Aguascalientes, Ags., June 19, 2024.- Students from the School of Engineering of the Panamericana campus Aguascalientes participate for the second consecutive year in the prestigious competition of the Formula SAE International in Michigan.
With only 120 places available to participate, several universities from around the world compete for a chance to run in this important race. Panamericana was one of the five Mexican universities that competed in this competition.
During a year of preparation, the students must plan and develop; the first six months are spent designing and making all the digital adjustments that the car must have, once the theoretical part is ready, the authorization is awaited in order to start building the car.
From the second half of the year is when the manufacturing of the car begins, after two months the first closing is made and by May the competition is held.
It is worth mentioning that, being an SAE category, the cars can run at 140 kilometers per hour.
A competition for engineers
"The beauty of Formula SAE is that beyond being a competition to race a car, it is a design competition where students make calculations, do strength analysis, that is, it is a competition for engineers," says Rocío Martínez, coach of the Bonaterra Motorsport team.
During the competition there are different stages to overcome, but undoubtedly the decisive one to continue advancing in the competition is the Tec test.
"In terms of costs and design, we did very well, we managed to pass these stages, however, the Tec analysis part is one of the most complicated, since this step verifies if our car has what it takes to be raced," the coach said.
With some observations and points for improvement, the team is not stopping to continue preparing and be ready to race next year.
"Beyond the capabilities and the limit you set for yourself, you can always give more. In addition, for the students this competition is a great opportunity to put themselves in the sights of the biggest companies in the automotive industry," he adds.
Testimonial from a student of Industrial Engineering
In addition, the different areas that make up the team range from bodywork, chassis, powertrain and suspension to administration and sponsorship.
The team is made up of students from different careers of the School of Engineering; however, this is the first time that students from Industrial Engineering participate.
"From day one, I found myself with a diverse and motivated team, all with different skills and knowledge. During the process, I realized that I could bring a lot to the manufacturing side, learning about the different processes needed to build the vehicle. I learned about the use of different tools and machines, about the materials and techniques needed to build parts of the car, and about the importance of precision and attention to detail," says María Fernanda Lomelí, a second semester Industrial Engineering student.
In addition, María Fernanda says that during this journey she understood how important industrial engineers are in this project, because in the competition their role was crucial to ensure that everything was carried out in an orderly and efficient manner. A clear example is the inventory of the machinery, since together with her partner from Industrial Engineering they were in charge of giving a place to everything and keeping a record of what was used and moved, thus reducing the risk of losing something.
"I worked closely with the mechanical engineers, learning from their experience and sharing my knowledge of management and organization. Together, we managed to improve the team's efficiency and reduce production time, which allowed us to spend more time perfecting the vehicle's design and testing," he shares.
What's next for the Formula SAE competition? A much stronger team, with a clear knowledge of what needs to be improved and with a great conviction that next year they will be able to race.
