Design and Optimization of a Baja SAE Gearbox

The goal of this Senior Project was to design and optimize a gearbox for the 2019-2020 Union College Baja SAE Vehicle. Baja SAE is a competition put on by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in which college students from all around the world design, build, and compete one seat off-road vehicles against each other. I have previously designed a gearbox for the 2018-2019 Union College car but did not have the ability or resources to fully optimize and analyze all aspects. Though the 2018-2019 was the fastest car in Union Baja SAE history, the team felt like it lacked low end torque.To mitigate this problem, a deeper analysis of the gearbox and drivetrain, as well as the car as a whole, was undertaken. The resulting design optimized gear ratio, minimized the weight of the gearbox and employed advanced manufacturing methods to produce the custom low weight gears.