FSAE / Dyno Controller
[Formula SAE]
The Formula SAE is a project run at universities across the world. The objective is to build a small race car. On the team I've been responsible for electrical work, starting with a wiring harness for the engine. The following picture shows the engine with wiring harness, which uses mil-spec style connectors. The wiring harness itself is covered in heat-shrink tubing to protect it against oil, water, and other chemicals.
[Dyno Controller]
The big blue thing in the picture above is a dynamometer, used to tune the engine and measure performance. Dalhousie had an old controller for it that recently broke down, and due to other problems it was unlikely the new one was going to be installed for a while. To get around this I installed it for them. The following shows some pictures of the installation:
With this dyno controller I also added a remote start/stop for the engine. Previously you would have to have a control for the engine inside the test cell, generally can be dangerous!
As Dal has three dynos, a method of switching them was needed. A patch-panel is used where one large connector routes everything making it easy to switch dynos. This shows the internal connections of this connector, with a lot of heat-shrink used to ensure safe connections!
This shows the backside of the dyno controller. There are a number of cables routing signals around between the controller, power supply, test cell, emergency stop switches, etc etc.
Docuementation is always important! In this case especially since I'm a student and won't be around forever.