NUsolar

Last weekend, we continued the process of removing the old structural ribs. We used a dremel this time to get a little closer cut, still without damaging the body of the car. In the video below, taken earlier during the work session, we were using a metal tool. Later on we switched to a carbide [...]

We had our first work session of winter quarter last Saturday. The goal of the work session was to coarsely cut out the ribs (our term for the carbon fiber panels that make up the frame of the car). First, we removed all the remaining components in the car, such as the brakes, steering, and [...]

We received word that the 2013 Formula Sun Grand Prix will be held June 24-29 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. Racing on Circuit of the Americas will be a great experience, and I’m very glad this venue was chosen (no offense, California). Circuit of the Americas is the most modern racetrack in [...]

This weekend was an interesting week for everyone. A local high school came to visit us and we got a chance to show off the SC6 design. The top shell was relatively easy to bring out onto the rack but we wanted to clean up and remove most of the non-carbon-fiber components from the bottom [...]

This weekend, we got a special surprise as Dan Cornew, one of our team’s recent alumni, came to visit. Dan is part of the Northwestern Class of 2011, and was a key member of the solar car team while he was here. Dan’s folks live a few miles north of NU, so it isn’t much [...]

I’m Kai and this is my first post for the team! Although I am a biomedical engineer, I joined the mechanical team because I am still a mechanical tinkerer at heart. I love photography and working with CAD and I hope to contribute to the team through both mediums soon! I will be blogging mostly [...]

Last week was a pretty busy one for the team. It was the big recruiting week for students interested in internships and full time work, which was packed full of company info sessions, networking events, on-campus interviews (if half of your Mechanical Behavior of Materials class is missing one day, it may be because they [...]

In this Sunday’s work session, the freshman recruits received some more advanced training specific to their intended role on the team. Here, Chris is walking recruits through an electronics tutorial: While that was happening, a group of us went and got SC6, the solar car we competed with this summer, out of the trailer and [...]

This Sunday we held our first work session. For now we’re splitting off into two groups: the new freshman members are receiving training from the senior members, while the junior and sophomore members are completing tasks. This way, the team doesn’t have to come to a complete stop to train new recruits, but they’re still [...]

Today, we welcomed any students in McCormick, and especially the new freshmen from the Class of ’16, who were interested in becoming involved with the solar car team. We introduced ourselves and talked about all the different groups on the team, then brought out one of our old cars to show the freshmen it’s systems [...]