Motoring To Glory
Written on July 5th, 2018 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}How do you think our team will fare at the Mega-ATV competition?
I think the team will do really well. We’re more than halfway through
and only the suspension is left to be completed.We’ll finish the ATV
inthe next five days, test itin the following 3 days and then we’ll kick
ass at the competition, which is on the 24-26th February, 2018. This is
only the 3rd edition of the Mega ATV competition, so not all the teams
that participate in Baja participate in this competition. So I think our
chances are pretty good.
What is the total cost of building an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV)? How do you raise money for building the ATV?
If you build one from scratch, it’ll cost you approximately ₹6 lakhs.
Last year, we already had the engine, the gearbox and a few other
parts, so it cost us approximately ₹4 lakhs. We shelled out ₹30,000 per
person and we managed to make do. However, this time we had to buy new
components again. We’re working on finding sponsorship. Also, the SU
sanctioned ₹40,000 for us, but we’re still waiting for that money to
come through.
Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve the technical culture on our campus?
Previously we used to pool money to go articipate in competitions.
Now, we plan on forming a design club which will take up designing
projects from companies and websites like Cad Crowd. Then we’ll use the
money we earn to fund other projects on campus.
What is your vision for SAE’s future?
We’d first like to establish a design club within SAE and start
taking up projects from outside. Then we were thinking of delving into
research work - SAE provides a lot of scholarships. If you do some
quality research, you could get upto $15000 per year as scholarship.
Also, next year onwards, we won’t induct all 24 members based on their
technical knowledge. We’ll also induct a few members for sponsorship and
management as well. I’m sure SAE has progress in store. Each year our
knowledge is refined by past experience, and an increasingly better
team.
How would you describe your experience as a part of Team Vulcan?
One of the best things about Vulcan is that it’s not just about the
results. It’s about how much you learnt and grew along the way. You gain
leadership skills as well. In my first year I’d dismissed it as just
another technical club. But in my second year I realised that Vulcan
also tests your leadership and soft skills. You have to get your entire
team to work, and also have to look at how you can draw sponsors, and
what direction the society is heading toward.
How did you get the expertise for designing an ATV for the competition?
Aditya Narayan was the design head when I joined SAE in my first
year. After him, Vashisht took over the designing role, and now we have
Pranjal Shukla and Shaaban Karim who are handling the design. It’s a
process of passing knowledge from one batch to the next. It’s not just a
two-step process of designing the ATV on CAD and then building it.
There is a lot of back and forth between the designers and the builders.
What is Team Vulcan’s reputation on campus?
Most people on campus are in the dark about Team Vulcan. In my first
year, even I didn’t know much about the team. However, of late, I’ve
heard my juniors say that a lot of people have been very appreciative of
the long hours that we’ve been putting in at the workshop.
What will strengthen your position or possibly take you higher in competitions each year?
We have seen a really encouraging turnout for the recent inductions.
We really hope to escalate our endeavours by each passing year. We hope
to draw the best people from mechanical, manufacturing and physics.
Making another ATV for Baja is on the cards for us. We’re planning to
hold inductions for that after the mid-semester exams.
Is there any message you’d like to give everyone on campus?
I am just a representative of Team Vulcan and we would never have
made it this far without the collaboration of our teammates. Fresh
inductees have been adding renewed vigour and past members have left us
with a platform for further progress. The efforts of Pranjal Shukla,
Nikhil Mishra, Shaaban Karim, Manjeet Budania, Sanika Khadkikar, Utkarsh
Rastogi, Vedanth Narayan, Gautam Tota, Prathmesh Jagtap, Ajith Reddy,
Konark Joshi, Aditya Vashisth, Ankur Indauliya have been instrumental in
getting us to where we are today. I really hope I’m not missing any
names. :)
Interviewed by Mohammed Burk & Anirudh Sreevastav