Recently we received several nicely machined and lathed parts for the Powertrain if the DUT11. For the transmission we received  both the casing halves from DEMO, short for ‘Dienst Elektronische en Mechanische Ontwikkeling’. These parts will house the gears that provide a reduction for our electric motors. They also serve as a mounting point for the electric motors. Inside the casing we find the gear and a large but lightweight aluminium adapter that will hold the gear in place. This adapter has also been made by DEMO and turned out rather nicely as well.

Besides receiving these parts, we also received the cooling plates which were made bij PMB, the workshop from the TU Delft at the faculty of Industrial Design. On these aluminium cooling plates the motor controllers will be mounted. The plates have been designed as such that water can flow through the plate in order to provide more cooling for the motor controllers from AMK so that these parts can perform at their maximum.

Last week, the new stock of tires arrived for the DUT11. Also this year the team decided to ride on the 10 inch Hoosier tires, a tire which brought the team a lot of big successes in the past. Next to the normal 10 inch slicks, this year also two wider rear tires were shipped from the states. Because of the new weight distribution of the electric car were 59% of the weight will be on the rear tires, the team wants to investigate the influence of the wider rear tires on the total grip and balance of the car. According to the expectations, this year the tires will take a big part in the noise that will be produced by the car. In the years before it was always the combustion engine that what the only noise you could hear from the car. This year the driver will be able to hear the tires slipping or sliding over the road, which will give him more information about the limit of the car.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Nederlands.

Friday March 4th was the long awaited day of the DUT Racing Grand Prix Poker Tournament. In total 34 current and former team members participated in the challenge to defeat everybody else and win the desireable prize: a test drive in a DUT racing car and a donut workshop by our tame racing driver. The battle was furious, bluffs were being called and traps were set for each other. For a short time there was no team spirit, there were only enemies. The only exception was during the break when everybody forgot about the cards and chips in order to enjoy a late night snack and some beers. As the evening progressed and the blinds went up, the best and most fortunate poker players reached the final table. In the end one man emerged victorious: Davy Louwers. This was not entirely suprising because he’s also member of the Finance Committee and owner of the best pokerface in Delft and surroundings. Honourable second place went to Thijs Papenhuijzen and third place to Tristan Timmermans. All in all, the poker tournament showed those with skill and good fortune. Thanks to all those who participated! But beware! If you are out for revenge, you will get a second chance. Soon the AC will announce the date for the next event: the DUT Racing Pub Quiz 2011!! So brush up on your knowledge of the history of DUT Racing and other general knowledge and sign up!

We have now been working on the production of the DUT11 for 6 weeks already! And as we become more and more experienced with milling and lathing of parts, our cabinet is getting more filled with shiny parts that are waiting to be assembled on the car in a couple of weeks! A big share of these parts is made by our CNC milling machine. This is a milling machine that is driven by a computer. This makes it not only possible to make more complex shapes, but it is also much faster. This year we added a cooling system and a new spindle on this CNC. This spindle comes from Damen CNC and after some start-up support we are now able to mill 7 times faster than before. Whether this implies that the car will also be finished 7 times as fast is not clear yet at this point.