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Say hello to this years Solar Car Team! We're starting off with a clean slate and a whole lot of energy and optimism! We plan to finish Solar Miner VIII for the 2013 Formula Sun Grand Prix next October. In addition, we are also working on the designs for Solar Miner IX.

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.

 

 

Solar Miner VII ended Day 1 of the American Solar Challenge south of Butler, Mo., amid a pack of several other teams, including Stanford, Northwestern, Iowa State and Bochen. According to unofficial reports, the University of Michigan and Kaohsiung (the team from Taiwan) have pulled away from the pack.

The teams left the starting line in Broken Arrow, Okla., this morning. Missouri S&T started in the No. 7 spot, and according to the Michigan team's race-tracking site, was the seventh team to arrive at the first checkpoint along the route, at Neosho, Mo. According to the Michigan website, the estimated, best-guess, unofficial times of arrival to the Neosho checkpoint are as follows for the top 10 racers:

1. Michigan -- 2:37:??        
2. Bochum -- 2:49:??       
3. Minnesota -- 2:55:??        
4. Kaohsiung -- 2:56:??        
5. Calgary -- 3:??:??
6. SUNY New Paltz -- 3:25:??
7. Missouri S&T -- 3:38:??
8. Stanford -- 3:51:??
9. Kentucky -- 4:37:??
10. Northwestern -- 4:37:??

Keep in mind that those numbers are all unofficial and are not adjusted for penalties, etc. Plus, this is just the first day of a grueling race, and anything can happen. Check the ASC site for more official information.

Next stop, Topeka, Kan.

P.S. - Check the S&T Student Design Center's Experience This blog for additional updates and photos.

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team stopped here in Rolla this afternoon while observing a one hour control stop for their mock race.  Our team received the opportunity to see their car, Infinium, and chat with their members about their car and the ongoing preparations for the 2010 American Solar Challenge.

Unfortunately, due to yesterday's crash, we were unable to show Solar Miner VII because it has been disassembled for damage assessment and repairs.