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| Author: Ben Miller | Team: Solar Car’‘’ |
By prioritizing strength, weight and adjustability, the “final” design was chosen from the two concepts discussed in the “approach” section. The choice to have an aluminum bracket that supported a fully adjustable seat back was picked on these criteria. The lower brackets would allow it to be adjusted axially while the swing arm design allowed for different seat back angles and heights. Through the use of a design matrix, it was determined that this design was superior to a composite or fabric seat. The Pro Engineering drawing can be seen below as well as in the “appendix” section. When manufacturing began on the swing arm, however, pitfalls were recognized that would prevent the bracket from being installed correctly. It was decided that the belly pan was to be welded onto the frame. This prevented the lower brackets of the seat bracket design from fitting. Holes could have been cut in the belly pan but that would compromise both the strength of the belly pan and the axial adjustability of the bracket. An ergonomic analysis was performed for the driver and it was found that the most important feature of the seat was its size and its angular adustability. This being the case, despite the results found from the design matrix, a simpler welded design was adopted and the bracket is currently being made. The new material is steel tubing to facilitate welding and it allows for limited height adjustment as well as angular adjustability. A drawing for the newest concept can be found below.
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