EXPO was a success

The EXPO was a huge success. Thanks for all those who came out to see us!

We moved the electrical team meetings to Thursdays (meaning I can come to all of them :] ), so we will be having one of those in a couple of days.

There was a workday yesterday, Monday November 8. The highlight was Ali throwing a marble at another team member without meaning to and hitting them HARD and full on the head. :)

Next meeting Thursday!

EXPO DAY IS HERE!

Today is the Engineering EXPO at Coppell High School!

We're all at the school prepping; it starts at 2PM but there is so much to get ready.

For solar car, we have a booth inside and a booth outside, which is where the car will be situtated. Several of us are outside (we need to dress warmly; it's getting a little chilly) and a few are inside.

We hope to see you at Coppell High School between 2 and 5 PM to see all the work the Engineering students have been doing AND to visit with the 41 colleges we have coming!

Why won't the camera work?!- Prepping for the football game

Right now we are all trying to get the car ready to take over to the Coppell High School stadium, where it is going to be featured. This is the last home game of the year.

I have been trying to get the camera to work; Kaelan has managed to take one picture. Nojan is going to be in charge of taking pictures for the set up.

We have a few banners that we will be hanging around the car. (Slight detail- how will we get them on and where will we put them?) We will get it figured out soon.

The brochures are ready and we will be handing them out at the game!

3 DAYS TIL THE EXPO!

Workday Highlight: Nick and the Safety Officer Hat

Today we had a workday from 4 - 6:30 PM.

We're prepping for the FOOTBALL GAME TOMORROW NIGHT! We will feature the solar car, hand out fliers, and have it around to show off before the game and until Halftime!

This is Coppell's last home game of the season. The seniors (including me) are sad that they won't get to see any more games. :(

We set up shifts for the sophomores and juniors to participate in. (By the way, there are only two juniors: Kaelan and Trevor).

I ran through the electrical system and the basics of the car with the sophomores today. Rinu Daniel and Bella Shah, new additions to the team, took the lead in making fliers and brochures to hand out at the football game and EXPO. I worked with one sophomore, Ragho Chamkura, to make an info sheet for all the sophomores to reference, in case a veteran team member isn't there when someone is asking a question.

We all had a blast today; Nick (I swear) is going to propose to this safety officer helmet (AKA Bike Helmet) we have; it has an amber flashing light taped to its top. He might seriously wear it to school....

The team is meeting after school tomorrow to set up for the game! :)

4 DAYS UNTIL THE EXPO!

Working tomorrow. 5 days left!

We are having a regular team meeting tomorrow at 4 PM.

The EXPO is now in 5 days!

Remember to check out our website (www.coppellsolar.org) and twitter; search chs_engineering.

If you have any questions or need any more information, feel free to email us at coppellsolar@gmail.com.

6 Days Until the Expo!

Only 6 days left until the Coppell Engineering EXPO!

Remember, it's on Sunday, November 7 from 2-5 PM at Coppell High School.

We are working hard to make this year's EXPO a success - come out to check out what the Coppell School of Engineering is up to!

Working today :)

Hi everyone,

Today we have a workday scheduled after school beginning at 4:00 PM. We're still planning for the EXPO coming November 7 (have I mentioned how excited we are?).

Additionally, our Electrical Team mentor, Mr. Gary Kidwell, is coming to meet with the Electrical team, as he has been doing for over a month now. We are very glad that he is helping us; currently, we are testing the capacity of the new batteries and developing a chart to measure battery statistics.

We are planning on having a day each month where we drive around town in Aurora. I'll be posting the dates that we're going to do this each month on here, so stay tuned!

Engineering Expo Coming November 7!

We're all getting ready for the Coppell Engineering EXPO coming up next Saturday, November 7! It will be at Coppell High School (185 W Parkway Blvd, Coppell, TX 75019) and will last from 2-5 PM.

We're working on getting a display ready to show off the car! We're also working on getting a JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) booth ready, as well as a SWE (Society of Women Engineers) booth. :)

The EXPO is a great place for colleges to come meet prospective students. Last year had over 45 colleges and universities present, including MIT, CalTech, UT, A&M, and many more! We had over 3,000 people in attendance.

We're all very excited for Saturday!

Still in Progress

We are still working on getting the car up and running. Thus far it looks like we will definitely be able to run next Friday and Saturday.

Kaelan took a video of our wheel blowout on Friday during Scrutineering. Hopefully we will be able to upload that later.

Progress Update: Fixing the Car

The team is working quickly and efficiently to get the car fixed for good.

We have cleaned up the wiring in the electronics bay and covered the wires in the driver compartment. A couple of team members are looking at brakes.

Currently some members are going to the school to pick up a few tools, while others are at the shop working on putting locktite on parts of the car and organizing information.

The suspension is coming along; in fact, we discovered a weak weld near the shocks an hour ago when a team member ripped off the weld while trying to disconnect the shocks to realign them. This weld is relatively simple to repair, and fortunately we found the weakness now rather than later on during operation. Team members are continuing to fix it currently.

