April/May 2026 Blog
With the first academic year now behind us, the team has much to be proud of. A student-led initiative of this scale and ambition has never been undertaken in UNB’s long history. Over the past year, the team not only designed the foundation of our electric vehicle but also set the precedent for innovative, homegrown student projects. We are well on our way to unveiling our car during the upcoming academic year.
As the team continues to build partnerships with businesses across New Brunswick and beyond, manufacturing has begun on several key components of the vehicle, including the battery pack and chassis. While it is more challenging for the team to meet regularly over the summer months, development will continue to move forward, and we remain committed to having our car ready for the 2027 FSAE competitions.
Electrical
This month was a busy month for the Electrical Team. We received the motor, inverter, and insulation monitoring device. With exams taking place, the team did not have much time to experiment with the new components. However, in the upcoming weeks, we plan on getting the motor spinning. Furthermore, we are just about wrapping up the design of the high-voltage battery pack with Topattery. On the low-voltage side, there are still a few remaining components that need to be designed before we can begin purchasing the low-voltage components.
Chassis
This month the Chassis Team spent a lot of time working to make the chassis ready for manufacturing. With some final design changes and structural verifications, a final model was finalized. With this design, the steel tubing has been ordered and is at Sunny Corner Enterprise Inc.. Sunny Corner has agreed to cut, notch, bend all our tubing and also may be able to help with the welding process.
In addition, we have received the CAD model for the battery. With this, we have begun preliminary design and verification of the battery integration to the chassis. This is still in its early stages and will be further developed in the coming weeks.
Dynamics
It is often said that the greatest performance gains come from a well-designed suspension. While the team’s primary goal is simply to finish the race, that has not stopped the Dynamics Team from pursuing a thoroughly researched and carefully engineered design.
The front suspension assembly, from the wheel to the chassis, is now complete and is undergoing a final review before fabrication begins. The brand of suspension has also been finalized with team planning to race with Ohlins shocks.
The rear suspension is not far behind. The geometry has been established, and the shock configuration is currently in the design phase. Put simply, most of the engineering and calculations have been completed, leaving the team to focus on packaging the assembly as efficiently and cleanly as possible.
The team has also continued to develop the bill of materials and is preparing to make major purchases of the raw materials required for fabrication. From bearings to metal stock, the car’s design is steadily coming to life.