Competition Preparation: Final Countdown to Regionals
In the last month we have made significant progress towards all factors needed for the Regionals stage of the competition on February 6th.
Team Kit and Branding
One of these factors is the designing and ordering of our team kit. This will be what we wear to represent ourselves and our brand identity at the competition. Our teamwear shows not only our logo but our sponsors as well. This is to maximise exposure and show off the organisations who have supported us.
The kit was designed by our graphic designer Tom and arrived just in time for competition.
Manufacturing Milestone
Another exciting update is that our team got the opportunity to visit our sponsor, Newport CNC, and got the privilege of watching our car being machined.
This month our car reached its final design status and was sent to our CNC manufacturer. This final design was the product of hours of development and testing via CFD software, as well as moving from iteration 1 to iteration 3.
Our car was cut by a 5-axis machine from HAAS at Newport CNC. Our car is now ready for race day.
Race Day Preparation
Regionals is on the 6th of February, meaning we are currently on a tight schedule. All of the components we have been working so hard on are finally coming together, meaning we are fully prepared for competition day.
This is our first opportunity to present ourselves in this kind of setting and be able to show off what we have achieved. The whole team is excited to attend, not only to see how we have done but also to meet other teams and network with possible employers.
Testing Day
We are taking the extra step to ensure we are prepared for regionals by attending a testing day on the 28th of January. This gives us the opportunity to:
- Test the speed and efficiency of our car
- Prepare our reaction times in a higher pressure environment
- Get familiar with the competition format
Due to the car being activated by a button, one member of our team will be in control of it. This means it is vital to have a good reaction time to get the edge over our competitors that we need to win.