An unusual use of sedak’s autoclave: Instead of oversize glass laminates, now a racing car chassis hardened in the pressure chamber. sedak, thus, sponsors the up-and-coming racing team “Starkstrom Augsburg”. 2016 will be the fifth time, the crew takes part in the “Formula Student Germany” competition.
This year’s racing car has a 2.4m long, single-seated cockpit with a sandwich structure consisting of carbon/aluminum honeycombs/carbon. For the first time, the chassis hardened in the 17m long autoclave at sedak, the glass manufacturer in Gersthofen, Germany. That hardening process shortened the complex and time-consuming fabrication and reduced the drying time considerably. Additionally, the amount of needed adhesive could be decreased what saves weight and thus time on the racing track.
sedak did not only provide the technology but also supported the team with its know-how: “It is our aim to constantly optimize the technology of the racing car. We could also learn a lot from the employees’ lamination capabilities at sedak,” says Team Manager Alexander Schmidt. sedak’s CEO Bernhard Veh adds: “We are internationally active but regionally rooted. Therefore we are glad to support young engineers in Bavaria.”
Background Formula Student
„Formula Student Germany“ (FSG) is a design competition for students. Since 2006 it has been held annually according to the „Formula SAE“ regulations by „Formula Student Germany e. V.“ under the patronage of the VDI, the Association of German Engineers. Once a year, 120 international teams come together for 5 days to let their self-designed bolides compete against each other in a Formula 1 atmosphere. Many experts from the automobile industry and the economic sector use the event as a recruiting platform. In 2015, the racing team from Augsburg came 10th in the overall ranking and received the Opel Style Award for the racing car’s design.