Paulo Botero and his swanky dance club

Author: Paulo Botero	Team: Solar Car

Problem Statement

In order to bleed a brake system properly, the master cylinder must be mounted in a horizontal position. This way, as air is flushed out, the master cylinder can be topped off with new fluid, preventing air from leaking into the lines. Also the pivot point for the brake pedal needed to be redesign due to the incorrect use of washers, thus providing smoother function and better look.

Summary of Approach

First, I created a list of customer specifications which where converted into metrics. With the list of metrics in mind, a very extensive session of brainstorming developed plenty of design concepts, these concepts where narrowed down using design matrices, allowing the selection of the final prototype.

Summary of Results

The final prototype worked as expected and met all of the customer’s specifications. It is light, easy to make, cheap and reliable.

Lessons Learned

The brainstorming part of the design process is the most important part for design development. One might think that an idea is stupid and should not be examined, but in reality, that idea might give rise to other ideas and might lead to a solution. Close examination of all design concepts will lead to the best solution and give the path with fewer problems.

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