The Suneater

Event Year: 2024
Event Location: Cocoa-FL
Competition: Junior Solar Sprint
Division: 7-8 (JSS Blue)
School: Cornerstone Learning Community
Team Name: Gilberto, Kellen, Luke, Finn
Project Name: The Suneater
Team Size: 4

Our car was made by four people: Kellen, Finn, Gilberto and Luke. We have a solar panel that has shiny bubble wrap on it to reflect, which was added pretty early in the process, probably the third meeting. Our drive wheels have rubber bands for better driving on the track. We have a flap on the front which holds our passenger, the seat upside down and close to the floor so it doesn’t slip out, which we thought was pretty cool. Our team member Gilberto had the idea to put the on/off switch of the battery pack on the side of the solar panel’s supports to make it easier to access. Our solar panel is held on by Velcro pads so it can be taken on and off to be easier to modify the car.

Top view, showing our solar panel and reflective shields.

Bottom view, showing our bushings and thing that holds the wire.

Side view, showing our battery pack, motor, and passenger in its seat (upside down :D)

Front view showing our flap.

Gilberto about to stop the car from hitting the brick that holds the wire down.

Our videos show the car running on solar power and battery power, but unfortunately, they wouldn’t load, so we’ll have to find another way to add them. The car swerves dramatically, but we’ll fix it soon. Other than that, Supa Hot Fire is really happy with its car.

We apologize for the delay, but we’re glad to have shown you our car!

Car Name: The Suneater

Team MemberGradeStrengths
Kellen8thdesign, planning, thermo nuclear aerodynamic genome testing.
Luke8thphysical, emotional, mental.
Gilberto6thhaving strengths, stronger than an ant, is an older brother.
Finn6ththinking, trying to keep the group going, not dying.

Time and Design Progress

DateTime SpentActivities
December 2, 20231 hourPlanning and picking base materials.

December 16, 2023
1 hourWe enforced the base materials and worked on cutting out the place for our motor gear to go.
January 6, 20241 hourWe finished the wheels, and the car can now roll.
January 13, 20241 hourWe started working on the passenger, motor, and solar panel. we also tweaked the wheels to lower friction.
January 20, 20241 hourTesting and adjustment
January 27, 20241 hourTesting and adjustment
February 3, 20241 hourTesting and adjustment
February 10, 20241 hourTesting and adjustment
January 28, 20241 hourTesting and adjustment
February 4, 20241 hourTesting and adjustment
February 11, 20241 hourTesting and adjustment
February 25, 20191 hourTesting and adjustment
March 4, 20191 hourTesting and adjustment
March 11, 20191 hourTesting and adjustment

Our videos show our car running on battery and solar power. Although the car swerves dramatically, (and we’re working on it), Supa Hot Fire is really happy with it’s car.


One thought on “The Suneater

  • Great job! I noticed you may be catching air in the front with your solar panel overlapping the yellow “hood”. Other than that, I liked it a lot and look forward to seeing you race. Your webpage is really funny and kept me engaged in learning more about your process and the things you did to make the car better. I think once you fixed the swerving issue, it went much faster.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *