AUGUST ADVENTURES
Team Octane racing's advancements across subsystems, and other community engagements...
August was a whirlwind month for us, marked by challenges and significant progress as we worked to get back on track with our project timeline. Despite facing a few setbacks, the team remains resilient and determined to push forward, overcoming obstacles and focusing on growth.
ACCUMULATOR –
The accumulator design, which was finalized earlier, was modified to comply with the shipping regulations for the dangerous goods category.
The new design will involve the cell segments to be made in smaller pieces and will be completed by the end of the month.
BRAKES –
The brakes team successfully validated the new design by creating testing setup on our existing vehicle.
Members looked for new Accelerator pedal position sensors (APPS) for the new pedal assembly and procured them as well.
The Accelerator pedal mock-up is complete, and the final prototype will be manufactured soon.
COMPOSITES-
The composites team used the new Fire-Retardant resin sponsored by Romit Resins to make new test sample laminates of carbon fibre and aramid. Due to some unidentified issues, the samples failed. The team will visit Romit Resin's facility at Raigad to rectify the issue and improve the process.
Mr. Mohit Kshirsagar, our point of contact from BHOR COMPOSITES was present in the workshop when we manufactured the test laminates. Their feedback and suggestions helped us use their products better and improve our manufacturing process.
THERMAL –
The manufacturing and machining of the cooling jacket has been completed, and it will arrive at the workshop next week before being shipped to our motor manufacturer in Germany. The cooling jacket is a metal 3D-printed component thanks to the sponsorship by EOS & Neumesh Labs. The jacket has been manufactured at Neumesh Labs, Bangalore which is a partnership of Jay Kay Enterprises and EOS.
Radiator design is under development and is expected to be finalised by the end of the month.
POWERTRAIN –
The gear blanks of our new gearbox are ready, and teeth cutting will begin this week.
The titanium shaft of the transmission assembly has been machined and is ready.
SPONSORSHIP –
The sponsorship and corporate outreach team has been actively securing funds and products to ensure a smooth manufacturing phase. We are thrilled to announce several new sponsorships:
ROMIT Resins is now our official resin sponsor, fulfilling all our resin needs for the composites team.
STICK TAPES has sent a tape package to our workshop as part of their sponsorship.
Thankyou Stick Tapes
Avdhoot PCB has agreed to sponsor us with PCBs, allowing us to test new prototype PCBs with ease.
SKF, one of the biggest bearings manufacturers in the world, is now our bearings sponsor, and will supply us with all bearings used in our suspension, steering and transmission assemblies. SKF was one of our initial sponsors and sponsored us from 2011-2017. Our Falcon 1 racecar still stands in the SKF office in Pune, showcasing the bond we had, and we are extremely excited to be partnering with them again.
COST AND MANUFACTURING –
Yamazaki Mazak, a leader in the Japanese manufacturing industry, has opened a new plant in Ranjangaon, near Pune. Members from the C&M team visited the new Mazak facility at their Open House event. Our members got an opportunity to explore their plant, machines and learnt a lot about new technologies in the manufacturing sector
The team has completed machine hour rate calculations for all manufacturing processes, which will enhance our cost efficiency and contribute to our cost documentation.
Members are now working on a real case task for practice.
The finance and documentation team are preparing the documents for the export of our cooling jacket and rotor shaft to Germany. Despite the demanding paperwork and tedious process from the customs authorities, university and the bank, the team is determined to complete all paperwork and secure safe transportation of our cooling jacket to our motor manufacturer’s facilities.
Many super seniors visited the lab this month to see the team’s progress. Siddhesh Vishwambhar, visited us to see the overall progress, while Manav Patrudkar reviewed our new accumulator design. Sanket Gore oversaw our Composites progress and conducted a knowledge transfer session on Finite Element Analysis (FEA). We consulted Rohan Upadhye and Shriniwas Apte for their opinions on our brakes design. Alok Apte, our go-to super senior for any challenge, caught up with us for our powertrain updates.
We had an online meeting with Dassault Systemes, who gave us valuable tips for our FEA practices. Some members also visited the Dassault office in Hinjewadi to carry out simulations for various subsystems under their guidance.
For our House of Clubs facility, some members visited Trilok Lasers with our Faculty Advisor Dr.S.S.Pardeshi for laser machine selection which would be used in the facility.
As is TORe tradition, team members continue to ace the placements for the year. A hearty congratulations to:
Neha Rajput, our Thermal Lead, for securing a position at Schneider Electric.
Paritosh Savardekar, our BPP Lead, for his placement at ION Group.
Arnav Barmecha, our former Media Lead, for landing a job at Spekle Solutions.
They say, “Don’t dream about the future, without first appreciating the past.” This month, we put up our automotive legacy in our workshop, serving as a motivation for us to aim for the same level of greatness that our team has achieved, and to always strive for innovation. The TOR wall of fame is a reminder of our progress through the years, and the empty space on the wall signifies all that is yet to come…
See you next month!
Already excited for the next month