We are a student team from Gymnázium Třinec, participating in a Czech engineering competition called Pneuracer, organized by Brno University of Technology. The task is to design and build a small race car powered only by compressed air. No batteries, no fuel – just pneumatics and mechanics. The goal is to make the car as efficient and fast as possible while exploring real-world engineering principles.

Our current project focuses on creating a lightweight and efficient piston system to replace the heavy aluminum piston we used in the previous version. We decided to redesign it using PEEK (a high-performance plastic) to reduce mass and improve surface smoothness, which is crucial for performance. The piston works inside a pneumatic cylinder (based on the SMC CD85N16-125-B), and it pushes a rack that turns a pinion gear, converting linear motion into wheel rotation.

We chose this project because we wanted a hands-on way to apply physics, CAD modeling, CNC fabrication and so much more in a real challenge. It's also a fun way to work as a team, solve problems, and build something that actually moves! Our car is a combination of custom CNC parts and 3D-printed components. We're also working on gear wheels made of Nylon 6, which will help us fine-tune the drivetrain performance. The car operates by filling the cylinder with compressed air. Once released, the air pushes the piston forward, which then drives the wheels via a gear system. We aim to keep everything as lightweight and precise as possible – especially the piston, since it directly affects how much of the air energy gets converted into speed.

We’ve attached photos of our early prototypes and CAD model of the vehicle. We hope to improve even more with your support – and thank you very much for considering our project!

Our previous model

current prototype

• pneumatic cylinder
• engineering
• student project
• peek
• cnc
• piston
• pneuracer