YCP Racing Learns There is No Such Thing as a “Perfect” Design

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Tuesday, June 07, 2011

A major component of the mechanical engineering curriculum is the senior design capstone project, in which students apply the technical skills they have learned in their studies and Co-Op experiences to a real-world design problem.

Under the direction of faculty advisor Stephen Kuchnicki, PhD, a team of senior students followed in their predecessors’ footsteps for their 2011 project. They competed in the Formula SAE ® Michigan, a challenging experience that involves complete automotive design and fabrication including drive-train, chassis, suspension and body.

“The students learned that little things matter in the design of a race car,” said Kuchnicki. “Judges did not look at major design flaws, but little items, such as accessibility of electrical components or the driver’s ability to see a tachometer (RPM gauge). These are not engineering analysis issues, but ergonomic, human considerations.” 

While the YCP Racing Team’s vehicle earned an 81st-place finish in the overall ranking of 123 teams, the vehicle finished 48th in the skid-pad test – showing improved suspension performance over years past. 

“The most important lesson students learned, was that there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ design,” said Kuchnicki. “Rather, they saw what they have been hearing from their professors since they were freshmen; it matters that you have a reason for your design and that you can explain those reasons to someone else.”

Several underclassmen also traveled with the team to Michigan, and they got to see firsthand the path that the experts in the field at the competition laid out to improve the vehicle. 

“These ideas have inspired the next group to get a running start on the design process, and have them focused on, among other things, trying to shave about 20 percent of the car’s weight for 2012,” he added. 

Evolution of YCP Racing

YCP Racing has evolved over the past six years. The Mechanical Engineering program entered two cars in an SAE Mini Baja competition in 2005, placing 19th and 44th out of 142 competitors. More recently, York College has transitioned into Formula SAE events (beginning in 2007). Over the last four years, the team has progressed substantially with continued innovation.

What is Formula SAE?

Formula SAE® is a student design competition organized by SAE International (formerly Society of Automotive Engineers). The first competition was started back in 1978 and was originally called the Mini Indy.

The concept behind Formula SAE is that a fictional manufacturing company has contracted a design team to develop a small Formula-style race car. The prototype race car is to be evaluated for its potential as a production item. The target marketing group for the race car is the non-professional weekend autocross racer. Each student team designs, builds and tests a prototype based on a series of rules whose purpose is both to ensure onsite event operations and promote clever problem solving.

Formula SAE promotes careers and excellence in engineering as it encompasses all aspects of the automotive industry including research, design, manufacturing, testing, developing, marketing, management and finances. Formula SAE takes students out of the classroom and allows them to apply textbook theories to real-work experiences.

YCP Racing Team (2010-2011)

Brian Behm (mechanical engineering)

Robert Braun (mechanical engineering)

Jarod Browell (mechanical engineering)

Jennifer Butts (mechanical engineering)

Paul Deysher (electrical and computer engineering)

Nicholas Garibaldi (mechanical engineering)

Andrew Gotliffe (mechanical engineering)

Daniel Graybill (mechanical engineering)

Garrett Higgins (mechanical engineering)

Eric Mackin (mechanical engineering)

Keith Myers (mechanical engineering)

Mark Nixon (mechanical engineering)

Jared Pitzer (mechanical engineering)

Johnathan Puppelo (mechanical engineering)

Justin Quaranta (mechanical engineering)

Brian Reed (electrical and computer engineering)

William Schleicher (mechanical engineering)

Christopher Schulze ((mechanical engineering)

Christopher Shoff (electrical and computer engineering)

Eric Strittmatter (mechanical engineering)

Joshua Taylor (mechanical engineering)