Imass supports Newcastle University race car

Newcastle University's Racing Team hopes to do well at the 2008 International Formula Student Championship race at Silverstone in July, thanks to the proactive support of local Autodesk reseller, Imass.

A longstanding sponsor of the University's Mechanical Engineering teams, which are fielded each year to take part in the championship, Imass provides not only essential funding towards the design project, but also supplies and supports the latest Autodesk Inventor design and 3D digital prototyping software that is used to design and model the vehicle.

Each year, Newcastle Racing, as the team is known, competes in the Annual International Formula Student Championship, taking its place alongside 80 other teams, half of which come from overseas.

The conditions of taking part are that the car - a small single-seater race car - is designed and built from scratch each year by mechanical engineering students. Newcastle University, which entered its first team in the project five years ago, uses Autodesk Inventor to prepare its weapon for the annual race, so Imass, as its software supplier, was a natural fit as a proactive supporter of the project.

Access to technology

Chris Royle, a mechanical engineering student and the technical director of the racing car engineering team, comments: "Not only is it extremely generous of Imass to provide vital financial backing, it is fantastic to have access to the latest technology and it is a great comfort to have them close by to support us if we need help with anything."

Newcastle Racing 5 began designing its car in September 2006. Detailed design began six months later, and a rolling car is scheduled to be built by Easter 2008. Thanks to the efficiency gains enabled by Autodesk Inventor, whose dynamic, 3D digital prototyping capabilities enable concurrent design and bypass the need for physical prototyping, Newcastle Racing 5 will have plenty of time left over for serious testing. Jack Hale, the academic supervisor overseeing the project, states: "We are well ahead now, which guarantees we will have a good car by July."

None of this would have been possible without the generous support of Imass and Autodesk. Royle says: "Taking part in a project of this magnitude is extremely expensive. Our budget to produce the car is 15,000 - money which we had to raise. Without such generous sponsorship, we could not have been contenders; the project would not be possible."

Sam Adcock, the student responsible for designing the wheel package for this year's racing car, comments: "It sounds trite, but it is not about winning; the truly great thing is just being there and taking part, and everything we have learnt from being part of this opportunity. We have Imass and Autodesk to thank for that."