor of adrenaline