Splashguard

 For the 2022-23 season of Olin’s Baja SAE team, I designed and manufactured the splashguard for the car. Baja SAE is Olin’s competitive vehicle team, which designs and builds an off-road car from scratch every year. The splashguard aims to fit in between the fuel tank and the engine to prevent fuel from getting on the engine and starting a fire. It must also fit within the back of the chassis and be at a downward angle, as SAE technical specifications require zero fuel build-up or pooling in the sheet metal part. 

I used the sheet metal modeling tools in SolidWorks to design the splashguard. I worked closely with the rest of the Chassis Systems sub-team to ensure that my part would fit seamlessly within the chassis and not interfere with a larger engine designed for 4-wheel drive. After researching previous years’ splashguards and analyzing their performance, I noticed that the water would wrap around the metal and fall toward the engine. I iterated on past designs and added a front flap at a more downward-facing angle than the rest of the part so that the fuel would fall directly off the splashguard. 

When manufacturing the splashguard, I used sheet metal sheets and finger breaks to manipulate the sheet metal. I attached it to the car using rivets and aluminum tape to ensure a watertight seal.