3/15/2008

Our team recently completed one of the toughest battles of our manufacturing process, the creation of our carbon fiber chassis. Our composite monocoque was done in two cures. We first cured the outer layers of carbon fiber in an autoclave. We then layed up aluminum honeycomb and the inner layers of carbon fiber on top of that for the second cure. Unfortunately when our chassis went back in the autoclave and was pressurized, some of our honeycomb crushed which ended up forcing our team to redo the 17 straight hours of work necessary to complete the second layup of our chassis. This was very disheartening. However, our team pulled together to do another layup and successfully cured the chassis in less than two weeks. Here are some pictures of our chassis:

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1/30/2008

Matador Motorsports would like to thank ZNC Engineering, Inc. for their recent support of our team. As capable as our CNC machines are here at Cal State Northridge, there were several components that our team could not machine in house. ZNC specializes in mechanical component design and engineering, plastic components, sheet metal parts design, boat accessories, molds and CNC machining services. They were kind enough to donate the use of their CNC Machine shop to manufacture any part beyond our Formula SAE team’s capabilities. That has been our intake molds and the side plates for our aluminum rear chassis, pictured below. For more information on the services and capabilities of ZNC Engineering, Inc. please visit their website at: http://znceng.com/

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12/28/2007

CSUN Formula SAE began the manufacturing of our 2008 racecar one month ago. We have since been ordering many of the parts needed to complete our car. The team has acquired our 2008 engine and we been machining our drivetrain components almost to completion on our CNC Lathe. Our chassis molds have been prepped for lay-up and are ready to go as soon as Swift Engineering (one of our most valued sponsors) has spare time for us to use their autoclave.

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Our team's CNC Mill machinists just finished their training two days ago and are gearing up for the arduous marathon of machining on our automated HAAS CNC equipment. These are pictures of our suspension bell cranks being manufactured:

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12/1/2007

Matador Motorsports recently received a very generous donation from Dynamo Aviation. Dynamo services and manufactures components for the commercial and private aviation industries. They helped last year’s team with acquiring advanced materials. This year, on top of getting the team high-tech materials, they donated an unprecedented amount of money, close to one third of the team’s total budget. Matador Motorsports could not reach such high levels of success without the support of prestigious businesses like Dynamo Aviation. For more information about the services and products of Dynamo, please visit: http://www.dynamoaviation.com/

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CSUN Formula SAE would like to thank Centric Parts for their support of the 2008 Team. Centric donated a significant amount of the team’s finances to support Matador Motorsports on our drive to win the Formula SAE West Competition. Centric Parts designs, manufactures, and distributes high quality brake and clutch systems throughout the United States. For more information on Centric Parts, please visit their website at: http://www.centricparts.com/.

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10/25/2007

Matador Motorsports recently received a very generous donation from Cytec Industries Inc. Cytec develops and manufactures high-tech chemicals and materials. CSUN Formula uses their prepreg carbon fiber to manufacture the chassis, the structure of the car. Last year's chassis weighed just 22 lb and supported the driver, engine, suspension points, and front and side impact portions of the car. Matador Motorsports could not reach such high levels of success without the support of prestigious businesses like Cytec Industries Inc. For more information about the high-tech products of Cyctec, please visit: http://www.cytec.com/

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9/24/2007

Matador Motorsports recently received a very generous donation from Coastal Enterprises. Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board™ High Density Polyurethane. CSUN Formula uses their high density foam to manufacture chassis molds. These are pictures of last year's foam molds just after being machined and prepped for laying up carbon fiber female molds off of them.
Matador Motorsports could not reach such high levels of success without the support of prestigious businesses like Coastal Enterprises. For more information about Precision Board™ High Density Polyurethane, please visit: http://www.precisionboard.com/

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8/6/2007
Our Team Web site has been renewed, and the '07-'08 team members have started doing research for our preliminary design review.

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Formula SAE West Competition 2007

California State Univ, Northridge Formula SAE Team Result
Cost: 20th
Presentation: 28th
Design: 12th
Acceleration: 3rd
Skidpad: 1st
Autocross: 7th
Endurance: 9th
Final: 7th
For more information: http://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaseries/west/