HAWKS Racing: Student Innovation at Full Speed

Each Year teams of Students around the world, get together and build innovative, new, and sensational racing cars. We are HAWKS Racing and we are one of those teams , consisting of 60 members. This year we will proudly present our new race car H20 (H0XX).

We strive earnestly to create an innovative and electronic car that can showcase our team’s skills, passion and innovations. This is made possible not only by our crew but also by our wonderful sponsors.

In 2021, we made the switch from combustion engines to electric. Last season we were among the top 12 teams in germany in the electric category, which is a great success for us. The electronics are an essential part of our car, which is why we are thankful for the reliability and quality of the eurocircuits Printed Circuit Boards. As we design, develop and assemble our own PCB’s we have the great opportunity to realize them according to our wishes and requirements. 

Based on our previous experiences, we are once again solely using circuit boards from Eurocircuits this year. Here are some insights into our Low-Voltage PCB’s:

The control functions that were traditionally handled by different units in a combustion car are now combined in the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU). It manages key car functions like the gas pedal, motor control (inverter), and critical sensors. To ensure smooth, safe driving the circuit board processes signals from sensors and adjusts power delivery accordingly. By analyzing data in real-time, the VCU acts as a smart control hub, making split-second decisions to keep the vehicle running optimally.

Just as important is our Break System Plausibility Device (BSPD), operating like a security system. This non-programmable circuit, compares the input of break and gas, checking if the threshold values are out of range and if so delivering power to the shutdown circuit.

For power supply, we have a designated Power Distribution Unit. As the name already suggests it distributes power supply to different control units with electronic switches within a low-voltage system. By real-time monitoring, it acts as a software-controlled vehicle safety fuse.

The task of the steering wheel unit is to control the functions of the car. It reads out the status of the buttons and the rotary switches on the steering wheel. The collected data is converted into serial data and then sent to the CAN bus.

As you can see, behind every smooth drive and electric vehicle is a high-performance circuit board like the ones powering our vehicle. Thanks to Eurocircuits for providing us with the precision-grade circuit boards, that make reliable, efficient control systems possible. We are so thrilled to participate in multiple races this year!

For more information please visit the Hawks Racing website.