Photo by Sean Michel
Driver Ann Peters, a Cal Poly junior materials engineering student, takes the Lamina out on her maiden voyage in San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly: Combining Skills for Super Mileage

March 20, 2012
2 min read

Bringing together students majoring in mechanical, material, and aerospace engineering, as well as computer science, the Cal Poly Supermileage Vehicle Team combines all these disciplines to produce the most efficient vehicles possible.

Last year, we took home the Technical Innovation Award at Shell Eco-marathon Americas for the onboard electronics and custom data acquisition and monitoring system of Capax, our “urban concept car.” (See Cal Poly’s 2011 Eco-marathon team at the competition.)

In addition to modifying Capax to compete again in the category for street-legal cars, we also hope to show a new prototype car, Lamina, at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012 at the end of this month in Houston.

Lamina combines sleek aerodynamic shapes with ergonomic design in order to minimize weight. Using the Latin word for “thin layer,” root of the word “laminate,” Lamina illustrates her meaning with bladelike lines and sharp styling. We aimed to create a modular engine and drive train in a single unit that can be taken out for tuning. This increases the safety of the car, while minimizing its size. Weighing in at about 70 pounds, Lamina utilizes a combined fairing and chassis, or monocoque, design. This is a technique in which the external skin of the vehicle, instead of an internal frame, supports the structural load.

We have worked in close collaboration with our professors at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, and with industry leaders. Through our work with them, our knowledge of designing, manufacturing, and competing has broadened dramatically.

Combining the efforts of newcomers onto the team with veteran seniors, we hope to improve upon the entire manufacturing process from design to race. Starting with conceptual design and aero testing to final mold and car production, we hope to surpass the 3,000 mile-per-gallon (1,275-kilometers-per-liter) mark! At Cal Poly, we have the opportunity to be a part of a team that encourages learning and collaboration to make something unique.

The following photos demonstrate the manufacturing process as well as some of the characteristics of Lamina. These photos will provide a quick view of our process from design to production. At Cal Poly we believe in the motto, “Learn by doing,” and following just that principle, students involved gain knowledge through hands-on experience. The design of each vehicle begins with a 3-D CAD (computer-aided design) model using SolidWorks software.  Then come extensive design reviews. Finally, the whole project ends with the complete manufacturing of the vehicles done entirely on the Cal Poly campus by students.

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