What is Baja SAE?
Baja SAE is a collegiate design competition organized by SAE International. Every year, this competition draws hundreds of schools from around the world to three competitions at the end of the academic year. The competition requires students to design, fabricate, test, and compete with a unique single-seat, Baja styled, off-road car powered by a 10hp Briggs & Stratton engine. The premise for the competition is that students build a prototype off-road recreational vehicle that is being pitched to industry leading companies looking to begin series production. During the competition, students' engineering is put to the test by a series of static and dynamic events. There are also design and sales presentations where students validate and explain their design choices for the car.
You can learn more here: https://www.sae.org/attend/student-events/
Baja SAE at the University of Arizona
The Wildcat Baja Racing Team began as a senior design project in 1993 and expanded into a university-wide club in 2006. It grew to incorporate a high school internship program in 2009. The team has represented the university well in past competitions with many top 20 finishes in the dynamics and endurance events, and placed 12th overall during the 2012 season.
Each year, the vehicle is redesigned entirely by students who want to take their knowledge from the classroom and apply it to a more hands-on experience. Using technical skills developed in the classroom, club members use Computer Aided Design (CAD) solutions, such as SolidWorks, to model the parts of the vehicle and perform Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The team manufactures most of its own parts with mills, CNC equipment, band saws, welders, and more. The car's design is highly collaborative, as students complete design presentations in the first semester to share their ideas and integrated solutions.
Once the design for the car is finalized, the manufacturing and assembly of the car begins. Club members are given a unique opportunity to not only manufacture their own parts in the SAE shop, but also interact with sponsors and partner companies to supply and fabricate components for the car.
Baja SAE at the University of Arizona aims to supplement the knowledge acquired in the classroom with real world experience throughout all stages of the engineering design process.
No prior experience with vehicle design or fabrication is necessary. All we ask is that members come with an open mind and be ready to learn!