STREAMLINE AUTOMATION AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY FORMULA SAE TEAM
CLIENT PROFILE
University of Calgary SAE Team
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
http://www.ucalgary.ca/schulichracing/
FROG3D® Application - Mold Making
The Formula Design Series lets students design and build some incredible race cars, but it’s really about giving the students an opportunity to gain valuable engineering and fabrication experience - experience they typically wouldn’t obtain from classroom curriculums.
FROM THE DRAWING BOARD TO THE RACE TRACK
At Streamline Automation, we understand the importance of innovation. We've seen first hand how innovation can transform the way things are done – making people and businesses more creative, agile and productive. While we're well versed in the opportunities that innovation creates, we also know the challenges that innovators face. It's not always an easy mountain to climb, and we understand that innovators need to be supported, encouraged and rewarded.That's why we jumped at the opportunity to support the University of Calgary Formula SAE team - a group of future innovators pushing the limits on the race track and representing their school in competitions around the world.
With beginnings in 1981, the Formula Design Series has evolved to become the largest and most prestigious student design competition in the world. University and college students are challenged to design and manufacture a single seat, open-wheel style competition race car. Each car is designed by student teams and then built from scratch, giving students hands-on experience in taking an advanced engineering project from concept to completion. At the various competitions that take place around the world, cars are judged in a number of static and dynamic events by panels that include former Formula One Technical Directors and engineering professionals from automotive and racing leaders such as GM and Ford.
The Formula Design Series lets students design and build some incredible race cars, but it's really about giving the students an opportunity to gain valuable engineering and fabrication experience – experience they typically wouldn't obtain from classroom curriculums. Students not only get practical learning experience, but as part of a high powered design and build team, they're also able to develop essential leadership, management and communication skills.
University of Calgary team member Eric Richard summed up what students take away from this program. "The Formula SAE experience gives students an understanding of the application of our schooling to the real world," he says. "It also gives students the opportunity to network and interact with companies that they could be working with when they join the workforce. Formula SAE gives students a competitive and fun way to become the most practical engineers that they can be." All of this makes for an exciting program that puts the future of innovation in good hands.
FROG3D™ AND THE CHECKERED FLAG
Established in 1999, the University of Calgary Formula SAE Design Team now includes over 50 members, and they have competed at Formula SAE events in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. When the team contacted Streamline Automation for help in taking their car to the next level, we were happy to donate our expertise and technology. Thanks to its advanced mold making capabilities, the FROG3D™ foam carving system was a perfect solution for creating molds for the car's aerodynamic body. Starting with a meticulous design file created by the team, FROGWare™ software was used to edit the file and create milling tool paths. Once the files were prepared, they were sent to the FROGMill™ foam router, which perfectly replicated the designs in foam to create body panel molds. Styrospray and carbon were then laid up in the molds to create the new body panels, which ended up being over 40 pounds lighter than the previous year's version - a considerable advantage in the world of racing.
For Richard, Streamline's support was important in improving the car's capabilities. “Streamline helped the team both through its sponsorship of our bodywork molds, and through advice on how to make the molds most effectively,” he explains. “This led to one of the best looking, and by far the lightest body that the team has ever had. This year we reduced the weigh tof the body by 80%.” With an improved car and high expectations, the team competed in three major events this year, including their best finish ever at the Formula SAE West event in Fontana, California, and a second place finish at the AutoslalomCanadian Nationals in Saskatoon,Canada.
For Dwayne Lehman, president of Streamline Automation, supporting the University of Calgary team was not only a way of giving back, but also away to show what FROG3D™ is capable of. “By highlighting the capabilities of our system and the nature of our processes within this kind of student driven project, we're able to show how the system works well in an educational setting,” explains Lehman. “It could be a fine art department, an architecture department or an engineering department; our system can revolutionize production techniques and double as an important educational tool. Part of the educational value comes from our focus on sound processes. We support our business clients by providing innovative equipment, but we also provide far reaching training and support so they understand the processes for taking projects from start to finish. This approach has proven to be a perfect fit for the educational institutions that turn toFROG3D™.”
Streamline Automation is proud to support the University of Calgary's Formula SAE team and wishes them the best of luck at the races. For more information about the team, visit www.ucalgary.ca/schulichracing. To learn more about Streamline Automation's FROG3D™ system, visit www.3dcutting.com.
