NovaBike Newsletter - JUNE 2012
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FOREWORD
In this edition: Ducati Clubraces
The second race of the season, with Randy van der Wal as driver
Carbon Fibre
Step into the magical world of producing carbon fibre parts
Team Members
Short presentation of two of our team members
Sponsors in the spotlight Short presentation of two of our partners/suppliers.
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Hereby the fourth newsletter for this year. We would like to start this edition with an
article about the second race which was held in Assen.
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Also the production process of our body can be seen together with a presentation of two of our team members and partners.
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We would also sincerely like to thank all the sponsors for the financial, material and moral
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support! Follow with our progress on Facebook,Twitter and Youtube
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DUCATI CLUB RACE 2012 “If you are walking down the right path and you are willing to keep walking, eventually you will make progress” »
Saturday started rather hectic; at the technical inspections it seemed that our registration was not completely as it should be. A problem that could be solved, however it took a while to do so. Due to this we had too little time to do our preparations thoroughly; it became clear that it was too late to get NovaBike ready for the first qualification rounds. Safety first! For this reason we decided, as a team, to not go on the track with a bike which was not fully prepared. NovaBike was turned inside out and every bolt was being checked. Little contact-points, sensors, screw retentions … nothing was overlooked. The bike was, with even time to spare, ready to go for the second qualifications. At 14:28 hours Randy headed the track for GP2. After a few rounds he came back in due to a heavy vibration in the front. “It is just as if I am riding on bumps” he told us. Joao centered, once more, the wheel and off he went again. Despite this quick response the problem was not solved and NovaBike could not set any qualification times. Fortunately as we are, Race officials decided that it was ok to compete and we could commence the race, starting from last position. Despite this the problem itself was not yet solved. It became clear that an imbalance was present in the wheel. This was eventually solved by adding some little weights. NovaBike was ready for the Ducati Clubrace!
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(Barack Obama)
At 18:08 hours Randy opened throttle and made a good start, beginning from position 36. While the laps passed Randy made great progress. In the third lap he already managed to take position 16, at the seventh one Randy was already riding at position 13. In round 8 we waited at the finish to see NovaBike pass, we waited … and waited … something must have happened! A technical error, in corner 17, put a stop to the amazing catching up that Randy was performing. It seemed to be a broken cable, a problem which was solved quite rapidly. Sunday; a new chain together with gears were mounted. At 10:45 the bike was tested and approved. After a few personal adjustments to the suspension NovaBike was ready for the second race. 15:30 Randy takes again last position at the start, but what a start it was. Randy rocketed himself from the line! Only two minutes later he passed by taking position 17. It even became better, at round 5 he managed to take position 12 with a smashing time of 1.54. A position he fought for and managed to keep till round 9. In the final rounds NovaBike, for a still unknown reason, lacked power and Randy had to give back two positions. The final round took 2 minutes and a 12th place was obtained. Our team is very pleased how this weekend turned out! Amazing driving skills and our first EK points!
NOVABIKE PROGRESS; CARBON FIBRE »
Last month it was mentioned that many hours were spent in designing a new body work. Some pictures of the moulds were already shown; the procedure of making this body work however was not clearly presented. For this reason we would like to introduce you to the magical world of producing carbon parts; such as the NovaBike body! Why we prefer carbon fibre is quite obvious and relies on one of the key features of the NovaBike spirit. Keeping everything as light as possible! NovaBike is very lucky to receive these precious fibres, as support to our team, from TenCate. Carbon fibre is off course already expensive to purchase, however the labour-cost is also a large ‘disadvantage’ to this lightweight, high-tech material. The procedure goes as follows. The first step is to make the moulds. To keep the costs as low as possible we’ve chosen to first make a positive mould. This procedure is done on the faculty of Industrial Design. Here they have a wonderful team which is always willing to make some extra hours for NovaBike; for which many thanks! The next step is to sand the surface of this die, this to receive a smooth surface. As third step we spray the sanded parts with a special kind of ‘paint’, this to receive a perfect coating. Okay, now we have our finished positive mould. Time to start the negative one! First the die has to be gel-coated; this to ensure a silky smooth surface (The gel coating can be clearly seen in the picture to the right; it is the green surface). Now everything has to happen right and fast, any mistakes could be fatal. When the coating is still drying several layers of fiberglass, together with the resin, have to be applied. When the fiberglass shell is completely hardened; it is time to separate the negative from the positive die. We can only use the positive mould once, this is destroyed while separating. The next step is performed at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering. Here we laminate the part; this means that we cut, position and apply several layers of carbon fibre into the mould. Once this is done it is time to ‘feed’ the resin through the fibres, this to ensure the stiffness. To have an optimal finish we do this by using ‘vacuum infusion’. The mould is placed into a vacuum bag through which the resin is fed (using the vacuum effect). Once this is done the carbon parts can be removed from their die. A new bodywork is born!
