Formula SAE

The ins and outs of my time on the CSUF Formula SAE Team XVII as CAD Lead, Aero Team Lead, and Driver

CAD & CFD

For my senior design project, I was responsible for the floor and the body work of the formula car as the aerodynamics team lead. I designed the parts in SolidWorks and ran CFD using OpenFOAM for quantitative data on performance. As CAD lead, I was responsible for overseeing all assemblies and ensuring parts were properly integrated. (This is just a sample of the work I did and most dimensions have been intentionally omitted.)

Formula SAE SolidWorks CAD for CSUF Titan Racing XVII - View 1
Formula SAE SolidWorks CAD for CSUF Titan Racing XVII - View 2
Formula SAE SolidWorks CAD for CSUF Titan Racing XVII - View 3
Formula SAE OpenFOAM CFD for CSUF Titan Racing XVII - View 1
Formula SAE OpenFOAM CFD for CSUF Titan Racing XVII - View 2
Formula SAE OpenFOAM CFD for CSUF Titan Racing XVII - Results

Chassis

Budget cuts required our 13-member FSAE team to fabricate our chassis in-house. I designed the jig and paper templates to streamline the tube-notching process due to a broken notcher. The sound of the Dremel plays perpetually in my mind.

Notched tubes using paper templates for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Chassis jig SolidWorks model for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Chassis on jig for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Chassis for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII

Driving

Another role I had on the team was autocross and endurance driver. We spent many long nights testing in the university parking lot. It was a very unique experience to drive the FSAE car, feel it, note where improvements could be made, help design changes, test again, and experience the performance gains.

Test driving car for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Test driving car for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Test driving car for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Track car racing for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Track car racing for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII
Track car racing for Formula SAE CSUF Titan Racing XVII

Michigan Mix

Final competition: The trip to Michigan started off with a 4-hour nap in the rental truck, an 8-hour driving stint to the Rockies, another quick nap and finally a 22-hour stint to our hotel for the night in Adrian, MI. Day 2: a quick aero test in an abandoned mall parking lot. After that, it’s a blur.

Exhaustion got the best of me after finishing the last-minute details of the CSUF FSAE Titan Racing XVII car; the team awarded me the "giant check" we won for honorable mention in my sleep at my desk in the shop.
Car reveal with the team for CSUF FSAE Titan Racing XVII.
Asleep in the hotel on the trip to Michigan for our final competition for CSUF FSAE Titan Racing XVII.
Made it to comp with the car for CSUF FSAE Titan Racing XVII.
Wearing my fire suit, getting read to race for CSUF FSAE Titan Racing XVII.
It's raining at comp while we put the car in the trailer for CSUF FSAE Titan Racing XVII.

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