Momentum - April 2021 - 16

Student Generation
our designs was our goal. We included things like
short videos demonstrating moving parts, photos
of design progression, animations of CAD
models, and well-designed plots.
After several virtual sessions of practicing and
refining our presentation, the day finally came.
Though the whole " Zoom " thing was still new, the
call went smoothly and just as rehearsed. After
59 slides in 15 minutes, we were prepared for the
questions. A few weeks later, the final results
came in. We had won-first in the Presentation
Event and first Overall.
The recognition was gratifying, but even if the
results were different, I would still be proud of my
team's accomplishments. This competition and
my four years on the team taught me so much. I
learned many design, shop, and manufacturing
skills. I also grew in my communication,
leadership, and management skills through
presentations like that and working with the
team on a weekly basis.

Posing are team members who were able to go to the SAE Supermileage competition in
2019. At left is Dr. Larry Zavodney, who has been advising Cedarville's team 1993. In the
center is team leader Zack Bretz.

A NEW, DIFFERENT YEAR
This year looks a little different than the last, but
our commitment to giving full effort, no matter
the circumstances, remains. Though I've
graduated, my graduate school is in the area, and
I've been able to join the team for a workday here
and there. It's exciting to see the designs that I
created begin to materialize. The new team
members-especially the freshmen-have refined
and improved my designs.
The whole pandemic ordeal could also be
considered a blessing. The extra time of another
year of fabrication enabled the team to more
thoroughly and carefully manufacture designs
from the year before. Had we tried to get
everything done before competition last year, we
would have been rushed, which always increases
the chance of something going wrong. One
example is that this year we found a portion of
body skin delaminated at the seam, so the team
had to step back and repair it.
Like the rest of the world, restrictions are
prevalent. We're all wearing masks and keeping
our distance while we work around small car
parts. Quarantining is another unique challenge.
During the third week of classes, someone on the
body team developed symptoms and tested
positive, prompting the five of us to quarantine
and suspend in-lab work for the next couple
weeks. Similar instances have happened
throughout the year so far with subgroups who
work with each other. It is hard to make firm
deadlines due to the uncertainty of competitions,
current leader Brianna Ice pointed out.

16 April 2021

Sarah Kepner, a
freshman
mechanical
engineering
major, with her
newly machined
hinge arms, now
with tie rod ends
for precise
alignment.
LOOKING BACK
It has been a long journey no one could have predicted. Four years of senior
design teams produced our final ultra-low drag body design. It was another
year to make the body pattern, molds, and lower half, as well as design the
internals such as the frame, steering, suspension, and drivetrain. The next
year, the top half was not completed due to problems with the window
sizing. Though this past year was cut short, we made good progress to set
up the current year to finally finish Karcharias.
After only a virtual competition, I'm eager to get back on the track with a
completed car. n
Zachary Bretz, a recent graduate who majored in mechanical
engineering at Cedarville University, wrote this article
for MOMENTUM. He was team leader of the university's SAE
Supermileage team for the 2019-2020 academic year and
has taken up SAE International's invitation for recent
graduates to participate on their former teams. Bretz is
currently pursuing a master's degree at the Air Force
Institute of Technology.

MOMENTUM
Momentum - April 2021

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