Welcome to the Driver Controls Subsystem! The driver controls subsystem in Formula SAE is crucial for the overall performance and safety of the vehicle. We '''connect the driver to the car,''' '''allowing them to stop, steer, and accelerate while minimizing fatigue and pain.''' We design the car to meet our driver's force capabilities while also maintaining drivability for the 5th percentile woman to 95th percentile man. We design, analyze, machine, and assemble over 40 custom components to complete this subsystem. Driver controls is a good place to learn basic and advanced mechanical engineering skills, such as mechanical design (SolidWorks CAD, GD&T, DFMA, MATLAB simulations), mechanical analysis (gears, bearings, fatigue, stress analysis, CAD, Ansys FEA), machining (lathe, mill, waterjet, CNC, CAM, etc.) *find machining resources in the CMA wiki section*, The subsystem is split into distinct sub-disciplines that interact with one another and other subsystems: steering, brakes, pedal box, seat, dashboard, shifter, and clutch.
<big>Welcome to the Driver Controls Subsystem! We are so glad to have you and are excited that you're interested in learning about the coolest subsystem on GTMS. Driver Controls is responsible for '''connecting the driver to the car,''' '''allowing them to stop, steer, and accelerate reliably and safety while minimizing fatigue and pain.'''</big>
== What is Ergonomics ==
<big>We design, analyze, machine, and assemble over 40 custom components to complete this subsystem. Driver controls is a good place to learn basic and advanced mechanical engineering skills. Below you will find the DC handbooks (with educational PPTs and information about each component), Ergonomic Analysis Page (with detailed ergonomic information), and pages with more detailed descriptions of the design process for individual parts</big>
For our car, Ergonomics deals with the '''driver's available force, fatigue, and visibility.'''
Every component that the subsystem designs has to be able to be operated by any driver. Some components, like the brakes, have to be operated for up to 15 minutes at a time for the endurance race. These are designed to use 60% of the driver's maximum effort, or 'tolerable effort'. Other components, like the clutch handle, only have to be operated at the beginning of the race to get the car rolling in 1st gear. For these, the driver's maximum effort is usable (but we try to remain well below). On the flip side, there are downsides to a car that is too easy to operate. A driver who doesn't feel adequate force feedback can easily oversteer or lock up the brakes and spin out We design all of our custom mechanical components, choose COTS options, and run simulations and tests to ensure that we build a racecar that takes just the right amount of effort to drive.
Along with force, the positioning of the components significantly impacts how fatigued a driver will become. This fatigue is different that material fatigue. Just like some car components will fail after a certain number of cycles, so too will our driver's ability to drive taper off. A steering wheel that is mounted too far from the driver, or a clutch handle that forces the arm to scrunch up raise the fatigue rating for those components. For some parts, the fatigue rating weighs more heavily, especially those used in out autocross and endurance races. The position of where everything sits in the car determines how a driver will maintain their effort and agility, especially the design of the vehicle's seat.
* [[DC Handbook]]
Visibility ensures that everything is in the right sphere of vision for the driver
Welcome to the Driver Controls Subsystem! We are so glad to have you and are excited that you're interested in learning about the coolest subsystem on GTMS. Driver Controls is responsible for connecting the driver to the car,allowing them to stop, steer, and accelerate reliably and safety while minimizing fatigue and pain.
We design, analyze, machine, and assemble over 40 custom components to complete this subsystem. Driver controls is a good place to learn basic and advanced mechanical engineering skills. Below you will find the DC handbooks (with educational PPTs and information about each component), Ergonomic Analysis Page (with detailed ergonomic information), and pages with more detailed descriptions of the design process for individual parts