Research and Redesign

Today, the team has begun researching and redesigning parts for the car. Everyone is hard at work, trying to identify the problems that were caused by the blowout at scrutineering. We will have to find completely new wheels along with new rear shocks that can handle the weight of the car. Rishi, Saagar, and Nick are heading up the search for wheels, while Michael and David are adjusting the front shocks and looking for replacements for the rear shocks. According to which wheels they find, the spindles on the kingpins may have to be changed.

Although the team has met problems, we are still determined to get this car done and show everyone the result of our hard work.

Sending off the teams

This morning, CSRT members went up to Texas Motor Speedway to send off the other teams in the Hunt Winston Solar Car Challenge 2010. We were excited to see all the other cars and be able to see a part of the race first hand! It was a pleasure to meet all the representatives of the race and to discuss the other cars designs with team members from Mississippi, Florida, and other teams, including some from Texas itself.

The crowd gave the cars a rousing sendoff, and Coppell even recieved one round of applause for supporting the teams, although we were not able to race.

It was a pleasure to send off the other cars participating in the race!

Meeting Update

This morning the team met to decide on a new game plan. We will now be racing on Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31.

The team has devised a schedule to complete the car and get it running by those dates. We are also working on communicating to all our supporters and sponsors the sad news. However, we are excited for next Saturday and Sunday and hope you will continue to support us.

Tomorrow the team is going to the Hunt Winston Race to see off all the other teams.

Sad News

Unfortunately, the car experienced a catastrophic blowout today during scrutineering. The metal wheel is damaged beyond repair. We will not be able to replace the wheels in time to complete scrutineering in the morning.

The team is not giving up on completing the car, though. They are working this week to have the car back up and running ASAP. Stay tuned for more details.

Car without Panels!

Here is the car without the panels on! The blue covering is shrink wrap to protect the car components from water and other flying debris.

Race tomorrow!

Tomorrow is scrutineering for the race and we have had amazing progress with the car.

Yesterday night we drove it around the school and were able to test the u-turn radius, which was extremely good!

Now the team is working hard to get everything working and packed! We still have to mount the panels ASAP.

Stickers for the sponsors to go on the car are coming in today at some time and I am going to have to pick them up. They will go on the access panel to the electronics bay with a lot of prominence.

Progress

Today the electrical team continued to wire the model car to ensure that all connections with the panels, batteries, and other electronics fit properly within the car to ensure that all connections will work and not get caught up inside the vehicle. This is important because for the race, the car needs to be street legal including lights. Members also continued welding the frame together working towards our closing deadline. The team also received the butterfly steering wheel the team had ordered. The team would like to remind everybody that the dates for the race this summer is July 18th to July 27th from Texas Motor Speedway to Golden, Colorado. The team hopes to have a fully functional solar car that will be driving around Coppell by June the 1st.

Mechanical Progress: May 15th

Today, the mechanical team finishing cutting all of the metal for the frame. They began to tac-weld parts of the frame together.
Michael Hays also redid the SolidWorks design to make the metal parts easier to cut and to adjust for the new orientation of the solar panels.

We will be sending out our May newsletter soon. Also, remember to come to our car's unveiling on June 1st!

Saturday, May 8th

Today, our racing seat came in!

The mechanical team redesigned the battery box and fixed some problems with the front suspension. They also ordered parts for the rear axle, more metal bars, and Plexiglas.

Team instructor Mike Yakubovsky and captain Sara Saastamoinen received the preliminary race route from the Hunt-Winston School Solar Car Challenge. They worked on assignments for the race.

Progress

Today, Rishi Samani, Michael Hays, Saagar Patel, Raj Panesar, and Kaelan Cowan discussed the suspension and what needed to be changed with it. Michael made the revised suspension in Solid Works, while Rishi, Saagar, Raj, and Kaelan finished the 8020 suspension. The team is working hard to finish the 8020 model of the car, as it is due this Saturday, May 1st.

In addition, Sara Saastamoinen and Rishi discussed what jobs there are going to be during the race and who is going to fill in the spots for the jobs.

Earthfest Showing

Last Saturday members of the Coppell Solar racing team showed off the '08 car at Earthfest, an Earth day inspired event sponsored by the City of Coppell. The event went well with a lot of people coming to look at our Solar Car and listen to what we had to say about our program. Thank you for all who came out to see the car!!

The team is continuing to prepare for the race, and is panning to have the car finished by May 1st. We hope to have the car done by May 1st so that we can begin testing the car and fixing any problems that show while testing. Be looking out for our car because the team wishes to drive the car around town for everyone to see.

Mechanical Progress

Today, Mr. Gill came to our work session. He discussed changing the king pin mounting design with the mechanical team. The mechanical team also tweaked minor problems with the frame and suspension. They redesigned the model frame to represent the car more accurately. The team also discussed angles and the positioning of solar panels and supports; they also discussed the schedule for the arrival of the suspension components and other miscellaneous parts.

