[Jialichuang]
Hello Teacher Zhuo, I am a participant from last year’s competition, and I have graduated this year. I am very happy to see the collaboration between smart cars and Jialichuang this year. Because the era of outsourcing PCB production is coming to an end. I have also participated in related training camps organized by Jialichuang, and they have a lot of experience in reviewing similar boards. Next, I would like to propose several levels of standards for PCB review:
1. The first type (relatively lenient): Every engineering file from creation, drawing to PCB production is completed at Jialichuang (the team leader’s Jialichuang account is filled in during registration). Therefore, it can be reviewed whether their engineering files are made step by step, as it is impossible for an engineering file to be completed overnight (unless it is copied and pasted).
2. The second type (based on the first): A review of the similarity of the PCB files produced. If the similarity with already produced PCBs exceeds a certain value, it is determined to be similar.
3. The third type (most stringent): Not only reviewing the similarity of PCB files but also reviewing the similarity of the schematic diagrams of the engineering files.
Based on my years of experience using Jialichuang’s discount coupons, I believe Jialichuang has the capability to meet the above requirements.
Finally, I hope that the smart car competition continues to improve, and that Jialichuang thrives.
[Car Model Weight]
Hello Teacher Zhuo, is the weight penalty parameter for the micro group a bit too large? The completion time for the 20th micro electromagnetic competition was only over thirty seconds, and if we add the weight penalty, the time could reach fifty to sixty seconds, which is longer than the actual running time. Isn’t this a bit misplaced, as the weight factor is much more significant than the vehicle tuning factor?
Moreover, reducing weight has diminishing returns; the more weight is reduced, the more expensive it becomes to buy lighter motors and customize lighter chassis. In the end, every gram saved incurs a high cost. Doesn’t this contradict the goal of this year’s smart car competition to reduce commercialization and avoid becoming a money-burning contest?
Perhaps setting this weight penalty parameter a bit lower would be more reasonable, such as setting it to 0.01 or 0.02. Alternatively, a tiered parameter could be established, where no penalty is applied for weights under 300 grams, and for weights between 300 and 400 grams, a penalty of 0.05 is applied, and for weights between 400 and 500 grams, a penalty of 0.07 is applied… and so on. This way, it can ensure weight reduction while also reducing extreme financial competition. Thank you, Teacher Zhuo.
[Competition Suggestions]
Hello Teacher Zhuo, I watched the rules for the 21st smart car competition yesterday and have a few small suggestions that I hope you can consider.
The impact of weight on time in the micro group is too great; I hope it can be reduced. I personally believe that 50g/1s or even smaller would be more suitable.
Recently, the micro group has become the main track for self-made car models, and many people are spending a lot of effort on motors, purchasing expensive imported motors (some have already started reselling Japanese imported motors to smart car players), which is not conducive to the low-cost and fairness of smart cars. I hope there can be some regulations on motor models.
Regarding the Leapfrog and Crazy Circuit groups, I believe the main control units for these two groups can be changed. The small size of the cyt2bl3 would be more suitable for the Crazy Circuit group, while the tc377 and tc386, with their multi-pin strong performance, have a smaller area compared to the cyt4bb7, making them more suitable for drone production.
The Leapfrog group could restrict certain vehicle types (such as Mecanum wheel cars) to encourage more thinking among students.
The Horse Racing group overlaps too much with last year’s 20th dual-car group. The development of three-wheeled cars has reached a certain level, and I hope some modifications can be made (such as prohibiting negative pressure or adding image recognition for special processing, like determining whether to enter a ring based on seeing a specific image).
These are some of my thoughts after reading the draft rules for the 21st competition. I hope Teacher Zhuo can consider them. Thank you!
[A Few Thoughts]
Thank you, Teacher, for taking the time to read my suggestions. Here are my recommendations:
1. Regarding the bumps in the third subject of the wheel-leg category, could we change it to rounded edge bumps? Given the motion characteristics of the wheel-leg, using the bumps from the 20th rapid off-road competition may not be appropriate.
2. For the fourth subject, the Dragon Gate leap, can the car model withstand such a large energy impact?
3. Will there be specific constraints on the size of the car model? If there are no requirements, the wheel-leg can completely refer to RM.
4. Teacher Zhuo, have you noticed that Shaanxi is missing?
[Jialichuang PCB Issues]
Hello Teacher Zhuo, after reading the rules for the 21st smart car competition, I found an issue regarding Jialichuang’s free PCB prototyping. The requirement for Jialichuang’s free PCB prototyping is 10*10cm, but when I was drawing this year’s micro group PCB last night, I found it exceeded the length (width did not exceed). When I exported the Gerber file and uploaded it for price estimation, I found it was over 200 yuan (because it is a four-layer board). Seeing this price, I felt it was a bit expensive, so I purchased a prototyping coupon from another board manufacturer (which does not limit length but restricts board area) for only 7 yuan [facepalm][facepalm][facepalm]. In such cases, for students who are just starting with circuit design, is the price too high, or is there a better solution? I hope Teacher Zhuo can consider this and provide a solution [rose].
[Weight Issues]
Hello Teacher Zhuo, I hope the weight requirements for the micro group can be readjusted. Here are some of my thoughts. I am a participant in the 20th micro electromagnetic competition and have deeply experienced the innovative structural requirements of the micro group. This year, the weight is linked to performance, which will significantly impact the motors. If the current rules are followed, many participants will seek to purchase expensive imported motors. Reducing weight will greatly affect the performance of competitors, and it may turn into an arms race where those who buy lighter, more expensive motors will have a significant advantage. This is not conducive to this year’s direction, and simply lowering the coefficient will not solve the problem. Even if the coefficient is reduced to 0.01, if a high-priced motor can save 20 grams, that would still result in a 0.2-second advantage, which could lead to different outcomes. I suggest the organizing committee specify a few motor models. Although this may go against the original intention of complete self-manufacturing, I still hope the organizing committee can consider it. Thank you.