On three wheels through the Outback
A solar powered racing car from Germany has recently been speeding through Australia. The three wheeled “SolarWorld No.1“, designed by students from the FH Bochum, came 4th at the “9th Panasonic World Solar Challenge“ from Darwin to Adelaide. The yellow gleaming car attracted a lot of attention because of its special shape for which a 1:1 model was first made out of materials from RAMPF Tooling.
The solar racing car “SolarWorld No.1“ from the FH-Bochum was driving through the outback for 41 hours. Racing the 3000 km long track, the vehicle reached an average speed of 73 km/h.
Since 2002 solar powered racing cars have been developed at the Hochschule Bochum. For the first time RAMPF Tooling was part of the development. The specialist for modeling materials supported the SolarCar Team with the transformation of its idea into reality. A 1:1 model of the “SolarWorld No. 1” was made out of RAKU-TOOL Close Contour Paste and laminating resin. Altogether five parts where produced for the initial supporting structure made out of ex-panded polystyrene: upper shell, lower shell and three fairings.
The students of the FH-Bochum produced the “SolarWorld No.1“ by a work intensive process. They were supported by Bernhard Deliege, Regional Sales Manager at RAMPF Tooling. Every day four to six students were working on the project. First the machined EPS shells were covered with the laminating system EL-2203 / EH-2952 on which the staple fibres were then laid upon. Afterwards the students used paint rollers to smooth out any creases and to press the resin into the fibre structure. Finally a peel ply was applied which gave a rough surface finish that provided good adhesion and was ideal for the close contour paste application. The application of the paste CP-6070 onto the shell parts was performed by Bernhard Deliege. The challenge was to apply the paste quickly and evenly. Everybody helped to demold the shells since further manpower was required to minimise the risk of any unsymetrical load distribution. After four days both shell parts as well as all fairings were ready for final milling.
In January 2008 the solar racing car is expected back in Germany. The SolarCar-Team from the Hochschule Bochum which comprises 45 students studying engineering, mechatronics, electronics and information technology, are more than happy and are looking forward to this event. The next “Panasonic World Solar Challenge“ will be held in two years and the team would like to participate again. To transform ideas into shapes, RAMPF Tooling enters the race.
Press Release Solarcar