[Event Recap] NVR Vulpes Racing Formula Racing Team New Car Launch

[Event Recap] NVR Vulpes Racing Formula Racing Team New Car Launch

The NVR Vulpes Racing Formula Racing team from National Yangming National Chiao Tung University recently held a launch event for their new VR7.5 car.
3DMart was honored to be invited as a sponsor to participate and witness the achievements and plans of these students who dream of building cars.
Let's take a look at what this new car launch event conveyed!

NYCU Vulpes Racing Team
In 2008, a group of students from National Yang-Ming National Chiao Tung University, in an era before student car building was popular, connected their love for cars and their passion for building cars, and the NYCU Vulpes Racing Team was officially established.
NVR is dedicated to developing student formula racing cars and cultivating team members' automotive knowledge. With the three core concepts of "theory, design, and practice," NVR actively enhances team members' knowledge through company visits and lectures by industry instructors, ensuring that team members not only have sufficient theoretical knowledge but also proficient practical skills.
At the same time, they actively participate in events such as the Taipei International Automotive Electronics Show and COMPUTEX 2024, sparing no effort to promote domestic technological development and the racing culture.
The team developed the VR5 gasoline-powered race car in 2020 and began researching electric vehicle technologies to create the VR6 electric race car.
In September 2021, it competed in the "2021 Taiwan Student Formula Racing League" with a VR5 fuel-powered race car and achieved a great result in its debut, winning first prize with the fastest speed.
In the future, we will participate in international competitions with the brand-new VR7.5. We hope that through hard work, we can learn from the competitions and continuously improve the team's car manufacturing process.

Car manufacturing goal—Formula SAE
Formula SAE (FSAE for short) is the largest student engineering design competition in the field of mechanical engineering, attracting more than 500 schools to participate each year.
Currently, more than 800 teams have participated, and the event has been extended to 18 countries around the world. This year, the NVR team will participate in the Japanese event, Formula SAE Japan (FSAEJ).

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has been organizing the FSAE since 1981. Its purpose is to train students to go beyond the theoretical knowledge in textbooks and to independently form teams to design, build, and test a unique student formula car. Students can then compete with student teams from around the world to train them to become valuable automotive engineers.
All teams must design their vehicles in accordance with the rules issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). In addition, on race day, they must pass more than 100 safety checks, as well as tilt, braking, and rain tests before they can enter the track.

Participating teams must design, build, drive, and sell a race car based on the competition rules. The rules primarily aim to protect student driving safety while providing space for students to unleash their creativity. The competition is scored out of a total of 1000 points, divided into two parts: dynamic events (675 points) and static events (325 points).

VR7.5
With the advent of the era of electric racing cars, the transition from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles has become an inevitable trend.
Based on the VR6 electric car, the NVR team created the second-generation electric race car – the VR7.5.
During the design process, "safety" and "performance" were taken as the main design goals, and a number of new technologies were adopted to improve the overall performance of the vehicle and ensure the safety of driving and maintenance.

Multi-sensor system
To more accurately monitor vehicle status, the NVR team added a variety of sensors, including wheel speed sensors, steering wheel angle sensors, motor speed sensors, suspension travel line displacement sensors, and GPS. These sensors can monitor the vehicle's operating status in real time and transmit the data to the vehicle control system.
This not only helps improve the speed of vehicle performance tuning, but also increases the ability of technicians to react quickly on the track.
power system
The VR7.5 is equipped with an advanced electric drive system and integrates a battery management system (BMS) in collaboration with suppliers to ensure efficient and safe energy output by monitoring battery temperature.
Vehicle body structure
The NVR team optimized the VR7.5's body structure and rigidity, while ensuring the vehicle's stability and torsional resistance at high speeds to cope with extreme situations that may be encountered during the race.

Future plans
Vehicle plan
After VR7.5 is completed and finishes its races, the NVR team will begin development of the fourth-generation electric race car, VR8.
The new vehicle will be equipped with more advanced automotive sensors to enhance data collection and analysis capabilities, and will adopt a high-rigidity, lightweight monocoque design to improve body rigidity and reduce weight, thereby optimizing overall performance.
In addition, autonomous driving technology will become a key development direction, combining advanced sensors and automatic control systems to prepare for the development of future driverless racing cars.
On the software side, we will focus on the development and optimization of vehicle control algorithms to improve dynamic control performance and ensure optimal performance in extreme environments.
Branding
By collaborating with designers to develop merchandise and sponsored items, the NVR team hopes to enhance its distinctive character and brand recognition.
At the same time, through sponsorship feedback, the NVR team also hopes that the team and sponsoring companies can be regarded as a close-knit family, sharing the results of the competition together.
STEM Education Promotion
The NVR team will collaborate with relevant educational institutions to launch STEM education courses and activities themed around motorsports.
Through the technology and engineering applications of racing cars, students' interest in high-tech fields is inspired, and their creative thinking and problem-solving abilities are cultivated.

Bambu Lab 3D printers aid in race car production
In the world of Formula Student, teams must design and build high-performance cars with limited resources.
Traditional manufacturing methods, such as CNC machining or injection molding, can produce high-precision parts, but they are often costly and time-consuming.
Therefore, more and more racing teams are starting to use 3D printing technology to produce custom parts, and the Bambu Lab 3D printer is an indispensable tool in this process.

Bambu Lab's 3D printers are known for their high speed, high precision, ease of use, and versatility, enabling students to quickly transform their designs into physical parts.
For example, many racing teams use Bambu Lab series 3D printers to print lightweight plastic parts, such as battery holders and wiring harness clamps.
These parts not only reduce vehicle weight, but also allow for rapid design adjustments based on test or simulation results, improving overall performance.

In addition, compared to traditional manufacturing methods, 3D printing technology allows students to conduct more prototyping and testing.
During the development of racing cars, it is often necessary to make real-time modifications based on racing rules and test data. Bambu Lab 3D printers enable teams to complete design iterations in a short period of time, ensuring the best condition of the racing car.