Formula UFSM Racing Team

Team History

The Formula UFSM Team is a Formula SAE Team from Santa Maria, Brazil. We have competed in the Formula SAE Brasil competition since 2010, and have earned a spot in the US competition in the 2012, 2015 and 2021 seasons.

Recent results

In the 2023 season we achieved 5th place overall in our national competition, among more than 40 teams, and for next year our target is 1st place and competing in the USA once again.

Last years prototype was called Galgo, which placed top-3 in Engineering Design and Cost and Manufacture evaluations, as well as first place in Electronics Design, helping us solidify our place as a top team in Brazil.

Brake Light

In our competition we are required to have a Brake Light installed, and due to the regulations it is lighter and cheaper to design our own system rather than using a commercial one. Analysing the requirements for the system we have a minimum shining surface of 15cm² and LEDs no more than 20mm apart, so we designed our board to meet these requirements while keeping it easy to solder and mount in the vehicle. 

After the PCB Design, using 3D modelling software a case was designed to house the board and attach it firmly to the vehicle, allowing us to compete in Formula SAE Events.

Figure 1. Brake light PCB.

SMD Module Adaptor

On our designs sometimes we need to use ICs and complex components packaged in SMD formats, however these components need to be used in protoboards as well, in order to allow us to test and design new functionalities. To solve that package barrier we designed a adaptor that allows us to mount SMD components in protoboards using 2,54mm headers, making it easier to test, develop and allowing our systems to be designed in a modular fashion.

Figure 2. SMD Module Adaptor.