The hardships and joy borne from a completely blank blueprint –
this is the story of a formula car development team composed solely of students.
Tohoku University Formula Team
Tohoku University
Formula Team
Volunteers from different academic fields gather, and each one is responsible for one part of the machine.
Right after the 2015 competition ended, meetings for the next competition started. Planning took three months, design and placing orders for parts took two months, production also took two months, and then trial runs were conducted. Improvements were made, the design was reviewed and test drives were held. However, there were hardly any instances where things proceeded according to plan. Akari Sawase, one of the few female members of the team explains, “There are presently 17 volunteers working on our car. Most are from the School of Engineering but are from different departments. Because it's a gathering of students from differing research fields, we look at their suitability, and then we decide who plays what role, from public relations, accounting, the drive train to the chassis. As each one is in charge of different parts and issues, if one is delayed in submitting his or her part, the person in charge of the next part of the process will also be delayed. If a problem occurs, that problem will also tie the others down. A characteristic of car-making is that everything is related to each other, and I feel that this is also what's difficult about it.” Sawase is presently the team leader and works as the team's organizer. She manages the team's schedule, acts as an intermediary when team members clash, and conducts fundraising for the team's operational costs. She has plenty to do, and the pressure is huge. Despite this, she believes that strong teams have good management and that she can maximize the team’s strength through her smooth management,” and she keeps to a style of management based on communication.
Learning through hands-on study before learning from classroom lectures.
There are kinds of knowledge and experiences that can only be gained through trial and error.
The Tohoku University Formula Team has been competing in the EV division since the first year it joined, where electric vehicles are produced and evaluated. They have been competing in this division because they concluded that unlike cars in the existing gasoline engine division, EVs have a higher chance of being actually used in the future based on their environmental and economic advantages. However, not all team members belong to electrical departments and they have not necessarily taken classes in electric car production. So, they read a number of books just to make one part and they also created a number of prototypes. They took on the challenge knowing that trial and error was inevitable. Shota Sawasato, who belongs to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is in charge of the drive system. He studied and acquired knowledge by himself for the team. He says, “I've liked cars since I was in elementary school, and after I got into university, I bought a car and maintained it myself. I joined the team in the winter of my freshman year when I found out that I could do real monozukuri with my own hands in a formula car team. As expected, it's difficult to actually make a car, and there were times when I almost gave up. But the knowledge that I've gained by joining this team was also taught in some of my classes later on. When I realized that I experienced things through hands-on study even before I learned them in the classroom, I began to feel that the efforts of a formula car team were really valuable.”
“monozukuri is what engineering is about.”
Enjoying the process is the driving force.
When making something new especially in the field of engineering, the goal can only be reached by following the correct procedure. However, even when you follow what you think is the correct procedure, there are times when you cannot see what's ahead. In times like these, you ask the professionals in each field, the professors, and they search for a way forward. The team is unanimous in saying, “monozukuri is what engineering is about.” They say that monozukuri isn't simply just “manufacturing”; they feel that monozukuri from scratch is at the basis of engineering. “The reason we can say this now is because we have already experienced the joy of seeing things taking shape. You won't be satisfied if you already know the answer, because what you're doing is not engineering; it's simply verifying your answer. Enjoying the process of succeeding from repeated failures – I think that this is the driving force for the whole team.” In preparation for the 2016 competition, the Tohoku University Formula Team is moving forward step by step while analyzing past mistakes. Their goal is to win the first place in the EV division in the next competition, which surely won’t be easy. However, through their spirit of monozukuri honed by the team members' efforts, the day when they will go up the winners' podium is surely not far away.
Tohoku University Formula Teamhttp://tuftev.web.fc2.com/
2015-2016 Team Members
◎Team Leader |
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Akari Sawase / Second-year student, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering |
◎Technical Director and Chassis Group Leader |
Hiro Abe / Fourth-year student, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering |
◎Drive Train Group Leader |
Shota Sawasato / Second-year student, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering |
Fourth-year student, School of Engineering |
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Hajime Ishi / Department of Electrical, Information and Physics Engineering |
Second-year students, School of Engineering |
Hiroki Suzuki / Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
Yoshie Yabuta/ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
Kana Takeyama / Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
Risa Nakane / Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
Ashwini Kumar / Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
First-year students, School of Engineering |
Yutaro Ishikawa / Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture |
Haruka Kubuta / Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
Naoki Tashiro/ Department of Electrical, Information and Physics Engineering |
Ryuse Nitta / Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture |
Akira Matsui / Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
Masato Mukai/ Department of Electrical, Information and Physics Engineering |
Ayano Yoshida/ Department of Electrical, Information and Physics Engineering |
Sora Yonaiyama/ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
First-year students, School of Science |
Jin Watanabe/ Department of Physics |
Daichi Watanabe / Department of Chemistry |