Roaring with achievement: MASTA aids Chico State Racing Team
Once again, SMT is delighted to recently sponsor the Chico State Racing Team for the Baja SAE Oregon competition during the 2018-2019 academic year.
The objective of this competition is to provide SAE student members from around the world, with a challenging project that involved design, planning and manufacturing tasks, in order to build an off-road vehicle that would survive the severe punishment of rough terrain. Each team was supplied with the same unmodified Briggs and Stratton single-cylinder engine, meaning that the real test came with the creation and implementation of the gearbox.
By having access to SMT’s innovative and pioneering MASTA software, the team were able to streamline and refine their design, analysis and manufacturing processes, which resulted in them building a gearbox that they were confident would stand up to the tough challenges that the vehicle would face.
Edgar Leon of the Chico State Racing Team said, “MASTA has been instrumental in our design of the 18-19 gearbox. Having the opportunity to return for a second year as gearbox lead and being able to take everything we’ve learned from the previous iteration, the team has been able to optimise our third gearbox in even more innovative ways! The continued ability to analyse the shafts, gears, and bearings all at once has streamlined the process to validate our design. This ultimately led to a reduction in weight of 28% helping us achieve an 8.7lb gearbox finally breaking the threshold of a sub 10lb gearbox where all the top teams sit.
The Chico State Racing Team has been honoured to have the opportunity to work with MASTA for three years. This has helped us achieve our best ever results in the 2019 competition achieving a second-place finish in acceleration, suspension and overall dynamic day out of 100 teams! Without the continued support from SMT, our drivetrain would not be as successful as it is today!”
SMT would like to congratulate the team on winning their their second-place stand on the podium. We are very proud of their achievements and we look forward to seeing where their next competition takes them.
