MART FORMULA STUDENT

MART FS

MART Formula Student is a team formed by more than 80 students from 18 different degrees belonging to the University of Malaga who love and share the passion of motorsport.

The team is structured in 7 technical different departments (aerodynamics, chassis, dynamics, electronics, suspension, e-powertrain and business) and in addition this year we have officially created 5 business and marketing departments (Audiovisual, Social, Graphic Design, Communication and Business Plan) with their respective directors who are responsible for distributing the work of the team. Besides, there are the positions of team leader and technical director, who are responsible for organization and management tasks, as well as overseeing technical development respectively.

The last season was our best season in the history of the team by far. Achieving a 2nd place in Formula Student Spain and getting through all the dynamic events in Formula Student Germany and getting 12th position overall. 

This year we are going to take a very important step: develop our first electric car,  thus betting on an electric future, with a smaller carbon footprint and more environmentally sustainable. It is already designed and is going to be manufactured to participate in one event. Our goal with our first electric car is to pass all the mechanical and electrical inspections in the event and develop a reliable single-seater. Besides, we are designing a new Aerodynamic package for our combustion car, the MA23RT. With the combustion car we will travel to another international competition and try to improve the results from last year.

One part of the project that uses printed circuit boards a lot is the electronics department: One of our printed circuit board projects are:

-  1. TSAL INDICATOR LIGHT:

 Printed circuit board consisting of several green and red leds. In case of flashing red LEDs if high voltage is detected.

If it lights up green, it indicates that there is no high voltage in our vehicle, you can touch it without electrical risk.

-       2. VOLTAGE INDICATOR:

 Is another of our printed circuits which is responsible for illuminating an LED if a nominal voltage of 550v is reached.

3. Brake Systems Pausability Device

The BSPD (Brake System Pausibility device) is a part of the shutdown system of the car, and it consists of a non-programmable circuit that prevents the driver from braking and accelerate at the same time, in order to prevent failures with stuck throttle pedals. The requirements are:

-Open by default

-Closed only when brake pressure <= 30 bar or throttle pedal position <= 25%

-If the opening condition persists for longer than 0.5s, the BSPD triggers and the shutdown circuit opens (the opening condition being brake pressure above 30 bars (Hard braking) and throttle position above 25%)

-After being triggered, the BSPD may become closed again either by power-cycling the LVMS or, if the opening condition is absent for longer than 10s, the BSPD resets itself.

The team would benefit greatly from PCBWay's support. The design and manufacture of each of these printed circuit boards is very challenging for our department. A rapid prototyping capability would allow us to provide valuable design experience and feedback to more of our team members, allowing them to expand their skills and knowledge not just for one project, but for all of our ongoing efforts.