University of Michigan Solar Car Team

Creating a new windshield for our car was no easy task. The American Solar Challenge requires greater visibility due to the nature of the American terrain, and getting our windshield to meet this requirement considering Astrum's shape was no easy feat. Luckily, with the expertise and generosity of our partner Universal Plastics Corporation, we were able to make our ASC windshield a reality. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

Come find us on Wednesday, Aug 28 at Festifall! We'll be at table F75 on the north side of Ingalls Mall from 6-8:30 PM. We'll also be hanging out in front of Hatcher Library from 2:30-5 PM earlier that day, if you aren't able to go later! Join us next week at Taste of Solar Car (Chysler Center, Room 220) and at our first General Team Meeting (GG Brown Laboratories, Room 2505) with new recruits! Everyone will be have a chance to learn what it takes to be a part of our team and we're looking forward to seeing you there. Go Blue!

Ever wondered how we get our solar car’s electrical systems working properly? The process starts when we create a specification, test, and then design the board using Altium? designer. After that, the board is sent to partners like Saturn Electronics Corporation, who create the physical PCB for us to use. We then attach components to the board, and test to make sure they are working. Of course, no board works alone. When boards need to communicate, they do so on the CAN network, which connects each of the boards and allows them to send signals to one another. Once our boards are created and connected to one another, we can often still have errors! The electrical engineers use VECTOR Informatik’s CANoe to identify problems in our boards’ communication, and to make sure that our whole electrical system is functioning as it should. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

When it comes to our car's incredibly complex electrical systems, it's crucial that we have ways to test components before (and when) problems arise. From assembling Astrum's new boards for ASC to roadside fixes, AstroAI Corporation's multimeters were a crucial tool for our electrical engineers this summer. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

Our faithful Mitsuba Corporation motor carried us through so much since Astrum's creation: the World Solar Challenge, our local tests around Ann Arbor, and even our mock race spanning the first portion of the American Solar Challenge route. Though the damage to the car at the Formula Sun Grand Prix prevented us from racing with this motor during the American Solar Challenge, the Mitsuba motor we borrowed enabled us to be one of the only teams to successfully make it up all the hills without stopping. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

When you're racing a solar car as finely tuned as Astrum, strategy and optimization become crucial. That's why it's so important that we have the means to analyze our battery and parameterize it for our models. This summer, Excel Engineering provided us with not only invaluable testing on our battery, but also some phenomenal mentorship that really helped our team out as we prepped for the American Solar Challenge. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

It's no secret that the design process, from start to finish, takes a lot of time, energy, and money. While our crew certainly has a lot of time and energy, we rely on support from partners like First Solar, Leeward Renewable Energy, LLC, and our own University of Michigan College of Engineering to help us afford the materials, machining, and logistical costs that come with designing custom parts like Astrum's new rollcage. Their assistance, as well as the top-tier mentorship they provide, empowers us to spread our "engineering wings" and try new designs that bring our cars to new heights. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

Building a solar car uses a lot of fasteners, both on and off the car. This summer, many of these were generously provided to us by Fastener Mart, which allowed us to assemble our rollcage fixture and more. Thank you to Fastener Mart for their support! #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

Our race crew has arrived back home, thanks to our caravan from Ford Motor Company! Over the course of our race, our Bronco, Expedition, and F-150 Lightning carried our race crew along with our solar car, as well as all of our equipment to make repairs, strategize, and gather data. We could not have made it without them, so thank you to Ford for generously loaning us these vehicles during the American Solar Challenge. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue

We're NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! With this tenth national title, our race crew has earned our place among the legendary American race crews of our past, carrying on the legacy of hard work and excellence that our team has maintained for 34 years. It’s hard to find words to describe what this means to all of us. Each of us has our own unique reason for being here today, and our own accomplishments that have contributed to this hard-won victory. What unites us, though, is our passion for this team and for each other, and for the challenge we just completed. Truly, this experience will stick with us all for a lifetime. We want to thank the rest of our team back home, who helped bring Astrum to life, our staff advisors, mentors, and friends at U of M, whose support guides and inspires us, and our family members, who have rooted for us through each frustrating setback and each joyous victory. We'd also like to recognize our sponsors, who made this all possible through their generosity and mentorship. A special thank you to First Solar, University of Michigan College of Engineering, Siemens, Ford Motor Company, Roush, and Amprius Technologies, Inc. for their above and beyond support. Here’s to a massively successful race, an exhilarating summer, and friendships that are going to last for years to come. Go Fast, Go Smooth, and as always, Go Blue. #UMichSolarCar #GoBlue #ASC2024 Credit for full team image goes to the American Solar Challenge media team.