Monocoque

This sub-team focuses on the design and manufacture of the monocoque for our new vehicle, Clyde 4.0. This encompasses aerodynamics, aspects of mechanical and structural design using CAD packages and analysis software, mould manufacturing, composite layups using materials such as carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb, and welding and fabrication of subframe structures.

Stability and Control

The stability and control sub-team is responsible for aspects of the car such as steering, throttle and brakes. With the monocoque being developed this year, there will be lots of opportunity to design and build versions of these systems to fit the new design.

Powertrain

The powertrain sub-team is designing a motor controller for a 3 phase, brushless motor. This involves the calculation of loads, component selection, circuit design, and PCB design. They also design any supporting components we need for the motor, and work on the CAN communication bus used throughout the car.

Battery

The battery sub-team is the heart of the vehicle. They are designing and will manufacture the new battery for Clyde 4.0. On this team you can develop skills in PCB schematic design and manufacturing, firmware programming and system integration, to name a few. This year they are building a new Battery Management System which incorporates active cell balancing as well as restoring the old battery.

Telemetry

The telemetry sub-team works on measuring and communicating the state of the vehicle. Currently they are setting up the CAN bus communication inside the vehicle - the standard communication system in the automotive industry! This will be used in the implementation of a screen, allowing the drive to know information like speed and lap count. They are planning to communicate the data outside the vehicle to monitor the vehicle remotely and show live video streaming of the race from the vehicle itself.

Marketing

The marketing sub-team takes care of updating everyone on USEV’s activities and progress through the website and social media channels (including this one!). This also includes organising social events, recently with other engineering societies, and planning to get uniforms and merchandise for our members. An important aspect that marketing covers is our relationship with current sponsors and reaching out to gain new connections.