When a speed racing team from the UK hits the road in the Nevada desert this May, speed will be of the essence -- and not just when the vehicle is moving.
To win their place in the record books by exceeding the current FIA (Fidiration Internationale de L'Automobile) world electric land speed record of 246 mph, the ABB e=motion racing team has to make a minimum of two runs within the space of an hour. A critical factor is the speed at which the vehicle can be turned around between runs, and since the car's batteries need to be changed between each run, fast access to the battery packs is absolutely vital. Helping speed this turnaround are DZUS® Quick Access fasteners, manufactured and supplied by engineered-access solutions specialist Southco.
In its sponsorship of the record bid by driver Mark Newby and his colleague Colin Fallows and their team, Southco has supplied over 250 DZUS Quick Access fasteners for the battery-powered ABB e=motion car. Some two dozen fasteners are used on the battery access panels, with another 20 or so for other key parts that need to be accessed between runs.
"The speed attempt will take place on an 8 mile stretch of road and under the FIA rules for world speed record attempts," said Newby. "We have to go down the course and return in less than an hour. At the end of the first run, the 32 ft long vehicle has to be spun on its axis and prepared for its return run, which involves changing all the battery packs. Colin has designed special quick-release battery trays, and to access these we had to use fasteners that are the quickest and easiest to undo and reapply. These fasteners help slice valuable seconds off the time we take and ensure we can change the entire battery pack in less than 20 minutes."
Speed, Simplicity Are Key
Speed and simplicity of use are the key advantages of the DZUS Quick Access fasteners from Southco, not only during the all-important record attempt itself, but also during the vehicle build process. With panels constantly being removed and replaced while building, testing, and tuning the vehicle, the time savings can be significant.
DZUS Quick Access fasteners provide the advantage of a positive lock that can be easily detected. If screws were used, determining the correct torque on each screw would be extremely time consuming, especially when time is of the essence. Another disadvantage of screws would be the danger they might vibrate loose or even be dropped near tires, posing a serious puncture threat with a vehicle traveling at speeds of up to 300 miles an hour.
No Reported Failures
"The reliability of the DZUS Quick Access fasteners from Southco plays a significant part in our plans," Newby added. "With our combined drag racing experience of more than 65 years, neither Colin nor I have seen or heard of any fastener failure involving these products. The environments in drag racing and speed record breaking are especially hostile, with vibration being the worst enemy. In extreme cases, tire shake can have severe, even life-threatening, consequences. I once lost a tire at 240 mph and although vibration destroyed some of the car and snapped some brackets, the DZUS Quick Access fasteners we used remained in place. Traveling at the speeds we do, you cannot cut corners in any aspect of engineering and we have always had complete confidence in the DZUS line of access hardware."
Newby and Fallows, who have already held the British land speed record at 300.3 mph in a jet car, originally conceived the idea of building an electric car to set a new record in 1998. In its design they set themselves the challenge of using principally off-the-shelf components, including the DZUS Quick Access fasteners.
The ABB e=motion electric land speed attempt is scheduled for May 5, 2005 in West Wendover, NV. The venue was chosen for its near-perfect road surface and excellent weather patterns.
