June 1, 2010
From design and manufacturing limits, to team management and decision-making, this year’s Formula SAE® Competition in Michigan exposed team captain Wade McKain ’10, of Elizabethtown, Pa., and the rest of his YCP Racing Team to valuable real world applications of mechanical engineering.
“The competition made us, as future engineers, design our vehicle to safety regulations set forth by SAE,” said McKain. “Not only were we given the chance to design a high performance vehicle, we also learned as we built, tested and competed against more than 100 teams worldwide. All in all, we did a lot more than build a go-kart; we represented York College and ourselves in an international competition and were given the chance to display our engineering talents.”
The team of 10 students, along with faculty advisors Stephen Kuchnicki, PhD, and Jennifer Dawson, PhD, traveled to Michigan International Speedway to compete in the Formula SAE ® Michigan from May 12-15. Formula SAE® is a student design competition organized by SAE International.
The competition was the senior design capstone project for YCP mechanical engineering students in which students applied the technical skills they learned in their studies and co-op experiences to a real-world design problem.
During the Formula SAE competition, McKain drove the race car in the acceleration and autocross events.
“During the acceleration event I drove up to the starting line and waited for the green flag,” he said. “Once waved, I revved the engine, engaged the launch control button and let out the clutch. From there it was 82 yards in less than 4.5 seconds, shifting through the gears.”
The second event McKain competed in was the endurance event in which the vehicles are pressed to their limits. McKain was the second driver of the event, following Dillon Mason ’10, of South Riding, Va. After Mason completed his 14 laps he came to the pits, shut off the engine and McKain was harnessed into the seat.
“From there I restarted our vehicle and began the second leg of the race,” said McKain. “Being able to partake in this event was rewarding as I was able to drive the vehicle 10 of the mechanical engineers at York College designed, analyzed and built.”
Entering the event the team acknowledged the weak point of the vehicle to be the rear drive hubs. Unfortunately during McKain’s 7th lap in the endurance event, one of the drive hubs reached its limit and failed. According to McKain, although the team was unable to complete the event, their race car did make it farther than most of the other cars.
“We were able to leave the competition with lessons learned and knowledge gained,” McKain added.
To learn more about YCP Racing and to get a list of this year's team members, click on the YCP Racing link.
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