Hello! We are a diverse group of 50 students working to build an innovative and sustainable transportation system, The Hyperloop, for an international competition known as European Hyperloop Week. From procuring mechanical and electrical parts, using various software from COMSOL to Fusion 360 and testing our pod with an in-house GUI, we are doing the end-to-end manufacturing process.
The wider goal for the project is to contribute to the development of high-speed sustainable transportation, which is as fast as an airline but with the frequency of the underground tube. With a spirit of innovation and collaboration, we're looking to be the first English Hyperloop team to implement EDDs (Electro-dynamic Discs) and EDWs (Electro-dynamic Wheels) in our design and demonstrate this at the prestigious European Hyperloop Week (EHW) competition in Zurich in 2024. In addition, while no English team has been able to demonstrate a working prototype at the competition thus far, we hope to be the first to do so this year.
To advance our project, we've achieved several milestones so far. We've successfully manufactured and tested our EDD and completed COMSOL simulations for it. Furthermore, we're designing and building our own battery pack, and our rigorously tested braking system is fully functional. Our PCB design is complete, a custom GUI has been developed, and we've thoroughly researched methods for transferring data between the pod and the GUI. Finally, our chassis design has been finalised and a carbon fibre mould has been designed. Looking forward to the next few weeks, we are trying to procure polyurethane for CNC machining for the mould and are using resin to layer the carbon fibre. A broader overview of our timeline can be seen in the images attached.
We plan to utilize our RS project fund winnings to purchase essential components like capacitors, connectors for the Buck Convertor and braking systems, diodes for reverse polarity protection, power-rated discharge resistors, voltage references for indicators, and relays for controlled braking. We'll also acquire thread-locking adhesive for added safety. Our immediate focus includes determining the optimal EDD height by analysing our testing data, constructing our carbon fibre mould, fabricating the carbon-fibre chassis and pod cover, and assembling our own battery pack. We'll consider our efforts at EHW a success if we can achieve a safe demonstration of our pod, showcasing its ability to lift.
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