TR Fastenings (TR) has renewed its support of a Formula Student motorsport team from Sweden for the third consecutive year. The team will be driving and competing in electric cars they have designed and built themselves at the Italian Riccardo Paletti circuit and the iconic Hockenheim ring track in Germany.
The team consists of mechanical design and engineering students from Stockholm’s highly regarded KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Each year, the college submits a team to compete in Formula Student, Europe’s most established educational motorsport contest. As well as actually driving the car in competitions across Europe, the students have to research, design, engineer and build the electric vehicles themselves.
Formula Student (FS), run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, is a global competition which aims to develop enterprising and innovative young engineers and encourage more young people to take up a career in engineering. The challenge tests students’ abilities to research, manufacture, test and deliver a complex and integrated product in the deadline driven environment of motorsport and comply with a rigorous 130 page rule book. Participation in the competition is viewed by the motorsport industry as a standard-mark for real-world engineering experience, helping students transition from university to a workplace environment.
TR Fastening’s Sweden office agreed to support the KTH entry with a free supply of components and technical consultancy in 2017 and has continued to support the KTH teams every year since. One Formula Student alumnus from KTH, Patrik Ringdahl, now works at TR Sweden following his introduction to the business via the project in 2017.
KTH students, along with their electric car, joined the TR team in March 2019 at its stand at Automotive Engineering, part of the Advanced Engineering Show in Gothenburg. The car and the students proved to be a very successful pull for visitors to the stand, where students and TR engineers answered questions about the car, the parts used and the Formula Student scheme.
“As a former KTH student and member of the Formula Student programme, I am fully aware of the huge benefits I gained from taking part in the scheme. The opportunity to use high-quality fasteners from TR and also to benefit from the TR engineers’ experience, knowledge and expertise was invaluable and inspired me to join the business myself. It’s fantastic that TR continues to support KTH and champion young engineering talent,” comments Patrik Ringdahl, from TR Sweden.
“The core benefit the team gets from the Formula Student competition is learning and getting practical experience. The opportunity to design and manufacture mechanical systems using professional standard fasteners and other components and parts is extremely valuable and we are very grateful to TR for enabling us to do this. In addition, having the chance to exhibit alongside the TR team at Advanced Engineering was a great way for us to strengthen our connections with TR as well as giving us the opportunity to meet and network with other companies and individuals,” added Fredrik Danielsson, project manager of the KTH Formula student team.
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
