The Race Party – Mechanism Dynamics Festival, the largest of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula, had in its 8th edition 20 participants from Biomedical Engineering in minicart competitions, design competitions, speed competitions, surprise competitions and challenge to the champions. The Race Party consists in the design and construction of a minicar of the dragster type, to be driven by a spring, to travel five meters as fast as possible.
The minicars result from projects developed during the school semester and follow the principles of engineering, seeking optimal performance, creative solutions and innovative design, besides fostering team spirit. The initiative, organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the School of Engineering of UMinho, took place in the Campus of Gualtar of the University of Minho, and awarded prizes to the authors of the best results.
The Race Party, which began in the spring of 2015, is usually attended by students, mainly from Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, and already has a dimension comparable to similar events held in the USA. The aim of this initiative is for students to develop projects with an open nature, i.e., with various possible solutions, through the realization of physical and virtual prototypes.
“The Race Party is unique in Portugal, with a lot of impact and interest from the students, who are eager to demonstrate the efficiency and performance of the solutions developed throughout the semester, based on the scientific-technological knowledge acquired,” explains Professor Paulo Flores, connected to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Center for Research in Electromechanical Microsystems (CMEMS) at UMinho.
The event, which took place on January 10, is part of the activities of the subject Mechanical Components of the Biomedical Engineering course, and is supported by several companies and institutions. The program, organized by Mariana Silva, Joana Coelho, Fernando Gonçalves and Paulo Flores, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of UMinho, also included the award ceremony and socializing.
Review the previous editions here.
Source and photo credits: UMDicas
