Back to AutoCAD

This last week you have been using the Autodesk Inventor CAD program to design your Mag Lev cars. It is very apparent that many of you have forgotten how to do some of the things we did when we were doing the Race car designs. While you remember the basics for drawing, setting the measurements, and extruding, most of you have forgotten what comes after you create the basic form. That is, you have forgotten how to change a pre-made form into what you want. You have to create a new sketch on one face, draw the shape to remove, then use the extrude tool to cut it away.
After you have the basic block for the foam body of your Mag Lev car you must shape it. There are four things to consider:

1. There must be a place to attach the electric motor. Basically a notch that is an inch long and three quarters of an inch wide.
2. The propeller has a radius of just under two and a half inches. You must have clearance for the propeller to move freely. This is only a problem if you put the motor in the middle of your car.
3. You must be able to place the four magnets on the bottom of your car. Since the track is already made there is no wiggle room for how far apart on the sides you must go.
4. Your car must be shaped so that air can flow over it smoothly. To help you understand how the car would move we used the idea of a swampboat, but they are not shaped to move through the air, but on top of water. Think of a racing swampboat. If you shape you Mag Lev car like a racer with a swamp boat engine you've got the right idea.

What problems have you had in designing your Mag Lev car?