All students thoroughly enjoyed the days off timetable and working in the Department using a range of different tools and equipment to see who could design and make the fastest Rocket Car. 

As for the real technical details:

CO2 Propulsion: Rocket Cars were propelled by gas released from a pieced 12g CO2 cartridge.  This enabled indoor and any weather testing and racing with performance similar to A Class rocket motors.

Rocket Car Launcher: CAD files were printed on our laser cutter and our 3D printer, and then assembled.  Cars were fired multiple times and spent cartridges recycled.

Composta Block - go 'plastic free': The new car block from Bioviron International is made from a bio-compostable foam derived from corn starch.  It can be shaped with saws, knives and hot wire cutters and assembled with other parts using the hot glue.  Composta Block is a safe, nontoxic, water- soluble, fully biodegradable polymer material.  If the discarded in the environment, the foam would become readily available as a nutrient/food source for microoganisms and enter the microbial food chain.

The winning teams during the three days were the ones that had the most efficient aerodynamics, had a lower mass and well-designed wheels reducing friction and survived the forces of a high-speed run.  Every student had the opportunity to test the car in our very own hand made wind tunnel before racing!

And the winners are:

Congratulations to the winning teams and well done to everyone who took part.  Plus, a huge thank you to Argus Fire Protection Co Ltd for their sponsorship of this event.