UWA Motorsport 2009: August 2008

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UWAM Express

Issue #43 August 2008

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From the Project Manager

If I was to say that I wasn’t excited, then I’d be lying. Working on this team allows people to see the development and construction of a high-performance race car and August has been an amazing month in this respect. As one would imagine, this month has been the busiest one of the year so far but probably also the most thrilling. And the reason is simple; the latest of world’s most well known yellow formula SAE race cars is coming to life!
August was also a very active month with a number of high-profile events taking place including the World Championship Celebration Night and the University of Western Australia Expo. Both went fabulously, keeping everyone on their toes at a very busy time of year and only thanks to a great team effort did we pull it off flawlessly.
Our Community Outreach Program™ also hasn’t stopped with a number of visits and tours being conducted on and off campus. One group travelled for 2.5 hours to come and see our workshop! It is no mystery that people are in awe of the work that we do, recognising that not only is building cars difficult, but building world championship cars is even harder!

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors, supporters, university staff and families in helping us achieve our goals. From this point forward it will be a tough slog and the support of industry, family and friends is extremely beneficial. I would like to thank our generous sponsors, providing us with the goods and services that we require and with an enthusiasm and kindness that we envy. The Mechanical Engineerig workshop staff must also be mentioned, many of whom are lucky enough (or unlucky enough!) to be working very closely with us and are always willing to help, some even after office hours. I also acknowledge the people who follow our progress and wish us well in the competition, and for us, just knowing there is such support in the community is overwhelming. Our families must also be mentioned, many of whom don't see much of their sons and daughters but understand it is for good reason. Lastly I'd like to thank the University and faculty staff who support us and always greet us with a smile on their face.

Buckle up and hold on, it's going to be an exciting ride!

Michael Talikowski

Project Manager 2008

Progress Report

One of the biggest challenges this month, as many from past years would agree, is the layup of carbon fibre into the chassis moulds, taking about a week of hard work. For those who made it their lives to ensure the chassis is constructed correctly, layup is a gruelling time. Being a labour-intensive process, we planned an around-the-clock roster to ensure progress was maintained at all times. Suffice to say, there was a lot of energy drink consumed making for some interesting times in the ‘Warman’ room, one of the rooms in the engineering building. This area is typically used by a 2nd year unit in which a Warman project is conducted. During second semester it does not get used so UWA Motorsport commandeer it for the time it takes to complete the chassis.

Now that the chassis has been cured (see the picture above,right), thanks to our good friends and sponsors Windrush Yachts, we are working hard to get it to the point of being assembly-ready. This involves preparing the surface of the carbon for painting and also locating and drilling insert points, ready to bolt parts to. This year, there has been alot of discussion regarding paint work, colour, overall design and asthetics in general. We believe that there must be a marriage with good engineering design and looks, something that surely presents a challenge to all!

As we get closer to launch, parts are being churned out while other purchased items are ready and waiting to be put on the latest UWAM rocket. The vehicle dynamics team is working hard on their concepts and also overseeing the drilling of the chassis to ensure their suspension points are correctly positioned. If ever there was a situation where high levels of communication were critical, now is the time. Due to things literally and physically coming together, it means that good communication must be maintained.

The electrical guys have been hammering away through-out the year ensuring all the parts and systems necessary for the car are present for assembly. Along with physical components that make up the sophisticated electrical systems that our cars use, there is a lot of coding that our resident Mechatronics engineers must write. Developments in certain areas are keeping the guys on their toes and getting everyone on the team excited.

Team Powertrain are also going strong with many of their components nearing completion including differential, exhaust, intake, cooling, lubrication and drive-line. The boys are working hard to bring it all together, creating a bullet-proof drive-line ready for the gruelling endurance event at competition.

Badgingarra Primary School visits UWAM

After travelling 2.5 hours from their home town, over 200 kilometres north of Perth, 5 students from Badgingarra Primary School and two teachers visited the UWA Motorsport lab to witness first hand what facilities we have to build our cars with. Badgingarra are involved with the Formula 1 in Schools Innovation Challenge, a program that we have been linked with for a number of years. The program is fantastic as it shows the students first hand what a bit of hard work and persistence can achieve. What is also great about such programs is exactly what this visit highlighted; the linking and forging of contact between young people and the up and coming generation of professionals. We enjoyed showing the students around and welcome anyone interested in having a look around to visit the lab.

Upcoming Events

Launch – This is one of the biggest events on the UWA Motorsport calendar where the newest edition to the high-performance line-up is revealed to the public for the first time. The latest car, UWAM08, will be on show in all its glory at the end of September for the official 2008 Vehicle Launch.

Wembley Downs Fair – The annual Wembley Downs fair is on again and UWAM is proud to be on show in 2008 at this great event. It will be held on October 25th with more details on our website under ‘Upcoming Events’

F1 in Schools Finals – All the hard work and persistence that the students competing in the F1 in Schools will be put to the test at the annual finals held at the Midland Railway Museum on the 19th September. Having attended last year’s finals, it never ceases to amaze me just how organised and professional the students competing have become. Not only this, but their advanced car design and manufacture definitely impresses the judges as they show off the software and high-level construction utilised in the car’s production. We all wish our respective schools the best and look forward to acting as judges for this worthwhile event.

