Shiraz and I worked on fabricating pieces of steel to cover
exposed areas around the battery box. It was a fairly simple design process
that required us to mock up the measurements on cardboard first then trace them
onto steel. Soon after, John Long and James Moudry accompanied us to the
machinist shop where they observed Joey cut the 1/8th inch steel
with plasma torch. I was proud to have the head of school and Mr. Moudry visit
Humble, since they have been so supportive of the project. The steel cut outs
left an outline of hardened steel called “slag.” Max put in a great amount of
effort grinding off the slag, and He also helped change the curve of the fabricated
pieces, which took several hours. Meanwhile, Alex was involved in a solo
project to design the steel box and mounts for the vehicle’s controller. He and
Calvin created the box so that it would not need to be machine cut and folded,
but instead, hand built. I was truly impressed considering they were working
with very rigid steel. I think this is a testament to the power of the design
process and how much work an ingenious design can save you.
Later in the day I was assigned to grind off surface sections
of the car frame, so we could get a clean weld for our engine mounts which
would provide additional structural support for our motor. I have no difficulty
using the power grinder, but I was put off by the idea that I would be on my
back under the car using the power tool. Bear in mind these grinders spit jets
of sparks. I remembered something a
teacher said on one of the Odyssey trips, “growth comes from leaving your
comfort zone.” The advice gave me the motivation I needed to go through with
the task.
Throughout the day Adam welded the car mounts we created to
the battery box. In the afternoon the welding caught part of the undercoating
of the car on fire, but it was quickly extinguished with no harm done. Alex
also welded today, in order to reinforce his controller box.
All in all, today was not our busiest day, but a great amount
of progress was made on the car, and all of us refined our metal working and
design skills.
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