After acquiring all the supplies and materials needed to begin constructing the solar sprint car, the design of the car needed to be rethought with everything in mind. Due to the flexibility constraints of balsa wood, the previously proposed curved body design needed to be modified. Although modification needed to take place, the same parameters needed to be kept in mind. Frontal area and the mass of the sprint car need to be minimized. Before, these parameters were minimized by using balsa wood and making a sleek body. However, the lack of flexibility and fragile nature of the balsa wood restricted the ability to craft round parts. This spurred the creation of a new design with a smaller mass and smaller frontal area. The new design consists of a chassis and a body that presents nearly no frontal surface area. The only frontal surface area will consist of a support structure for the solar panel, the motor, and the can that must be carried. This alternate design is very effective because it also minimizes the mass of the entire vehicle by using less materials.
Front view of new car design.
Side view of new car design
Top view of new car design
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| Figure 1: Initial chassis base design, front view. [1] |
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| Figure 2: Initial chassis base design, orthogonal view. [2] |
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| Figure 3: Initial chassis base design, top view. [3] |
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