Building a fast, energy-saving racing car from a normal, remote-controlled car and overtaking all other teams in a competition - that is the aim of the "Jugend entdeckt Technik" (JET) challenge, which was launched by the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSH) in 2007. As with the great role models, the key factor is not speed alone, but also energy efficiency.

In June 2019, visitors to the IdeenExpo can experience the JET Challenge in action at the HSH stand. 25 teams will compete for victory with their 1:10 scale racing cars on a 20 meter long race track. The rules are strict: each team only has a budget of 50 euros at its disposal. Apart from the battery, motor and speed controller, all components must be purchased, developed or built by the teams themselves.

Save money with 3D printing service

The teams are currently preparing for the next IdeenExpo. Students from the Eugen-Reintjes vocational school opted for a wear-resistant and robust gearbox to improve their racing car. The biggest difficulty with this gearbox was procuring the gears: due to the tight budget, the students could not afford to make any big leaps. They finally found what they were looking for at Igus in Cologne: Low-cost, low-wear gears from the SLS printer. After a simple online configuration, the gears were printed from Iglidur I6 and made available.

High-performance plastic makes racing cars robust

Laboratory tests prove that the material I6 is more robust than other plastics. In a test in the in-house test laboratory, the engineers ran gears made of polyoxymethylene (POM) and Iglidur I6 at 12 revolutions per minute and loaded them with 5 Nm. A milled gear wheel made of POM failed after just 621,000 revolutions, while I6 was still in very good condition after one million revolutions. This means that the team does not have to worry about potential failures. The gears in the racing car have already successfully completed an initial test run. The car is energy-efficient and still reaches a top speed of 60 km/h.

Young Engineers Support promotes innovative projects

Igus supports innovative projects such as the racing car gears for the JET Challenge as part of the Young Engineers Support (yes) program. The initiative supports young pupils, students and inventors in the development and implementation of their technical projects.