UFPR Formula

The team was founded in 2015 by Mechanical Engineering students from UFPR, with strong support from Renault, which made the project’s inception possible. This extension project aims to apply academic knowledge in a practical way, promoting the technical and personal development of its members while preparing them for the challenges of the job market. The students take on the challenge of designing and building two types of Formula cars: one combustion-powered and the other electric, to compete in Formula SAE Brazil.


Formula SAE Brazil is a national university-level competition where teams from all over the country design and build open-wheel, single-seat race cars. Over the course of four days, teams participate in a variety of static and dynamic tests, including technical inspection, track performance, design presentation, cost analysis, and marketing. At the end of the event, the best projects and cars are awarded. Companies from various sectors actively participate in the competition, providing support both in organizing the event and assisting the teams.


In recent competitions, our team has achieved impressive results: the combustion car ranked among the top eight, while the electric car earned the outstanding position of second-best vehicle. These achievements reflect the dedication and effort of our members, who are consistently challenged to design, build, and operate cars that meet all the rigorous safety standards and perform exceptionally in every required test.


Looking to the future, the team is committed to continuing to foster the personal and professional growth of its members by offering hands-on engineering experiences and encouraging the diversification of skills. Our goal is to build a team that is increasingly competitive, capable of reaching new heights of excellence on both the national and international stages.



In the electric car, PCBs play a critical role, especially in monitoring the vehicle and activating protection and safety circuits. The electronics division is responsible for designing and developing boards that ensure the car’s safe and efficient operation. One key example is the Brake System Plausibility Device (BSPD), a PCB that is essential for the vehicle's safety.


The BSPD, as required by the Formula SAE regulations, is responsible for shutting down the car’s traction system whenever the brake pedal is pressed abruptly and the system detects current being supplied by the batteries that produces power exceeding 5 kW. If this inconsistency persists for more than 0.5 seconds, the accumulator isolation relays (AIRs) must automatically open, cutting power to the traction system. Additionally, the BSPD circuit must be capable of detecting short circuits or open circuits in the brake and current sensor inputs, ensuring that the shutdown mechanism is triggered in such scenarios as well.


The BSPD is just one of the many PCBs our team needs to design to meet the stringent safety requirements of Formula SAE. Support from PCBWay would be invaluable to the development of our projects. As a team dedicated to building high-performance cars, we frequently face challenges related to acquiring and manufacturing parts within the constraints of a limited budget and tight schedules. The rapid prototyping resources offered by PCBWay would help us overcome these barriers, streamlining our manufacturing processes and enabling a more agile response to project demands.



Moreover, PCBWay’s support would provide team members with highly valuable hands-on experience, fostering continuous learning and delivering critical feedback in PCB development. This would not only enhance their technical skills but also expand their expertise in design and engineering, shaping them into more capable and prepared professionals for the future.


With PCBWay’s support, we would be able to develop projects that are increasingly closer to professional-level standards, elevating the technical quality and efficiency of our cars. We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with PCBWay and confident that, with their support, we can reach new levels of excellence, solidifying our position as a leading team in Formula SAE.

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Dec 05,2024
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