This year, 15 students from the Lille campus are participating alongside students from the Metz campus in the Formula Student challenge, an international student motor racing competition.
Training based on your passion
Passionate about motorsports, all of the engineering students involved in this challenge are working hard to design a race car. "We're training in something we love, with a view to gaining some initial experience in the field before we graduate," explains Thomas Wielgosik, a second-year engineering student participating in the project. Since March 2020, the future engineers have been developing their design and manufacturing skills through a real-world exercise: designing and building a single-seater vehicle.
To meet this challenge, the team is divided into several groups: Suspension, Chassis, Engine, and Aerodynamics. The engineering students have also enlisted the help of their design and manufacturing teachers to support them in their second-year projects: " It's a big, well-planned project, and we're happy to help and support our students in their efforts,"add teachers Bernard Charat and Philippe Carpentier.
A first step in 2021
The ultimate goal is, of course, for the car to compete in the race, but the future engineers are realistic. " Our goal for 2021 is to participate in Formula Student in the static category. We will present the plans for our car, which already requires a significant amount of design work. Initial feedback from the jury will then enable us to develop our design for 2022. " The team will be judged on three criteria: design, cost control, and business plan, all in English! The challenge rules impose precise criteria and specific standards, particularly for the engine. "We are not engine manufacturers, so we look at what we can salvage from existing engines to choose an engine that combines weight and power. "This is how the team started with a motorcycle engine, which will be adapted using a gear system that is yet to be defined. "We have developed in-depth knowledge of engines in order to understand how they work and how to adapt them," adds Thomas Wielgosik. The whole thing is then modeled on 3DEXPERIENCE, which allows them to learn how to use new design software.
The engineering students have been working on this project for several years. In addition to the goal of competing in 2022, each class will have the choice of its own motorization. Other Arts et Métiers engineering students Arts et Métiers therefore Arts et Métiers in parallel on the pre-development of a technology to create an electric vehicle that will be able to compete in Formula Student!
