The Little Things

The past week has been filled with all of the little tasks that need to be accomplished in order for the work on the plug to be completed. Saturday, Nick, Tim, and myself worked on installing lighting and paper flooring for the spray tent. We also hosted tours for prospective Broncos. Several more layers of the release agent we placed on the plug, including what we hope to be the final layer, which was added tonight.

The meeting got off to a slow start, but soon the team found direction. Nick and Dr. Kapenga gave the entire team updates about progress and goals on both the mechanical and electrical sides of the project. Once the Sparky's (Nick's name for the electrical team) headed up to their lab, the rest of us set to work on preparing the lab for the work to come in the next few weeks. The spray tent's wiring was worked on, the plug was test fitted into it, and the floor and walls were re-papered. Extra pieces of plastic were cut and installed to finish sealing gaps in the roof panels.

Meanwhile, Tim and a few other members made a run to the hardware to purchase plywood sheets for the table. After they cut them to size and installed them, the entire team helped as the plug was carefully placed onto it. Another side project that fell into Megan's hands was the task of creating a small collage of photos on the lab door. It turned out great, and we hope it helps create a little buzz on campus, as we rapidly approach our deadline for completion.


Bronco Pride,
Joshua

Visible Progress

The past week has shown signs of progress for the team. The make-shift ventilation shaft for the sanding tent had filters installed, making the tent safe for its intended use. The holes in the plug were completed and the PVC pipes were installed for the mold release system. Nick, Mitch and myself spent time Monday giving the mold a delicate sanding to remove any imperfections and prepare it for the first coating of release film, which Nick then applied on Tuesday night.

Tonight saw much of the same. Before the work began, Abe took pictures of each team member so we can make a visual roster of the team. Mitch, Megan, and Tim worked on attaching casters to the table so the plug can simply be rolled around the shop. Nick and Byron placed another coat of the release film on the plug. They also got a visit from an expert on the fabrication process. I began making measurements for the plastic screen that will seal off the spray booth, which will hopefully be ready for use by next week. Byron, among other tasks around the lab, started thinking about building the manifold that will feed the PVC exhaust system.

Last Saturday, WMU hosted informational tours for grade school kids. I set up a booth in the Bernhard Center and spoke to the kids about the Sunseeker project. Their interest in the car was absolutely astounding! It was very fun to interact with these kids and explain the basics behind the team and the car. And a quick thanks to Scot Conant for helping me get the display ready for the kids.

Bronco Pride,
Joshua

Spring semseter begins

Work in the lab has resumed. Nick and Tim began the work last Friday and Saturday by working on assembling parts of the spray booth. On Sunday and Monday, several more of us came out to help test fit the pieces and begin making adjustments to them.

Today was the first official meeting of the semester. Nick began the night by laying out the time line for this semester. We now have tentative deadlines by which we should have different aspects of the build completed, including having a fully functional vehicle. Once the formalities were taken care of, the electrical team moved to the electronics lab to continue their many projects, while the rest of us prepared for another shift of manual labor.

Tim briefed us on the work for the night. 3 different tasks were in need of being accomplished and soon everyone was at work. Abe, assisted by Tim, Nick, and Alex began drilling holes in the plug for a ventilation system. Mitch, Megan, and Mike began tearing the old table apart so that they can build 2 smaller, portable tables for moving the plug around the shop. I worked on the spray booth and it is now ready to be installed.


Bronco Pride,
Joshua

And on the third day...

Monday was a quiet day in the lab. I was the only person that was able to make it in, but progress was still made. Before coming to the lab, I searched around town for a store that carried a spackling compound recommended to us by Dr. Engelmann. After I found it, I returned to the lab and applied it to the boards for our spray booth. The boards also received a final coating of paint. While the paint dried, I began hand sanding the entire outside edge of the plug so that the chamfer meets cleanly with the edge of the sculpted part of the plug.

Happy Holidays from all of us here at Sunseeker!

Bronco Pride,
Joshua

Work Day Deux

Josh and I worked on finishing up a few of the projects and making small changes to them. Josh fitted the last roof section and I put some primer on the 1x8 boards. We did some more cleaning for Doc's younger son's birthday party. I think he was having a good time because when we left they were laughing and yelling in the lab. More planning was done for this week.

