Week 1 - Introduction: Successes and Failures

    I am Claude Michel and I am part of the full scale team. Throughout my time at Cañada College and San Jose State University, I have participated in many projects that have helped me prepare for Spartan Superway.

                I discovered my passion for cad software and design at my engineering graphics class at Cañada College. Ever since then, I have implemented CAD programs such as AutoCAD, SOLIDWORKS, Creo and Inventor in many projects, both academic and personal, such as a tool box for ME 41, a 6 cylinder radial engine for ME 165, or an intricate plaque for Phi Tau Sigma. However, I have not gotten much opportunity to practice the FEA analysis aspect, and hope that this project will give me opportunity to do so.

                One of the projects I’m most proud of was my beverage heater for ME 106. It used four standard push buttons, a 4 digit 7 segment LED display, a servo motor, a temperature sensor, and a heating coil attached to a relay. I started that semester with barely any programming experience, but I designed the whole circuit and wrote the program myself (except for the drivers to the premade electronic components) and also helped with the mechanical design of the device. It took a lot of time and effort, but by the end it worked perfectly.

There was one project that was not successful however – the miniature handcar for ME 154. In it, my group was trying to make a toy sized motorized device based on a train track handcar. We made it primarily from standardized steel Erector/Meccano parts and a few custom 3D printed components. Unfortunately when assembled, the device could only rock back and forth instead of moving forwards. We realized that there were two major flaws in our version of the design: the central 3D printed wheel was too light compared to the rest of the car, and the rubber band drive belt diffused too much of the energy. In contrast, on the conventional handcar, the central wheel is a heavy gear so it transfers a maximum of energy and doubles as a flywheel (preventing it from rocking back). More than anything, from this project I learned the importance of fully understanding the background principles as it allows you to avoid needless mistakes which will be critical when time (and in many other scenarios funding and safety) is a critical factor and second chances are hard to come by.

                As I have not worked as an intern yet, this will be by far the most expansive ambitious and intense project I will be working on. I might have become a little rusty on many of the relevant subjects because of the time that passed since I’ve taken their classes. Consequently I will review these old subjects and learn and many new skills and improve most of the ones I already have. This will be a challenge, but one that I intend to give my all to the project!