Electronics diary

New look!
Posted on 2009-09-08 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Barbers of Pisa!!

I'll show you the way!
Posted on 2009-09-08 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Andrea is more than just a cameraman...

Hey guys, where's everybody?
Posted on 2009-09-05 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
It is 7:34 am and we are waiting for refueling. But where's everybody? Let's take a picture just to spend some time.

Is this the line?
Posted on 2009-09-05 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
Since there was no line for refueling that early, we decided to create our own line.

What the hell is he doing?
Posted on 2009-09-05 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
What the hell is Francesco doing with his laptop laying on a side pod at 7:45 am? Is he writing a news on the website? Is he trying a new firmware for our gearshift? Is he messing around with the engine map? No one knows.

Hurray, we are not alone anymore!
Posted on 2009-09-05 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
(8:01 am) Here is Graz TU! We are not alone in line anymore. They probably came second in line because yesterday they organized a super cool party! No one organizes better parties than our friends of Graz TU and we hope to join them on Monday, after ... [Read all]

Ready to get started
Posted on 2009-09-04 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
Everything is ready to get started. We cannot wait to get started with the static events that will take place tomorrow.

The right cost!
Posted on 2009-08-08 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
An excellent 10 position in the cost event is what we needed!! Very good job guys!! And very nice poster too... when we discussed it was still warm...

Stop at the Customs Office!!
Posted on 2009-08-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
We had few problems at the customs... we were asked a detailed list of goods, but opening the doors was enough...

Little Italy / 1
Posted on 2009-08-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
A corner of Italy arrived at the camp ground in Hockenheim. Tents, gazebo and a kitchen to feel home...

Little Italy / 2
Posted on 2009-08-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
We exported the Talebano pasta... A team asked us a pan: when they discovered there was some tomato sauce left they cleaned it ... with bread!!

Making Friends
Posted on 2009-08-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
The competition is warming up but the atmosphere is very friendly!

What are they palnning?
Posted on 2009-08-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
If you see these guys in the pits discussing about business it's not because of Wall Street... They're just repeating something about business plan!

Tech Inspection: first attempt
Posted on 2009-08-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
We did not match all the requirements at the tech inspection: almost all the teams fail the first attempt. Actually, we are working to refine the car and be ready for the next (last?) round...

Good feedback
Posted on 2009-08-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Several judges visit our pit: we were asked about our car details. They seem to appreciate ET2ev and we take care of their suggestions... Ready for second tech inspection?

Full Up
Posted on 2009-08-05 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
There's nothing more to add...

Fast & Festo
Posted on 2009-08-01 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Gear-shifting has incredibly improved: up and down shift are smooth and match drivers' expectations!! Pneumatic actuators and new tubing from Festo make it possible a fast and reliable gear-shift.

Yes we CAN!
Posted on 2009-08-01 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
The CAN-based communication with GCU simplifies the fine-tuning dramatically. We tested hundreds of parameter values in few days...

Ducks on the crosswalk!
Posted on 2009-07-27 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Please stop at the crosswalk! The duck family is crossing...

Airport test, day 5
Posted on 2009-07-27 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Acceleration test it's not just a race against time... Actually, it'a a metter of honour... Watch the videos of the unpredictable challenges: ET2ev vs. the glorious Fiat Panda, and... [Read all]

Did we miss anything?
Posted on 2009-07-27 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Where's the car? Oh yes, it's somewhere on the van...

An airship should be just enough
Posted on 2009-07-23 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
With a few simple calculations we found out that the volume of air we need in order to complete an endurance test with our pneumatic gearshift is about that of an airship. No problem: our box is an hangar so we should be able to handle this issue qui... [Read all]

We do have nice umbrella girls!
Posted on 2009-07-23 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
Just a few days ago we were complaining about not having umbrella girls. Now we do!

Fight fire with fire
Posted on 2009-07-22 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
We are pushing so hard on our engine that some tape near the exhaust took fire. The problem was solved within a few seconds by our fire fighter team. Luckily the fire didn't damage anything.

A gazebo is not enough
Posted on 2009-07-22 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
We need a roof over our heads in order to change the settings of ET2ev during the tests under the sun. We decided that a gazebo is not enough for ET2ev and we moved into a 2000 m² fireproof hangar.

