SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY
FORMULA STUDENT NEWSLETTER
MARCH 2015
General Overview In this edition...
SPONSORSHIP Reynolds sponsorship
IMECHE EVENT Summary of this years IMechE Yorkshire division event
STEERING SYSTEM UPDATE Steering improvements from last year
REYNOLDS SPONSORSHIP We are proud to announce our new partnership with Reynolds Technology, this year the wishbone components of the suspension system will be constructed from Reynolds 631 elliptical tubing.
Elliptical tubing will dramatically increase the stiffness to weight ratio of the suspension system compared to previous year’s vehicles. By Oli Hayes
Reynolds Technology are a world leading tube manufacturer to the bicycle industry, recent years have seen them expand into niche markets, supplying blades for Olympic ice speed skaters to custom butted tubing for Westfield Sportscars. M.D of Reynolds Technology, Keith Noronha is supplying us with tubing free of charge in return for sponsorship of the wishbones and company logo on the bodywork of the car.
IMECHE YORKSHIRE EVENT
On Tuesday the 3rd of March, the team attended the IMechE Yorkshire event hosted by the University Of Sheffield. This was a great opportunity to see the other four team’s progress and gain some insights into team HARE, SFR and Leeds developments.
Team SFR, began their presentation talking about the key parts of the car and what they’re looking to develop this season. The teams manufacturing methods looked promising with the main focus of the presentation on ‘where’s the best place to put time and resources’.
The event began with a walk around the cars and team SFR’s garage, whereby engineer’s discussed parts on the car and developments for this season. A mixture of people including engineering tutors, sponsors and car enthusiasts attended, making the mingling session exciting for the teams to promote their progress on this year’s developments.
Team HARE delivered a confident, wellstructured presentation, giving us a clear background to how the team works, their goal plan and the key development process. The goal plan particularly stood out as good way to organise the teams vision, breaking down the objective’s into practical tasks through the use of a well-designed diagram. This showed the management level, vehicle level and component level, of each objective, allowing the team to effectively carry out tasks in a timely manor.
After the talking, we were moved to the lecture theatre where the teams presented their progress for the years upcoming cars.
Team HARE, look to improve the aerodynamics of their car, with focus on the frame and body. A wider inside pedal box and increased driver visibility were also important factors the team wanted to address. They also looked at the benefits of different manufacturing methods, weighing up the costs vs benefits across their approach to building the car. The Leeds formula race team discussed mainly about their engine package, having big problems last year. This was the main focus for them, with a possible design of a side exhaust system creating a more balanced package.
Lastly, SHU Racing delivered an engaging, informative presentation on their development, with all the team mangers presenting. The car looks like a huge improvement from last year, with changes across the whole build and each team manager putting a lot of time into making sure we have another successful year of racing. In summary, the event was a fantastic opportunity for the team to network and gain ideas from the competition. IMechE stated on their Facebook page “Excellent event. Thanks to all the teams for taking part. Hope to see you next year!� Keep up the good work guys, looking forward to the launch!
By Jason Marshgreen
STEERING SYSTEM
This years steering system will allow us to have a turning circle close to half of that of last years car, so the 9 m wide hairpin at Silverstone should be no problem. The steering wheel is being made in house from a Flax fibre, similar to carbon fibre but eco friendly, hopefully this will get us extra design points with the judges at the competition. We are going to be using a pneumatic gear shift system this year, allowing for faster, effortless shifts, for which parts are now arriving in and the MyReo control system for the the gear shift is close to completion. The paddle shift for gearing system is now finish, this is a 3D printed part designed by one of the first years in the team. By Tom Chaldecott
SPONSORSHIPS
Website: www.shuracing.co.uk Email: Shuracing.fs@gmail.com Twitter: SHU_Racing_Team Facebook: SHU Racing Team