For our Me240 car, we didn't really have an inspiration. We were just messing around and were delighted to have a space cow as our car. Our Lehigh members also liked the idea, so we went with it.
Team 7: That Group
 Concept Sketch |  Vehicle GeometrySolidWorks CAD rendering of the vehicle concept. The CAD geometry will be used to create the cavities in the injection mold plate inserts. Wheels and a color scheme have been added for show. |  3D Prototype3D Printed Part created on a Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) machine. The prototype is printed directly from the CAD model file much like a page is printed from a document. In this case the FDM is printed in three dimensions, in very thin layers from the bottom up. The prototype can be used to assess the size and design features of the vehicle as well as to test out some paint schemes. One could even attach wheels to get an idea of the overall look and speed of the vehicle. |
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 Aluminum MoldThe finished mold plates have been machined on the HAAS NC milling machine and are ready to be mounted in the injection molding machine. Note the small holes in the mold cavity. The holes will be fitted with ejector pins used to eject the cooled part from the cavity at the end of the molding process. |  Molded VehicleThe image shows the "as-molded" vehicle as it was ejected from the mold following the injection molding process. Note that the vehicle is still attached to the runner system and is the color of the plastic used to mold it. Once removed from the runners, the vehicle is ready for assembly and paint. |  Race VehicleFinally, the car has been painted and the wheels have been attached. Weight may be added to the actual race vehicle to bring it up to the maximum weight limit of 40 grams. After that, the vehicle is ready for some trial runs on the practice track. |