Williams Senior Project

  Will McLaughlin Weekly Reflection #1 Senior Project 2022 May 22, 2022 Weekly Reflection There are many things that I have learned throughout this week. I wanted to first write about how I learned to plan my activities accordingly to the deadline. I would not say that I started off or worked slowly, but as my time ticked down, I realized how what I completed during a day affected each following workday. When I started I would work on an aspect of my go-kart, such as steering, and not complete the last finishing touches. This led me to have to take time out of my next day to finish up my previous day's work, cutting down on the time I had that day. I definitely have enjoyed what I am doing. Not everything has really gone as planned for sure. I thought that certain things such as my throttle and brake assemblies would not take as much time as they did. And other things like steering would take longer. This definitely threw off my planning, but I made sure to re-work it quickly. It...

Hours Completed Today: 5 Total Hours Completed: 31 Tuesday, May 24th Today was an exciting day as It was the first driving test of my go-kart. Before I tested the go-kart I had to tweak a few more things. The plywood mount for my seat's bolt pattern did not correctly line up with the holes on my frame. So I had to cut out flat stock and create a new mounting setup on my frame which took a lot of time. Gordon also recommended that I add a stop for the throttle so that when I apply full gas I am not stripping the cable. I also created a bracket next to my steering column for my kill switch (the switch that turns the engine off) so that I am able to turn the go-kart off in case of an emergency. Gordon, Cam, Maintenance, and I all prepared for the test of the kart. We first ran the kart on a wooden riser so the rear wheels did not touch the ground, allowing us to apply throttle without the kart moving. After breaking in the engine I hoped in for the first test. I drove it around the Ma...

Hours Completed Today: 4 Total Hours Completed: 26 May 23, Monday  As my Kart is close to being finished there were a few things Gordan and I wanted to fix. First Gordon helped me re-work my brakes. This meant completely welding off where my brakes attached. Then welding on a new bar for the brake clamp to hold on to. I also worked with Greg in the woodshop on making a plywood mount for my seat covers. This meant cutting out the correct size sheet and also drilling holes so that I can use 1/4 in bolts to mount the plywood to my frame. 

Hours Completed Today: 4 Total Hours Completed: 22 May 21, Saturday Today I had to finish up the work on my spindles that Sayer had started. This meant cutting and drilling new pieces. Gordon also helped me with widening the hole that my bolt for my spindle goes into. This is to help lessen the stress put on the pieces when turning. I realized that the slot I milled into my throttle cable holder was on the incorrect side. So I had to make another channel. I also created my seat cushions. This was done with foam, fake leather, and cutouts.                                                                      New Spindles Seat Cushions

Hours Completed Today: 4 Total Hours Completed: 18 Friday, May 20th My throttle cable started to fray. So I took it off the engine and sotered it so I would not fray again. I got some help from Sayer who cut down my front spindles because the front of my kart rides too high. I also had to mill a channel into my throttle cable holder so that the cable would not slip out under high tension. This took a lot of time because you have to cut very slowly when using the mill to not break a bit. Milling Front Spindle

Total Hours Today: 4 Total Hours Completed: 14 Thursday, May 19th Today I spent most of my time fixing what I did yesterday. I had to redo my brake and throttle setup. This means that I had to re-weld everything as well. I also planned a few things out for the future. I had not gotten to my seat as quickly as I thought I would and I ended up redesigning that as well.

 Total Hours Done Today 3 Total Hours Completed 10 Today I worked on getting my throttle and brake pedals attached to my frame. I did this by clamping the pedals down and welding them to the frame. I had to figure out a way to get my cables attached from my pedals to my engine. I fabricated the hardware for that. I also spent some time cleaning up my previous welds which were not up to my standard.

Total Hours Completed: 7 Total Hours Today: 4 Tuesday, May 17th Today I drilled out my mounting plate for my engine. The original holes I drilled which take the bolts from my engine were not perfect, so I had to re-drill them. It was hard since my plate was already welded to the frame. So I had to use a hand drill, then zip-wheel the remaining metal. After that, I made sure to check that my engine mounted. And it did. I also drew up a 1:1 scale of my seat. Which I will cut out of sheet metal. That will be done tomorrow. 

Monday, May 16, 2022 7:41pm Blog #1  Total Hours Done: 3 Hours Done Today: 3 Today I finished the steering on my go-kart. Previously the steering column was tilted slightly to the left causing issues. I cut it off and rewelded it perfectly center. An issue arose, the front of my go-kart is marginally higher than the rear. Although this is not detrimental, it can be fixed in the future. I also welded my steering wheel to the steering column, which was hard because I had to cut down the column so it was at the correct height. I am planning on getting my brakes put on. As well as my gas pedal.