Laser Cutting For The Terps Race Team
Our PA laser cutting shop recently completed a very unique project for a pretty unique client: the University of Maryland Terps Racing Team!
The Terps Racing Team is a group of engineering students who design and build a Formula One-style racecar as part of their engineering studies. Best of all, they get to race on weekends and compete with other teams from around the country.
We’re proud to report that the Terps have been doing pretty well over the last few years. In 2011 they won the Sports Car Club of America national racing competition, and from 2009 through 2011 they placed 4th nationally in the Society of Automotive Engineers Formula competition.
Our work on this project included using our tube laser cutting shop to produce the struts and linkages that support the car’s wheels. This is a critical application where performance and reliability are of paramount importance.
Because the car is capable of racing at almost 100 miles per hour, the struts need to be manufactured perfectly in order to perform as required and maintain a high degree of safety for the driver. When the car is taking a corner at almost 3Gs of force, these parts need to hold up.
Using our 3D tube laser, we were able to quickly and efficiently produce the necessary parts the Terps team needed to keep their car on the track and winning races. Thanks to a pivoting cutting head, our 3D tube laser can precisely cut complex geometry that would be impossible to achieve with traditional cutting methods.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Terps Racing Team, check out their Facebook page and show your support. We get excited helping students learn about design, engineering and fabrication so we’re very proud to have been chosen to participate in this project. Go Terps!
And if you’re interested in learning more about our PA laser cutting shop, or any of our design, fabrication and cutting capabilities, please contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you and discussing how we might be able to help with your next project.
