Friday 27 February 2015

Students’ Eco Powered Bid to Win Racing Championship

(Reblogged from Activate Learning Internal News)

Motorsport engineering students from Banbury and Bicester College are to design, build and race their own electrically-powered car in a national championship.

The Greenpower IET Formula 24+ championship pits teams over a series of 60-minute races, including a final round at Goodwood Motor Circuit. All cars will have to perform using only a 12volt battery unit, supplied by Greenpower.

Just like Formula 1, teams can outperform their competitors with innovative technology, aerodynamics, engine power, strategy, team work and invention. But unlike Formula 1, the team from Banbury and Bicester College must achieve this with very little budget and fit it around their studying.

By using the facilities at the Bicester campus, the trio of students, all aged between 16-18 years old, are well into the design phase of the project, with concepts and individual components around the car already drafted. The next stage will be perfecting and narrowing down their concept designs and beginning testing.

Chris Cousall, one of the team members, said: "We are relishing the experience this is giving us. We've had to be extremely proactive, entrepreneurial and work as a team. We're hoping this will become a tradition and we can pass the project down to next year's intake at Banbury and Bicester College for them to enter.

"The hardest part has been finding sponsorship. Although we can design, test and build the car using college facilities, we still need more money. So we're now actively trying to find businesses who would like to sponsor us."

So far the team pitched their entry into the championship to the college teaching staff, who agreed to cover the cost of application.

Chris Cousall, Lewis Mackenzie and Keaton Church are all currently studying the Motorsport Engineering Level 3 Extended Diploma at the Bicester campus of Banbury and Bicester College.

If you would like to get involved and sponsor their entry, please contact Maclean.Ndawana@banbury-bicester.ac.uk

Monday 16 February 2015

Makerbot 3D Printer Installed at Bicester

Bicester Motorsport has come into possession of a Makerbot 3d Printer, which has been installed and fitted into the CNC workshop facility. This printer has been tested by trained technicians and is now available for student projects.

The printer was obtained after staff at the campus applied for a capital bid for the equipment. Rapid prototyping is a key area of motorsport today, with some aspects of current Formula One cars being printed for the final car. The technology is also used in prototyping, and Bicester Motorsport has a large collection of donated 3D printed parts which were used last season.

Learning Coach and lead Makerbot Technician Nicholas Buzzard has commented on the possibilities of this new addition:

‘Having this technology at the college is a wonderful addition to the CNC workshop. Now we have the capability to design parts and objects in SolidWorks, convert them for printing, and then produce them on automated devices. “