Umbrellas like in MotoGP
Posted on 2009-07-21 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
In order to keep doing tests in sunny Tuscany without getting sunburnt we started using umbrellas like in MotoGP. However, unlike MotoGP we don't have nice girls to hold them.

Stop and give way...
Posted on 2009-07-21 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
This morning the E-Team stopped at the traffic light to give way to... airplanes!!

Airport test, day 1
Posted on 2009-07-21 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Today we performed intensive road tests at the airport. We had good feedback from the drivers and the powertrain section is now ok. Give a look to the latest video report from ther... [Read all]

A cool surprise
Posted on 2009-07-17 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
We appreciated these nice watches! It's a cool gift from our Io? Ion PBP sponsor. Three colors are available: white, red and black, the colors of the E-Team. Good job Mariangela!

Magnetic attraction
Posted on 2009-07-17 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
Our electronic gearshift needed some adjustments to the magnetic sensor behind the wheel. Now everything works fine.

Ready to eat some tarmac
Posted on 2009-07-17 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
Et2ev has just started its dynamic tests and it is already eating the tarmac. We will be fine tuning all the systems for the next couple of weeks.

Hello, this is the pilot speaking
Posted on 2009-07-17 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
Our drivers are helping us to fine tune the setup for ET2ev. Today we focused on our electronic gearshift.

Checking out our new meeting room
Posted on 2009-07-11 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
In order to match the beauty of our new car, ET2ev, we decided to move our meeting room into a medieval building here in Pisa. The new location looks really nice.

Working around the clock... and some
Posted on 2009-07-10 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
As we are getting closer to the presentation of ET2ev, the enthusiasm of the team is growing stronger and stronger. The workshop is always busy, both at day and at night. Sometimes people even decide to sleep there. (If you are wondering whether the ... [Read all]

Time to change gear!
Posted on 2009-07-04 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Here's the Gear Control Unit!! The board is finished and programmed... ready for the ET2ev!

Getting ready to spark
Posted on 2009-07-04 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
The electrical system is almost ready to get mounted on ET2ev. This year everything will be nice and tidy. No more skeins!

"A bugs' life"
Posted on 2009-06-25 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
We are currently debugging the firmware of the gear control unit. The interface you see in the picture makes it possible to program the unit and log the main control parameters. You can also feel onboard looking at the dashboard displayed on the PC ... [Read all]

At every cost
Posted on 2009-06-09 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
The deadline for submitting the Cost Report for Formula Student Germany 2009 is getting closer and the judges will soon start to review them. I cannot say that I particularly envy them! It looks like they will be reviewing thousands of pages...
[Read all]

Pics from GCU testing
Posted on 2009-06-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
The new GCU fw manages the dashboard and pneumatics correctly. Another step forward...

Mechatronics
Posted on 2009-06-06 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
When electronic guys use machine tool it's real mechatronics, isn't it? The linear positon sensor needed some parts to be assembled to the actuators. More experiments on Monday...

At what cost?
Posted on 2009-06-03 by Lapo Filippo Mori (Team captain)
After a big effort of all the team leaders, the cost report of ET2ev is finally complete and ready for submission for Formula Student Germany 2009. Many thanks to everyone who contributed.

gCu-code
Posted on 2009-05-29 by Andrea Lazzeri (Electronics team leader)
As you know, the ET2ev will have a new GCU... and of course a new firmware too! We have developed a preliminary "beta" version of the firmware, which is now under test. The first performance results are very very good, and it will be posted soon! sta... [Read all]

How many screws? How many turns of the screw? 1$
Posted on 2009-05-13 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
Fill in the table of the cost report is not funny at all… How many things are embedded in our car!?!?! Unbelievable!! And you have to know even turns of the screws… But finally we did it, we kept trace of everything! Actually, Andrea did it!! Thx... [Read all]

Shall we dance “Lambda”?
Posted on 2009-04-29 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
The lambda sensor’s now ok and dances lambada , ready for a dance night…it’s 9 p.m.!!

The devil wears Prada, and our new board too
Posted on 2009-04-23 by Francesco Lenzi (Team co-captain)
We chose the box for our new Gear Control Unit: looks count…