1st Edition 2022 -Green Letter by PSEM

1st edition 2022 JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH/ APRIL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

team leader’s remarks

News

Department’s Progress

MOment of the period

team

Bruno Vitorino

New Layout; Updates GP21; SET; Field Trips; New Sponsor

Electronics; GP19 Tests

GP19 Tests

Afonso Teixeira; Carmo Ribeiro; Eduarda David; Filipa Almeida; Maria Fonseca; Maria Inês; Tomás Ribeiro; Vítor Gonçalves

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Partners Rolespinho; MC4TEC; Fabory; Sigmatex; BMmetal; Cadflow

team leader’s remarks “

A word of gratitude towards the Team’s Alumni BRUNO VITORINO

During the last few months, the team made significant progress regarding GP21’s

manufacture, ensuring that the goals set for the present season are achievable. On a more practical perspective, carbon fibre skins were produced, with the goal of being incorporated into the prototype’s bulkheads. To assure that the assembling of said bulkheads goes as planned, it was necessary to design and build assembly jigs, which will guarantee the desired relations once the structural adhesive is applied. This type of work requires long days of work and lots of perseverance, which allows PSEM’s team members to develop their skill with a great variety of materials, such as composites, wood, aluminium and even steel. It’s also important to mention the indispensable contribute from the multiple entities that support the team, from the multiple partners which have already delivered the components requested to the ones still in the final phase of machining! Lastly, a word of gratitude towards the team’s alumni, who kindly made themselves available to help and guide the current members in the construction of GP21! Counting with valuable years of experience in the industry, they provide an experienced perspective which allows for sustainable solutions, while assuring good choices from an engineering standpoint.

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News New layout Green Letter has a new format! Following the month of December, a year has passed since we redesigned our newsletter. Thus, we decided now would be the perfect moment to give it a new look. If you think that this edition comes a few months late, you’re right, it was completely intentional. The newsletter will be quarterly because we believe that this way it will be able to have a much richer and more interesting content, which reflects the culmination of 4 months of hard work at PSEM! It wasn’t just its appearance that changed, we decided to introduce new items, such as Department’s Progress where you can stay up to date with what each area has been developing and the highlights of the last months. Instead of a photo of the month, the newsletter will have a Moment of the Period, which will feature an iconic photo accompanied by a brief description. You can continue to count on interesting, innovative texts that make you immerse yourself in our team’s latest events. Happy readings!

Updates gp21 During these months, part of the structural component (in carbon fiber) of GP21 was produced at IST, as well as its assembly system that will allow the assembly of several components during gluing, thus ensuring an impeccable alignment. Additionally, mechanical tests were performed on carbon specimens, to evaluate their mechanical properties, thus allowing the correlation of these data with those obtained through modelling and simulation software. There were also visits to the facilities of some partners to carry out specific works, such as painting! The following months will be busy, as the team will have to prepare the surface of the GP21’s bodywork molds that will then be used to produce the final part that will integrate the prototype.

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SET On March 18th, PSEM was present at SET to participate as a speaker in a panel about sustainability. The discussion between the participating IST projects focused mainly on how they started, what makes them sustainable and the importance of motivating students to join a project of this nature! It was an excellent opportunity to disclose and show how our project can contribute to a greener world.

Field trip

New sponsor

During theses months, PSEM have welcomed into the workshop many high school students from Secundária Rafael Pinheiro and Rainha D. Amélia and also some students from schools involved in “Explora os Materiais”, an event promoted by the Materials Engineering Nucleus. This is an opportunity to talk about the project with the younger students and to arouse their interest in engineering and sustainability.

HELUKABEL is dedicated to the manufacture and distribution of electrical cables. It has developed solutions in cables and accessories for the most demanding industrial and infrastructural applications in sectors such as power transmission, automation and renewable energy. It has supplied the project with several components for the electronics part of the GP21, such as data transmission cables. We are very pleased to establish this new partnership!

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Department’s Progress ELEctronics In the last 4 months, the different teams of the Electronics Department developed several projects. Significant advances were made in the controller area by identifying and solving a problem that occurred at high currents; the boxes that keep all the electronic components of the car were designed, with factors such as resistance and waterproofing in mind; for the first time, the cabling was modelled in CAD software, with cables and connectors of higher quality than in previous seasons.

The task that probably stood out the most was the progress made in terms of the car’s telemetry system, with the development of modules that allowed an increase of 200% in the transmission speed and data sampling. The person accountable for this progress, André Venceslau, says that, in order to keep improving, the department now intends to use a tool that will allow seeing the lines of data obtained during the races in real-time

GP19 Tests On March 12th, were carried out tests to GP19 prototype to observe the vehicle’s performance. Our drivers have done several laps to Alameda Campus to ensure that GP19 is in great condition to compete. The Electronics team coded and tested the acquisition system and see the telemetry. The data obtained was essential to realize the precision of the data sent by GPS as the ground speed. It was also a morning of team-building where all the departments worked together to guarantee a successful test day.

