Tommy Heyser – Mechanical Team Leader
Tommy leads a team of student-mechanical engineers and oversees all mechanical projects on Sunswift IV, including: Maintenance of existing mechanical system, e.g. front and rear suspension, steering, wheels and hubs, and brakes; Design, manufacturing, and assembly of improved brakes system and new wheels and hubs, new steering column; and Liaise between suppliers, sponsors, and mechanical [...]
2011 World Solar Challenge
Sunswift raced IVy again in the 2011 World Solar Challenge. She was improved with a new wheel motor, completely new top-shell with new silicon array and improved brakes and electrical systems. IVy and the team placed 6th overall, just in front of our mates Aurora. The team also took out 1st place in the production [...]
Last rays
A good run today. An 8:30am start from Darwin in grid position 4. Passed several cars with mechanical issues but Sunswift had some too which were fixed after the first control stop. We ended the day in about 7th position in the fleet. After a great dinner the team are working on various maintenance issues. [...]
Dar-winning
It has been an action-filled four days since we arrived in Darwin Monday night. Here are the highlights: As soon as we hit Darwin pavement we unloaded the solar car at Hidden Valley Raceway and met some of the other teams such as Stanford, CalSol from Berkeley, and ETS from Montreal. Besides acclimating to the [...]
Drive by wire!
Driver controls are one of the critical components of any car. In a solar car, not only does there have to be a mechanical connection to the front wheels via a steering column, but also a connection to the drive train to control torque and velocity. There is no gas pedal in IVy, only a [...]
Testing & Training Update
During the last few weeks, on top of all the work going on at the workshop, we have been also been busy testing and characterising Ivy in preparation for the World Solar Challenge. We’ve been fortunate enough to get access to the Sydney International Regatta Centre, which has a beautifully flat stretch of road alongside [...]
Sunswift IV
Sunswift IV 2009 – present Background Ivy was built in 2009 for the 2009 WSC. She was the 3rd vehicle that Sunswift had ever designed and built from scratch – although many successful elements from previous cars were retained in Ivy’s design. Achievements 6th overall in the 2011 World Solar Challenge, 1st in Production Class. 4th overall in [...]
Our Sponsors
GOLD The Faculty of Engineering of the University of NSW provides the UNSW SRT with a monetary grant, use of a range of facilities as well as valuable advice and support. The UNSW SRT helps promote the faculty at events such as UNSW Open Day and Sunsprint (model solar car challenge). NICTA is Australia’s Information [...]
The Team
Sunswift is a university student-led solar racing team. thirty students from the Faculties of Engineering, Science, and Business at the University of New South Wales volunteer their time and skills to design, build and race a state-of-the-art solar-powered car. We would not be able to exist without the generous funding provided by our corporate sponsors, private donors, and UNSW. People [...]
Sunswift Returns!
After a brief hiatus during the exam period the team were back in full force at the workshop today. With the weather back at its best, nearly a full contingent of team members converged upon the workshop to continue our WSC11 campaign. To start the day off a general team meeting was scheduled for 10am, [...]
