Now Printing: Solar-Powered Electric Cars

Students at the Nanyang Technological University have built two electric vehicles, including one made from 3D printed parts.

AsianScientist (Feb. 10, 2015) – Students at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have built Singapore’s first urban solar electric car with a 3D-printed body shell. Mounted on a carbon fibre single shell chassis, the NTU Venture (NV) 8 will race in the Urban Concept category at this year’s Shell Eco-marathon Asia.

NTU students have also built the NTU Venture (NV) 9, a slick three-wheeled racer which can take sharp corners with little loss in speed due to its unique tilting ability inspired by motorcycle racing.​ NV9, featuring hand-made silicon solar cells, will be NTU’s entry in the Prototype category at the Shell Eco-marathon Asia which will take place in Manila from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1, 2015.

Associate Professor Ng Heong Wah, who mentored the two teams, said the students had taken a leap of faith and decided to go with disruptive innovations instead of making improvements over the previous versions.

“Using the latest engineering techniques learnt from their studies in NTU, the students have developed innovations such as silicon solar cells that can be contoured to follow the car’s shape. This allows for maximum harvesting of the solar energy and a tilting mechanism in NV9 that can ‘lean’ in the direction of the turn to avoid losing speed,” Ng said.

Ilmi Bin Abdul Wahab, a year 4 computer engineering student who led the development of 3D-printed NV8, said, “We decided to go with a 3D-printed cabin made from lightweight plastic, as we wanted to maximise the internal space and driver’s comfort while still being able to keeping the weight to a minimum. Despite being an Urban Concept car, it is no slouch and can reach a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour, while maintaining low energy consumption.”

With as many as 150 parts that had to be 3D-printed, the students collaborated with various NTU schools and research centres, as well as sponsors and institutions such as Stratasys, Creatz3D and The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART).

“For it to be lightweight, thin and yet strong, we integrated a honeycomb structure and a unique joint design to hold the parts together. When seen against the light, the structure has a translucent see-through effect, like a dragonfly wing. It is a sight to behold!” said Mr. Ng Jun Wen, who co-designed the NV8 electric car.

With annual events first in Asia, then the Americas and Europe, the Shell competition challenges students to design, build and drive a vehicle that can travel the furthest distance using the least amount of energy.

Participating teams may enter vehicles using any of the following seven energy types: hydrogen (fuel cell), battery electric, gasoline, diesel, Shell Gas to Liquids (GTL), compressed natural gas (CNG) and Ethanol E100. Student teams participate in either the Prototype or Urban Concept categories. For the Prototype category, teams enter futuristic prototypes focused on maximising fuel efficiency through innovative design elements. For the Urban Concept category, teams enter more “roadworthy” fuel-efficient vehicles.

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Source: Nanyang Technological University.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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