Our year 2023 started with the manufacturing phase kick off. After (and, to be frank, during) the winter break, the subsystems are in full speed towards the new car assembly. Now that the quizzes are done, it means that our focus has fully shifted to manufacturing. Below are a few updates on the progress from some of our subsystems!
Electronics, our biggest subsystem, are present at the office daily. The team is going through PCB iterating and testing, coding for the AMS and analog nodes and soldering and welding practices. The initial design of the harness has been done by the subsystem’s newer members and the whole team has been eagerly waiting for components to arrive to begin accumulator and wiring harness manufacturing.
The long-awaited package arrived a few days ago, so now the test assembly is ongoing to make sure that everything fits together perfectly. When the stack which will go to the car is ready, the team will do the cell tab welding and test it with the school’s new energy storage tester. The tests will be carried out for electrical and thermal performance.
The Chassis subsystem has been figuring out working with prepreg, as well as planning the manufacturing and design of the inserts. Currently, they are designing the molds, including a plug mold and later a carbon fiber mold. The team is working out the correct dimensions and measures for ordering the materials, and as soon as those arrive, the testing will start.
Meanwhile, the Aerodynamics finished making the new front wing mold, which needed to be produced due to the new design. The process consisted of milling the mold from the foam block, sanding, painting and coating it.
The news from the rest of the team's subsystems are coming shortly!