Combined Schools Expo at Presbyterian Ladies College

The University of Western Australia always makes a presence at the yearly Combined Schools Expo at Presbyterian Ladies College just off Stirling Highway. And without fail, UWA Motorsport are also asked to accompany the university representatives as one of the student groups which make this learning institute so great. We spoke to a vast number of students about what studying at UWA means and especially the engineering degree. It is always a pleasure promoting the faculty of engineering and the university because of its support of groups such as UWA Motorsport. Apart from UWA, representatives from ECU, Murdoch, Curtin and Notre Dame were present to further market their degrees to the eager high-school students. It is great to see so much interest in higher education amongst the young’uns but even better when they take a keen interest in racing cars!

UWA Expo

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This year the UWA Motorsport dynamic display went further than any other motorsport demonstration has ever gone before…onto asphalt! UWA Expo is a day where the university opens all its doors to the public to attract new students into studying at this magnificent university. As usual the university asked UWAM to put on a dynamic display for the public to see the famous yellow race-cars showing off. Yet in past years the demonstrations have been on James oval with the cars doing donuts on the grass. This is fun to watch and impressive to the public but not a real indicator of what these cars can really do. This year we went one better and arranged a demonstration on asphalt to prove that UWAM cars are not just fast on paper, but also on the road!

We utilised the driveway leading up to the deliveries area of the Molecular and Chemical Sciences Building, the new structure taking over from the old chemistry building. Yet we also ensured that there were no new safety risks overlooked to keep the public, the driver and the team out of harm’s way. All safety requirements were adhered to and this a-typical display was for educational purposes only, the team or university does it advocate this sort of driving on public roads. For video footage of the driving please go to the ‘Video’ section of our website. Although we were a fair distance away from the main crowd on James oval, people flocked over once we cranked the engine and did a few runs up the driveway. The response from the public was overwhelming and many couldn’t believe university students could build such a machine capable of the amazing acceleration, power and handling that they witnessed. Not only did we run a dynamic display but also a static one, presenting some of the older cars and trophies to the public.We had a blast and look forward to next year’s event to do it all again!

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World Championship Celebration Night

It had finally come, the night where everyone could congratulate the winning UWAM team for their success in the US in May of this year. These guys really bought it home for us and our sponsors so the 22nd August was a great chance to tell them what a great job they did. With the Dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering being the MC, the Vice Chancellor Professor Robson saying a few congratulatory words and the Minister Francis Logan doing the same, there was no shortage of high-profile guests. The turnout of well over 200 people made for a packed venue which this time was the Hackett Hall Café and with the help of University Functions Catering everyone was well fed along with refreshments. It was also great to see the families of the winning team at the event who joined us in thanking the guys and girls who did it for UWA. The families are the unsung heros in all this, with many having to come to grips with the fact that their sons and daughters spent more time at university, building race cars than they did at home!
With a great turnout, an awesome atmosphere and the World Cup standing next to the Championship car, I think it is safe to say that the event was a real jewel in the crown for UWA Motorsport.

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Spotlight on Sponsors

Orbital is an international developer of innovative technical solutions for a cleaner world. Orbital provides innovation, design, product development and operational improvement services to the world’s producers, suppliers, regulators and end users of engines and engine management systems for application in motorcycles, marine and recreational vehicles, automobiles and trucks.

Orbital has been a high-level sponsor of UWA Motorsport since 2004 and has provided the team with non-stop support especially in the area of powertrain. Their almost boundless knowledge in the field of engines and all its support systems is invaluable and without them the development that we have seen over the years would not have been possible. Orbital provide us with CNC machine time and access to their rolling road dynamometer for testing of the car's power output. Not only this but they also have welding facilities that we utilise along with equipment such as valve lapping tools.

UWA Motorsport have a special bond with Orbital as over the years, they have employed 6 UWAM graduates who have gone on to work as engineers for the firm. Orbital are a very special Platinum Sponsor of the team and we hope to share our experiences with them for years to come.

Thank you Orbital!!

Contact Orbital:

4 Whipple St

Balcatta WA 6021

Ph: +61 8 9441 2311

http://www.orbeng.com.au/

ALCOA is Australia's leading aluminium producer and operates the world's largest integrated bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminium smelting system. Employing around 7,500 people, Alcoa has operations in WA, Victoria and NSW and has been a major Australian exporter for more than 40 years.

Regarded as a leader in corporate social responsibility, ALCOA also contributes to Australian life through partnerships with community, government and other organisations to help build stronger communities. [Information from ALCOA website]

ALCOA has been a long time supporter of UWA Motorsport and continues it's partnership with the team, showing its strength of resolve in helping develop the next generation of professionals. We would like to thank ALCOA for its ongoing support and hope that we can foster this valuable relationship into the future.

Thank you ALCOA!!

Contact ALCOA:

Alcoa of Australia
Cnr Davy and Marmion Streets
Booragoon WA 6154

Phone: (61 8) 9316 5111
Fax: (61 8) 9316 5228

http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/home.asp

Principal Sponsor