Bronco Pride,
Nick

First Work Day of the Break

Josh, Hau, Byron and myself made a lot of progress in the lab today. Josh and Hau figured out the last critical measurements for the booth and assembly frame. At the same time Bryon and I added the chamfer to the edge of the plug. I started with a rough cut to get most of the material away. Byron came after and sanded it smooth. We manged to get all of the roof sections done except for one. Of course that is the one that will be the hardest to set in place. Byron sanded the boards and prept them for tomorrow's initial coating of paint and filler.

Bronco Pride,
Nick

Special Delivery

The road conditions finally gave the team the opportunity it needed. Saturday morning Abe, Keith, Nick, and myself made the hour long drive north to Grand Rapids. At about 8:30am, after cleaning off the van and making sure everything else was ready to go, we hit the road. An hour later, we pulled into the parking lot of Van's Pattern, where Mitch was waiting for us. It was a very unassuming building from the outside, but the interior was absolutely amazing! After a quick tour of the workshop, we were shown our plug. It was amazing to see it in person! Our greatest appreciation goes out to the employees of Van's for helping to make our project come to life. We quickly loaded up the plug, make sure it was secure for the trip, and then headed home. To our great relief, the plug now sits safe and sound in the lab, waiting for the fabrication process to begin.

Bronco Pride,
Joshua

Delayed

The lab was rather quite Tuesday night due to a lack of work to be done. The trip planned for last Friday to pick up the plug from Grand Rapids had to be canceled due to poor road conditions, and this has caused obvious delays in progress. We have rescheduled for later this week but the approaching storm may once again cause us grief.

The team members spent last night doing a few odd jobs around the lab. The table inside the sanding tent was cleared off. A few last solar panels were sanded down, washed, and boxed for the electrical team. (This time we really do have them all done!) A little more progress was made on the spray tent's frame. The major highlight of the night though was the installation of the ventilation duct for the sanding tent. Using 3 sheets of stiff, foam insulation, a few rolls of duct tape, and a wooden pallet, several team members built an impressive duct from the sanding tent to the nearby ventilation shaft. It is a perfect example of "duct tape engineering". It may not look pretty but it works remarkably well!

After that was all said and done, those few members that were still present gave the shop a quick cleaning. Some discussion was held about the cosmetic's of the new car, and the plans for the team during Winter Break. Since finals are next week, the team is not planning any more meetings for the semester. But work on the car will not stop by any means. Once finals week ends, some team members will return to the lab and make up ground by putting in longer work shifts over the break, but this will be discussed more in next week's post. Until then, good luck to all students on finals!

Bronco Pride,
Joshua

Prep Work

What a busy day! Tuesday night showed a great turnout as we made some final preparations for the plug's arrival. The plastic screen around the tent was sealed and hopefully we will have a ventilation duct for the tent pieced together soon. The large trailer was given some quick modifications for the trip up to Grand Rapids to pick up the foam plug from our friends at Van's Pattern Corp. (Hopefully the added support will provide enough stability and protection for the trip back!!!) Several team members spent most of the work shift down in the machine shop trimming some 2x4's. The boards will be used to build a temporary addition to the ventilation hood. Meanwhile, the electrical team was busy making themselves familiar with the code that ran previous cars. Now they will begin the intensive process of modifying and rewriting the codes for use in this year vehicle.

While we were finishing up the boards, a few members sitting in the Plastics Lab got in the festive spirit and hung colored lights on our tent. We got so much work done last night that Nick actually ran out of jobs for us. This is a great thing though, because it lets us know that we are ready to move forward with the project. More updates will come as the team goes into full production mode in these next few weeks as we try and meet our goal of having the lower half of the car body made before 2009 comes to a close.

Bronco Pride,
Joshua

Crazy Week

This week we mixed things up a bit. Due to the Thanksgiving Break that began today and the Tuesday Night game against Ball State, we decided to hold our build session on Monday night. This caused quite a few schedule issues and only a handful of members were able to come out and help. We focused on finishing up the cells and even though we were short handed, the job got done. We also spent some time thinking about how we are going to set up the lab in the coming weeks in order to make the job of fabricating the body easier on all of us. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Bronco Pride,
Joshua