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It’s time for the annual Formula Sun Grand Prix & American Solar Challenge! Shop3D had the unique opportunity to be a Sponsor for UBC Solar during this year's competition. UBC Solar is an engineering design team from the University of British Columbia that designs, tests, and builds solar powered electric vehicles.
The Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) and the American Solar Challenge (ASC) are collegiate-level student design competitions to design, build, test, and then drive a solar powered vehicle, providing a multi-disciplined, experiential learning opportunity. FSGP is a road-course track event, while the ASC is a road rally style event. Teams must pass scrutineering and qualify at FSGP to be allowed in ASC.
For this year’s competition, Shop3D supported the student team by providing 3D Printing services. We printed the Light and the Side Indicator mounts for UBC’s solar-powered vehicle. These parts were printed in Formlabs Clear Resin on the Formlabs Form 3. These items needed to be printed in a transparent resin to maintain their functionality by allowing light to pass through with as little obstruction as possible. Formlabs SLA Resin was chosen over PLA spools due to the smoothness of the surface finish with minimal aftercare involved. The parts were washed, cured and then treated with Krylon Clear Coat to improve their transparency.
This project was extremely time-sensitive and was completed over an 8 month period. After receiving their parts UBC passed their scrutineering and completed their laps with a great run on the track, finishing in 9th place. You can watch the highlights from the event at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas below!