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My name is Arne Degroote, I am a third year student in Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology. The first time I got in touch with NovaBike was due to a friend and fellow student Jonas Dhean, who was also a member of Novabike team the year before I joined. The minute I saw the Bike and got an understanding of the project I was convinced I could make a contribution to it. So I decided to devote my minor, which is an opportunity to broaden your knowledge given in the 3th year of the Aerospace Bachelor, to NovaBike. I signed up , got admitted and so it began.
My name is Peter de Groote and I originate from Belgium. I have been studying at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the TU Delft for 4 years now. I really wanted to join a student-team because it seemed like a unique experience. I also felt like I would be able to gain some more practical experience, instead of only studying. Some friends convinced me to be a part such a team, and as a result I decided to join the NovaBike Racing Team. The choice to go for NovaBike was actually quite easy. This team had the advantage of being a bit smaller and therefore everyone knew each other pretty well. The concepts of durability and innovation really appealed to me. After all, it’s fascinating to be able to contribute to and show that environmental friendly racing is possible.
In the team I’m a part of the engine department, and I also keep an eye on the workshop, orders and inventory. Concerning the engine I did some research on optimizing the intake and injection system for durability and higher power output. As well as the actual manufacturing. I also spent some time helping with the installation and resolving errors on the new KMS-ECU that we are using this year. I have learned quite a bit about engines up till now, and got the chance to learn more about myself to, by working in a team. It is a great opportunity and a great experience to be part of a racing team, especially a student racing team like NovaBike. I wish all others teams a lot of success for the remainder of the season and I hope the engine proves itself to be competitive.
Because I joined in later in the schoolyear, I haven’t got a fixed task. I mainly concentrate on helping where needed when it comes to the production of components. My sincerest wishes for the team are to show some good results and to succeed in making NovaBike a concept within the raceworld. I am very proud to be a part of this amazing team!
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For over ten years Samco has been the number one for Performance Silicone Hoses. A fact that can be testified by many formula one, WRC and Super Bike Teams from all over the world! Only the best quality of hoses will do; this to ensure guaranteed reliability while obtaining exceptional performance. Samco is able to offer 400 direct replacement kits for the tuning enthusiasts and professionals. Next to this the product range offers over 100 motorbike kits and the world largest range of universal parts for motorsport and race cars. To ensure this high quality every hose is handmade in the UK, from only the finest silicones. After production a 100% visual inspection is a standard procedure! A fully equipped laboratory performs a fulltime job testing and developing these hoses. The aspects that are tested include endurance, bursting and cyclic vibration testing. Applying very high standards is the key to the success of this company! This testing together with the ongoing feedback from the customers and the always present research and development of this company enables them to provide an unrivalled quality in the performance hose market. For these reasons NovaBike is very pleased to ride with the Samco hoses. Many thanks to this amazing company!
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 Normally lightweight and steel do not really match, our frame proves the opposite. The construction is fully made from Reynolds 631 steel and weighs just over 5 kilos, which is quite an achievement. The Reynolds company is founded way back in 1898, then called the Reynolds bicycle tubing company. Over the years, the Reynolds brand became an integral part of the cycling industry and still their products set the standard in this. Nowadays many other industries are included, such as aviation, motorsport, sporting goods and leisure. The 631 steel, that we use, has a wide application range. From long distance cycles to sport car chassis, suspension units and even ‌ motorcycle race frames! To ensure their role in the upcoming future, Reynolds Technology is very committed to Research and Development across a number of high end performance sectors. The company strives to raise its standards, to build on their reputation and to keep exceeding the expectations of their customers!
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Writers: Stefan Brone, Arne Degroote, Peter de Groote Editor: Stefan Brone Style Formatting: Stefan Brone
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