Toyota Racing Development
Vehicle Systems Engineering Intern, Summer 2024
Upon accepting this internship, I signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I unfortunately do not have any media to accompany my project descriptions. I will explain my summer internship projects as specifically as I can. I was on the Vehicle Systems Engineering team for Toyota Racing Development’s GR Corolla test car program in Mooresville, NC.
Main Project 1: Encoder Wheel Speed & Signal Tester
My first large project was to create a self-contained system for testing encoder wheels, which are gears that attach to axles in the car whose signal output on an oscilloscope can be measured to monitor activity in the drive train. I designed a benchtop mechatronic box, whose frame was entirely 3D printed out of carbon fiber-reinforced nylon, that controlled the speed of a high-power motor and showed the RPM for wheel testing. The box also included magnetically attached arms to hold the sensors up to the wheel. The system could be entirely powered by a single 12V supply and included power breakouts for the sensors.
To wrap up my project, I organized all of the resources, including CAD files, Arduino code, and PCB designs, and wrote comprehensive documentation explaining how to use, service, repair, troubleshoot, and even remake the system, with the goal of it surviving and being useful far beyond my internship term.
Main Project 2: Thermal Model for Track Tests
My second large project, which I was assigned because I asked for it after I overheard my manager discussing the need for it with another engineer, was to complete and integrate a thermal model for the clutch packs in the car’s rear differential. The temperature of this component couldn’t be modeled directly, but it was important to know during runs of the car on test tracks. I was given a Toyota document with specs and basic thermal properties of the component in question, and my job was to finish the model and make it into code that ran the input variables through the model. My final MATLAB script scraped relevant data from the Bosch Motorsport data collection software we used, ran the model to generate an array of the temperature of the clutch packs vs. time, and plugged the new simulated data back into the software to be compared to other measured quantities. I also tested edge cases and known cases to ensure the model was correct.
Other Projects
As a part of the systems engineering team, the two- to three-week testing cycle often led to small problems and needs arising. Between tests, some smaller projects I completed include:
Designing mounts for breakers in the main chassis electronic harness
Designing an attachment to divert wires in the rear hatch away from the attachment point of the rear fin
Making the steering harness for the GR Corolla test car
Characterizing the engine fan input/output properties
Skills: CAD (Solidworks), 3D printing, rapid prototyping, electronics, PCB design, machining, design to specifications, material/part sourcing, test engineering, MATLAB, thermodynamics, integration of multiple different types of software