PWR Racing Team is a Students Scientific Association, but also the oldest and most successful Formula Student team in Poland, operating at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Since 2009, a group of very ambitious students from Wroclaw universities have been designing, constructing, and testing cars every year, and then competing with them in prestigious engineering competitions held worldwide.

However, the Formula Student competition is not only a demonstration of the skills needed to build a car. During the competition, participants' business skills, knowledge of the technology and materials used to build the car, and the performance of the machine on the track are also tested and evaluated.

The PWR Racing Team therefore allows young people to acquire technical knowledge and use it later in practice. It contributes to the development of the group members' manual and business skills and teaches them to create a brand image.

HISTORY

PWR Racing Team was established in 2009. Throughout its history, it has built 12 combustion-powered race cars that have won top places in Formula Student competitions across Europe. The constant desire to grow pushed the members to take on the next challenge, which was to change from an internal combustion engine to an electric motors in just one year. Launching a new era, 2022 saw the creation of the first electric car with autonomous driving systems - the RT12e, and just a season later, competing in the same category - the RT13e.

Initially, the Students Scientific Association had twenty members, who were divided into three groups - the first working on the engine and drivetrain, the second on steering and suspension, and the third on the body and appearance of the vehicle. Today, the team consists of more than seventy people from various Wroclaw universities who belong to six departments - Software, Mechanical, Electrical, Vehicle Performance, Composites, and Marketing.

ACHIEVEMENTS

PWR Racing Team is the most successful Formula Student team in Poland. During the combustion era, the students have repeatedly taken top places at competitions. In 2017 Team stood on the top step of the podium at the Italian edition of the competition - SAE Italy. In 2023, the team decided to compete in the combustion class for the last time. During the competition in Michigan, it took 2nd place in the general classification, ahead of as many as 119 teams from all over the world.

Despite the short duration of the electric era, there have already been successes on the students' account. During their first year, at the most prestigious competition, Formula Student Germany, the Team placed 8th in the Engineering Design category ahead of teams with years of experience in electric vehicle design. PWR Racing Team in 2023, during the first edition of the Formula Student Poland competition, took the top step of the podium in categories such as Cost and Manufacturing, Business Plan Presentation, and Skidpad. In addition, it placed second in Engineering Design. Such high positions in individual categories translated into winning the overall competition.

Our Goal with PCBWay

Each year we design a dozen or so PCBs. Many of them are responsible for driver safety and proper operation of the car. For this reason, the main requirement is the reliability of the boards. During the competition, we couldn't afford to have a failure, so we decided to use PCBway's services to be sure of good quality and reliability in PCB design.

BSPD

The Brake System Plausibility Device is one of the boards responsible for the safety of the driver. It has to be a non-programmable circuit that turns off the car when the power under 5kW is delivered to motors and simultaneously hard braking condition occurs. It receives readings from brake pressure sensors and measures the current flowing out of the accumulator. If both those readings are above the the sensors and filter them. Processed signals are then sent via CAN bus and this allows us to log the signals, receive them through telemetry, or display necessary data on the steering wheel. This PCB is essential due to the need to improve our vehicle every year, which is easier when we collect more data from the track.

• formula student