Why Make this Change?

Integrated Systems Design

Commencing with the 2013 year Formula SAE Competition, a new integrated business/design concept summary is to be submitted by all teams, 6-9 months ahead of the competition. This summary (entitled The FSAE Business Logic Case) should not be an onerous task and will assist teams to follow an integrated systems approach. In order to give students the maximum benefit, it is intended that this task is completed before the design process is engaged with the objective to define an integrated overall vehicle concept with consideration of but not limited to: vehicle performance, cost and target market.

It will assist students understanding of, and correlation with, the real world approach to vehicle design, whereby a Total Systems Overview and Vehicle Level Targets are developed (Cost; Price; Profit; Volume; Performance), and a sanity check completed, before any detail design is undertaken. This approach can help avoid conflicts later in the design process between systems and ensure realistic targets for your total vehicle are set which can then be deployed into the function and cost targets for each of the vehicle Systems and Sub-Systems.

Why Make this Change?

At various events worldwide a rise has been observed in the number of entrants that appear to have lost their way with regards to cost, value and the logic of design for manufacture and profit. These aspects are critical in the real world you will encounter within the global automotive OE and Supplier industry. The intent of this additional submission is to help you to guide yourselves to produce a better vehicle and advance your education in line with future reality.

Seldom is the biggest budget or most expensive and technologically advanced vehicle the best solution. Getting the balance right is the key. Thinking at the higher (overall vehicle) level before plunging into the detail (the front suspension or monocoque body) will help you produce the best result within the resources available to your team.

The aim of the event series is to improve a student’s knowledge in a manner that will be real world useful, as soon as possible, and thus provide a shortcut of “experience” to the benefit of the student, their educational establishment and also their first employer. Uniquely, everyone wins here.

Remember that this is not a motorsports competition but the development of expertise and understanding of what is necessary to design, build and develop an actual vehicle that can be compared to others but which recognises the importance of cost and understanding of design and function, inside a reasonable business case. The small open wheeler with specification limits is chosen as it provides a vehicle type which can realistically be designed and built within the available time, and its actual performance then demonstrated vis a vis design intent.

This document will not be formally marked and no specific points will be allocated but it will be used to aid the Design, Cost and Business Presentation process and help teams to represent themselves consistently across the 3 static events

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 1354