THE ELECTRICAL VROOM
Designers of the LamboEV and their client pose with their presentation display. From left are Darren Achtymichuk, Michael Dawson, Roberto Martinez, Jason Boddez and, from AMS Ventures, Andrew Sarauer.

Electrified Replica Car Tops Design Awards
An electric car that goes — really goes — zipped off with the top prize at the eighth annual Capstone Honours Awards Night, April 9 at the University of Alberta. Boasting zero to 100 in a racy 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 200 km/h, the direct-drive, battery-powered LamboEV was one of four designs for different clients.

Each design was presented to the crowd of 165 people by a team of graduating mechanical engineering students. Also in the finals for the top prize were a retrieval system for seismic wires frozen into Arctic ice; a torch mounted on an all-terrain vehicle and used to throw flaming gel during forestry test burns; and a versatile cab module that protects equipment operators during rollovers and from falling objects.

The electric car project delivers the winning U of A team to Ottawa to go up against other projects in the National Student Design Competition of the Canadian Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Last year’s Capstones-topping team won the national event.

The LamboEV itself, based on a Lamborghini replica car, would require a little patience on the way to Ottawa. Its highway range is 280 kilometres, and recharging requires a 10-hour pause at any 220-volt outlet.

One of the design goals was to get the client’s replica car from Edmonton to Calgary without a recharge. The team learned, however, that to meet the other criteria, client AMS Ventures would have to settle for spending the night in Red Deer — the design falls just short on the full distance.
A “fill-up,” however, would cost a mere $4. Drivers of a Diablo 6.0 VT, on the other hand, are looking at $120 at the pumps every 550 kilometres.

A high-performance electric car may seem frivolous, but it does address a real-world problem. Lack of affordable performance is one thing holding back the development of electric cars. And in the LamboEV’s case, the client does plan to go through with converting a replica car.

The design awards are always about working for real clients, speakers emphasized. The Capstones celebrate and demonstrate the importance of mechanical engineering design and its strong connection to industry.

“This really is where it all comes together,” said Curtis Stout, P.Eng., chair of the Northern Lights Chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. “Mechanical engineering design is truly a partnership with manufacturing.”

 “Design is what engineering is all about,” said Roger Toogood, P.Eng., associate professor. “People get into it because they want to build stuff and see how it works.”

About a third of the engineering students at the U of A chose mechanical engineering this school year, Dr. Toogood said. About two thirds of those were successful.

“We really do get the best of the best. So tonight we have the best of the best of the best,” he said.

The Trophy Story
Each participant in the Capstone banquet receives a trophy based on a two-speed, planetary-geared truck hub — and this year, the 100th trophy since the event’s inception found a home.

Valued at $2,000, each personalized, fully functional hub comes with its own toolkit, so winners can take it apart and put it back together.

Mr. Stout designed the trophy. The late Thorsten Watterodt, P.Eng., a U of A alumnus, developed the hub it’s based upon. The DT Hub is manufactured by the German company NAF and marketed worldwide.

Major Sponsors
The awards are jointly presented by the University of Alberta, its Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Northern Lights Chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

About 50 other sponsors also make it possible. Titanium sponsors, for $20,000-plus, are Alberta Economic Development, Darcey Riley, Shell Canada, and, for trophy manufacturing, Gambit Products Ltd. and Precimax Manufacturing Ltd. Inconel sponsors for $10,000 to $20,000 are ProCAD Books Ltd. and Sperry Drilling Services — Halliburton.

Capstone Winners
Capstone Representative and Northern Lights Award for Technical Excellence — Electric Car Propulsion for AMS Ventures, team members Darren Achtymichuk, Jason Boddez, Michael Dawson, Roberto Martinez.

Thorsten Watterodt Design Creativity — ATV-Mounted Terra Torch for the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada, team members Doris Li, Vanessa Liu, Brandon Wong, Howard Yue.

Northern Lights Design for Manufacture Award — Rollover Protection/Falling Object Protection Cab Module for Freewing Industries Ltd., team members Veronica Houston, Susan Ilsley, Bruno Schwizer, Peter Weggeman.

Precimax Design for Advanced Manufacturing Award — Arctic Wire Retrieval System for Aguila Exploration Consultants, team members William Barwell, Sean Casey, Oliver Kratschat, Kayle Mather.

CSME Gold Medal for a third-year mechanical engineering student with highest academic standing — Darren Achtymichuk.

Junior Honours Design Award — fall 2006, team members Mikkel Arnston, Joshua Dyck, Benjamin Lillijord, Michael Potts; winter 2007, Ellen Christopherson, Mitch Gamble, Matt Geddes, Jesse Van Buuren.