Moment of the period

GP19 tests allowed the Electronics team to check the functioning of the car’s components. The animation and team spirit were also present on this day!

TEam

Afonso teixeira Afonso Teixeira is 21 years old, studies Aerospace Engineering and is very fond of physical activity and cinema. He can solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than 20 seconds, his personal best being an impressive 11 seconds! Thanks to PSEM, he developed essential skills for his future and he was able to do so in an excellent working environment. He considers, therefore, that his journey in the team has been very enriching.

Eduarda David Eduarda is leader of the Management and Marketing Dept. and vice-coordinator. She entered PSEM to challenge herself to do something beyond the course. Her journey of almost 3 years proved to be quite enriching, in which she was able to learn editing techniques, improve her ability to communicate with the public and sponsors and, more recently, develop her leadership skills.

Maria Fonseca Maria is 21 years old and studies Mechanical Engineering. She practices athletics and has belonged to the National Scout Corps for many years. In PSEM she highlights the companionship between members, the friendships that are created, and the good times spent in the workshop. She joined the project to learn more about automotive engineering and develop hard skills such as designing and building parts.

Tomás Ribeiro Tomás had a crucial role on the optimization of GP21’s car body. This year, he has been concluding the mirror’s optimization. Since he joined PSEM, he had the opportunity of not only to apply the knowledge from academic subjects but also to learn and apply various other skills such as CFD. Tomás has the goal to help the most of GP21 construction and if possible he expects to compete this year.

Carmo Ribeiro

team

Carmo Ribeiro is passionate about animals, and playing guitar. Her PSEM’s journey began in 2020, when she joined the Mechanical Project Dept., because she wanted to know how her theoretical knowledge could help her projecting the vehicle’s components. Since then, she has made several simulations and projects of parts. Her first day working in CNC was the most memorable moment, she saw a designed project come to life.

Filipa Almeida Filipa is 21 years old, studies Mechanical Engineering and is PSEM’s Technical Director. It was in her second year of the bachelor that she decided to join us, because a friend convinced her to participate in the recruitment. One of the great challenges she faces is the management of resources, not only material and financial but also human. Organizational skills are the ones that most contribute to her current job.

Maria Inês gaspar Is 19 years old, studies Aerospace Engineering, and likes gymnastics, and car races. Before entering Técnico she already knew PSEM and when the opportunity arose thought that joining the team would be a good complement to the course. She chose the Electronics Dept. because it was the area in which she could make the most progress. Considers that the most remarkable moments came from team-buildings.

Vitor Gonçalves Vítor is 20 years old, comes from Cacém and is a member of the Mechanical Project. Participation in the project has given him several tools that have allowed him to overcome challenges and become more independent. The quality he most appreciates in PSEM is the opportunity to “get down to business”! Work on something practical and start to understand how the topics discussed during the course apply to the car construction.

Partners

Founded 29 years ago and currently based in Vila Nova de Gaia, Rolespinho sells all kinds of chains and bearings for the automotive industry and sector. The company has been supporting the team by providing one-way bearings that have been incorporated into our prototypes since GP17, and GP21 will be no exception..

Fabory has been a reference company for over 75 years in the fasteners sector, being known for a wide variety of this type of components, as well as related products. This firm has been supporting PSEM over the years, having now contributed with various parts, such as screws, nuts and washers, for GP21. Thank you, Fabory!

BMmetal is an industrial unit specialized in mechanical turning that ensures rigor and quality in each of its products. We are grateful to this company for its contribution in machining parts used to connect diverse components of our new prototype’s steering system!

MC4TEC is a company based in Marinha Grande, that specialises in outsourcing for mould and metalworking companies. Our partner machined us in aluminium which proved to be the key to the development of our project. Thank you for keeping believing in us.

Sigmatex is one of the most respected companies in the carbon fibre conversion field, having an extensive variety of high-tech composite materials that it provides to the automotive, aerospace and marine industries, among other markets. The exceptional quality of Sigmatex´s carbon fibre that is used in the monocoque and structure of the vehicles has contributed to PSEM´s success in recent years and this is a partnership that we want to maintain in the seasons to come!

Cadflow is one of GRUPO VANGEST’s companies that focus on PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) supplying and technical support. It is also the main connection between the Portuguese and the International market when it comes to software/hardware. Since the beginning of our partnership, Cadflow has given PSEM Siemens computational design and structural and aerodynamic simulation software, essential to our project.

thanks for all the support!

(+351) 218 419 561

Bruno Vitorino

Eduarda David

Team Leader (+351) 935 820 935

Vice Team Leader (+351) 964 606 038

Filipa Almeida Technical Director (+351) 913 040 972

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UNTIL THE NEXT EDITION!