A team of undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota’s engineering department, with some help from Neutrik USA (www. neutrik.com), successfully completed the North American Solar Challenge, a competition to design, build, and operate solar-powered cars in a 2,400 mile drive from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta. Through several donations, including assorted connector and receptacle products from Neutrik, the team was able to successfully create its eighth solar car–the Centaurus–and finished fifth overall in the mid-July competition.
“We used Neutrik-brand connectors as the backbone of our connection solution for Centaurus,” says Samuel Lenius, project manager, University of Minnesota’s Solar Vehicle Project. “Neutrik was the best available solution for our design, as the products provided the most reliable performance, which is a major factor in an event of this caliber and distance.”
Through Neutrik’s contribution, nearly all of the electrical components on the car were designed and manufactured in-house by the students. The electrical team working on Centaurus followed a methodology that ensured that every electrical component in the vehicle had, at a minimum, two complete backups–extending down to the connectors and wiring.
Neutrik donated numerous wire-side connector products, including several male and female XX-Series XLR’s (NC3FXX-BAG, NC3MXX-BAG, NC4FXX, NC5FXX, NC6MXX-BAG and NC7FXX). In terms of chassis-side connectors, Neutrik also provided a number of male and female A-Series XLR receptacles (NC3FAH, NC4MAH and NC5FAH), as well as male and female DL-Series XLR receptacles (NC3MD-L-B, NC5FD-L-B-1, NC6FD-L-BAG-1 and NC7MD-L-B-1). The company also donated sev-eral of its speakON Lockable Loudspeakers connectors and receptacles (NL4FX, NL4MP-2 and NL8MPR-BAG).
“This project is a great opportunity to educate students about the intricate wiring and connection systems involved in designing and building a vehicle of this nature,” says Jim Cowan, president of Neutrik USA. “Centaurus also recognizes the growing trend towards solar-powered automobiles and a greener lifestyle in general. We applaud this group’s efforts and are glad that we can provide assistance in any way possible.”
In finishing fifth out of 16 teams, the Centaurus team was honored with several awards for unique design and sportsmanship, including the “Best Workmanship” award for the clean manufacturing of the car and the “Excellence in Mechanical Design” award for the students’ work on the suspension and chassis. Adam Shea, Electrical Team Leader, received the individual “Espirit de Corps” award for the help he gave to all of the teams to get their electrical systems up and running.
The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project (www.svp.umn.edu) is an organization of undergraduate engineering students who undertake the project of researching, designing, and constructing a solar vehicle every two years. The project endeavors to teach the aspects of engineering that are beyond what can be presented in a curriculum. CS
