Missouri S&T Solar Car Team

Over the last week and a half the team has been hard at work building two wooden jigs.  The first jig was designed to hold and move the machining foam for the under body mold after being fitted together. This layout successfully cured and was loaded onto the trailer. We're scheduled to head out to Advanced Pattern Works tomorrow morning.  We are hoping to lay up the lower body before the third week of February. We have pictures on Facebook. Take a look!

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last several months. Please rest assured that the Missouri S&T Solar Car Team is still alive and kicking. 

Here at our new home in the Kummer Student Design Center we've been hard at work to construct the latest and greatest in solar-powered vehicles. 1800 pounds of machining foam donated by General Plastics Manufacturing Company is cut and nearly ready for shipping to Advanced Pattern Works, LLC. They will complete the shaping of the mold for the lower body and wheel fairings. We would like to thank both companies for shaving an incredible amount of time off of the construction of the lower body.

 

 

 

 

We would also like to give a special thanks to the Missouri S&T Formula SAE Team for their donation of solid titanium blocks. It will be put to good use in the front suspension, shaving weight and handling bigger bumps.  Our design for this year weighs in at a minuscule 300 pounds!  If all goes according to plan, this will not only be the lightest solar car in Missouri S&T history, but the lightest car to ever be raced in the American Solar Challenge.

If you haven't checked out January's edition of The Sunspot, take a look! We're going strong and don't want to lose momentum, so a February/March issue is in the works as well.

 

 

Then come join us at one of our informational meetings this week. 

The first will be held tomorrow, Wednesday August 31, at 7pm in Electrical Engineering G31.
The second meeting will be held on Thursday September 1, at 7pm in Electrical Engineering 111.

We will talk about the team's history, structure, and the plans for this year.  There will also be FREE pizza and soda at both meetings.

See you there!

The noticeable absence over the last 6 months will be ending soon.  Many updates to the site are in the works, as well as many other items.  We also would like to apologize for the absence of the sunspot newsletter for close to a year, and we will have a new one coming out in the next 2 months.

A general summary of what has happened since the last blog entry:

The team made it to Indy, after what became a difficult build process.  After working around the clock (several of us spent 48 hours over the weekends in April) to finish the car, we arrived in Indy during one of the coldest weeks possible.  Over the course of the week, SMVII survived a fire and a broken spindle, at least 2 team members injuring their left legs*, and then some uncooperative electronics.  By the final day, we were able to get onto the track, thanks to the help we recieved from our good friends from Principia College.  After 90 laps, the rear tire blew out, and the left kingpin snapped after SMVII spun around and stopped while facing the wrong way.  Overall, many of us learned alot which we are going to put to good use this year at the American Solar Challenge.

For the day to day updates of the event (with pictures), check out the Experience This blog.

*After a couple of days, a few of us realized that everything that went wrong (including injuries to one's self) happened on the left side.  No injuries were serious thanks to Sergeant Letha Young.

Now that the team is back from winter break (although a few members spent their time in Rolla), you can tell that there is going to be a solar car race soon.  Members are working diligently to finish modifications to Solar Miner VII and figure out who will be lucky* enough to drive around the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May.  But while the weather here in Missouri continues to drop snow on us one or two days each week, the team is finishing up new designs and analysis and then completing paperwork.


The month of February will see the solar car team making the plugs and molds for our new wheel fairings.  At the same time, SMVII's suspension will be modified to use new brakes and hubs.  While the chassis and body are getting their face-lift, the battery box will receive some slight modifications.  To help change up the weight distribution, more batteries will face the front of the car.  And to help our modules stay at a nice temperature, the box is going to have two powerful fans pushing air through, controlled by a new board designed over winter break (I will post pictures once the boards are assembled).

*Lucky enough to be under 6' 0" tall and be flexible enough to egress.