The Norwich Tech Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) program participated in its 4th Connecticut Electrathon on Friday, May 30 at Lime Rock Raceway in Lakeville, Connecticut. The Electrathon is a type of electric marathonin which the winner is determined by how far you go in a certain time with a given amount of battery power.

What an exciting and successful day it was for the Norwich Tech team!  Drivers were Edwin Xiloj (senior in CADD) and Philip Salva (senior in Automotive).  Pit crew was Mike Molinari, Jeff Freitas, and Saravuth Kim (all are seniors in CADD).  Phil was the driver for the first 30 minutes and Edwin switched in for the remaining 30 minutes of the 1 hour race.  Unofficially we completed a total of 104 laps, with no mechanical or electrical issues.  Official results will be posted on the http://ctelectrathon.org/ website.   

Our Norwich Tech team demonstrated incredible teamwork before and during the race.  Prior to the race we had make several design modifications to the vehicle to meet new inspection criteria. Mirror mounts had to be designed, fabricated and mounted.  Batteries constraint systems needed to be redesigned.  Ballast weight clamping mechanisms needed to be redesigned.  The CADD shop utilized the various skills and equipment available in our school to implement the design changes. A BIG thanks to all of the following shops who help made this trip a success prior to the race.  

AUTOMOTIVE:  Mr. Fiasconaro for helping out our team with transport, riveting tools and mechanical consultant

CARPENTRY:  Mr. Kelly for help in fabricating wooden bushings and mirror mounts

ELECTRICAL:  Mr. Riley with transportation and electrical issues

HVAC:  Mr. Fraietta for supplying scrap sheet metal for us to make prototypes brackets

PRE-ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND APPLIED ELECTRONICS:  Mr. Porto for allowing us to use Electronics’ bench tools for prototype work

During the race our students displayed exemplary camaraderie. Phil paced the car and kept our team in sight with our competition during the first half of the race.  Thanks to Phil’s driving Edwin had plenty of juice left to complete the 1 hour race.  Thanks to team work we were able to quickly recover and reenter the race when our vehicle spun out.  Edwin Xiloj was pushing the car to the limit as he was speeding down into a sharp left turn when the vehicle lost its grip and spun out.  Officials signaled caution on track with a yellow flag and all cars had to slow down.  Edwin took a left turn and drove off track on to the nearest grassy area since his car was facing the opposite direction as traffic. Our pit crew (Mike Molinari and Jeff Freitas) quickly ran to his aide and positioned the car back on track.  Within seconds we were back in the race with no problems.  This was racing at its best!  Go team!

Looking forward to the Fall 08 race!