ON THE POINT OF ROLLING ON
In this final week before the exam fun begins, the team having been pushing forward, machining, fabricating and finalising components to attach to the upcoming car. With only a few weeks left of the university semester remaining, the car is coming along nicely and the team can't wait to show it off come the end of June!
Progression Towards a Rolling Chassis
This week has seen a big push by the team to produce a rolling chassis before the start of the exam period. On Wednesday the first section of the suspension system and uprights were integrated and fitted onto the chassis. The integration will allow earlier set-up and optimisation of the suspension system, also allowing verification of the new adjustable wishbones.
The mono-piece uprights include all geometry into the unit, relying on the adjustable lower wishbones to alter camber and castor. SHU Racing believe this is a unique system in the Formula Student field and look forward to gauging the reactions come the event.
Tabs and mounting points for other components have also been welded to the chassis, with the aim to hand over production management to younger years as the managers sit their final (ever!) exams. Training the younger engineers in manufacturing management will develop their skills prior to the 2020 season.
Peddling forward - in a way...
Having received another brilliant suite of machined parts from our partner, IIDEA Ltd, the pedal box assembly can now be brought together and fitted to the chassis. The pedal box’s design focuses on improved ergonomics and reduced system weight, as well as simple 2 set-up CNC machining, improving both Design for Assembly and Manufacture (DFMA). Once a rolling chassis is completed, the pedal box will be fitted to the car so the drivers can give input to any further minor changes.
An improved set of pedal ratios for the brake and clutch pedal will provide better bite point feel for the drivers, having found 2018’s designs to have a finite point at which the cylinders actuate. Whilst this may seem minor, it provides major improvements when launching the car, and applying just enough brake pressure when negotiating the agile Silverstone FS track.
Meet the team
This week on meet the team is another long standing member, Andrew, who is part of the fluid dynamics team, simulating models from 3D aerodynamics to heat transfer within the brakes!
Name: Andrew Golledge
Age:22
Course: BEng Mechanical Engineering (Level 6)
Team Role: Aerodynamics and fluid analysis.
Hobbies and interest: Rugby, Formula 1 and running.
Favourite Food: Any food combo with pulled pork!
Favourite Band: Tom Misch/ Anderson Paak.
Favourite way to unwind: Cooking (poorly) tends to relieve a lot of stress for me!
Reason for getting into Formula Student: I joined SHU Racing in my second year of studying. I had no prior technical experience surrounding cars, but I was eager to learn beyond just my degree and watching F1. From the get-go, senior team members welcomed me and gave me responsibility for component design and manufacturing, supporting me throughout.
The projects which I have led and supported for the team have been pivotal for getting industrial placements and forthcoming graduate job. The team’s relentless pursuit of excellence has led to huge successes for SHU Racing in the past few years, something I am proud of contributing to in some small way. Hopefully come July, we can do have our best competition event yet!