Ali Brinegar made a comprehensive outline and schedule for the upcoming newsletters, podcasts, and blog posts. And, the team also discussed plans for the upcoming Earth Fest on Saturday, April 24th.

Progress

Today Saagar Patel and Raj Panesar cut some pieces from our new 8020 Aluminum Extrusion (mock assembly metal). We are now using this material to create a mock of the frame because it is easier to work with than steel since there's no welding involved. Rishi Samani and Chris Klasing have been measuring out where the solar panels are going to be placed. The electrical team discussed the pros and cons of the new mock frame.

Progress

Nick and David have consulted with Mr. Heaton of Gates corporation about the drivetrain and what style should be selected. A drivetrain was chosen based on the maximum performance rather than constant performance so parts would not fail if a maximum performance situation presented itself during the race.

Also Kaelan worked on establishing the angle of the driveshaft and Steering wheel on the car. The Team has also chosen to choose a Butterfly style steering wheel rather than a standard one.

If you wish to support our team visit our website's Adopt-A-Cell page. The funds would go towards making the project go smoothly and allowing the team to attaining the level the team would like to be at.

Rear Suspension, Websites, and Team Application

Today Ricky Bureau, Kaelan Cowan, mechanical lead Rishi Samani, and welding expert Michael Wise worked on the rear suspension for the car in the morning hours of the day. They cut pipes, grounded the edges down so that they weren't sharp, and began prepping for welding the rear suspension together.

Team sponsor Mike Yakubovsky and Rishi took the four bottom parts of the rear suspension back up to the high school where they used the mill to drill half-moon holes in the ends of the pipes where the tubes will later connect.

Then in the afternoon, Saagar Patel and Michael Hays cut metal tubing for the rear suspension. Rishi and Michael Wise began tacking the components of the rear suspension together. Next week, we will begin to Mig welding.

During this time, team captain Sara Saastamoinen worked on the layout and appearance of both the Coppell Solar blog and team website. She also worked on filling out the team application for the Hunt-Winston School Solar Car Challenge this summer.

A Arms

The mechanical team finished welding the A arms this past weekend. They will start welding the rear suspension next weekend.

Solar Panels

The solar panels are finally in!!!

Auxiliary Parts

The electrical team visited Northern Tool and found all of the parts for the auxiliary system. They will be ordering these parts from the online catalog soon.

Newsletter Complete!

The February newsletter has been completed and is ready to email! If you would like to receive it, contact the team!

Meera

Workday Monday February 22

Today the team has been ordering parts. Electrical has ordered all parts necessary for the main power system but is working on compiling a list for the auxilary system. The electrical team is planning a trip to Ace Hardware during the work session on Thursday to evaluate what is available. Mechanical has been working on the U arm part of the suspension. However, all welding has been taking place on the weekend; in fact, this past weekend the mechanical team began welding the suspension.

Alphagraphics

Alphagraphics US #391 has made valuable contributions to the team in the past month. Recently, they began work on a team poster to post around Coppell and raise awareness. Visit them at http://www.alphagraphics.com/centers/dallas-texas-us391/index.html

Budget Update

The team has been collaborating with the Engineering Booster Club to order all the parts necessary for construction of the car. With their extensive support, the team has been able to order over half the parts for the car.

Orcad Software

Cadence has donated the Orcad electrical schematic software to the team with a large discount. Order and try out the software the Coppell Solar Team is using at www.orcad.com today!

Student Highlight

This month, team member Nick Chapman has shown an amazing work ethic. He has worked diligently and efficiently on all his assignments for the team. Recently, he modeled and constructed the drivers seat for the car (right). His efficiency and hard work has paid off!

Mechanical Team Progress

The mechanical team has completed the design and modeling phase and is ready to begin construction. This week, the team has begun to cut the pieces for the frame and suspension. Later, they will begin welding the pieces into the actual frame and suspension, which should take less than a few days if all the parts are ready and cut.

Electrical Team Progress

The electrical team has been hard at work on the schematic for the car. The team has been working with Orcad Software to produce the final electrical schematic. The team has been working on the auxiliary parts list and schematic as well. Recently, they have ordered many of the main components required for the electrical system, including six Sanyo HIT 195 solar panels, a Compact RIO, and an LCD Driver Display for the driver interface. While waiting for the parts to come in, the team is finalizing the schematic.

Frame Complete

The team is now ready to move to metal!!! The pvc model of the frame is complete and construction of the chromoly frame can begin. The team expects the car to be completed by March 23. The chromoly frame of the car will be welded at The Ratliff Group LLC’s garage. Don’t forget that the Solar Car team will be holding a poker tournament on February 27 if you wish to donate any prizes for the tournament, please contact Mike Yakubovsky at myakubovsky@coppellisd.com. The team will be sending a solid works model to Michael Wise of Trinity Industries, who is helping the team out with welding.