Motoring To Glory

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