Welcome to the first of the updates from the 2006 Society of Automotive Engineers Clean Snowmobile Competition.  2006 is the third year that the University of Maine Mechanical Engineering Department has fielded a team that is affiliated with the Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Course.  The last two years have yielded a third and a fourth place finish.  As was the case for the last two years, the only real rival at the competition is the University of Wisconsin.  Other competitive teams include Clarkson University, SUNY Buffalo and Michigan Technological University, the host of the competition.  While details of the scoring have led to different finish positions, the full hybrid snowmobile built by the University of Wisconsin is the team to beat. 

The 2006 clean snowmobile team is by the largest and most enthusiastic group working on this project so far.  The 17 students involved in the team this year have home towns ranging from New Jersey (Matthew Bodwell) to Houlton Maine (Dustin McCann).  The number of team members attending competition is also a record with 12 students making the trip including one Junior, Ashton Potter, who will help to provide continuity for the team for next year.

This large group led to a need for even more vehicles to get to Michigan, two vans and a pickup towing the U-Haul containing tools and the snowmobile which the team will be using in the 2006 competition.  The tradition of having the ugliest snowmobile was clearly broken this year with the work of the cowling group.  Matt Bodwell, Evan Merritt, Christopher Hill and Jesse Morin worked on a new cowling that is clearly novel and has shown a very quiet design.  Along with the efforts of the Noise Vibration and Harshness team, this year the Achilles heel of the team, the noise event, should be strength.  However, the noise event will only happen if the team can keep the snowmobile in one piece.

The 26 hour trip to Michigan was clear except for the last 200 miles where 31 inches of show in 24 hours and high winds both ensured terrible driving conditions and excellent snow conditions for the competition.  Safe arrival and a snowmobile undamaged by the roads made for a good start to the competition.

The pressure is on; problems with the electrical system have led to a lot of worries for the team.  The team built an electronic engine control unit, a “piggyback”.  It all seemed good though as the sled drove off at one o’clock for the 100 mile endurance run to Copper Harbor.  A last minute change of driver from Danielle McCafferty to Dustin McCann was a response to the snow conditions.  Deep powder of a variety rarely seen in Maine is better suited to a heavier driver.  Dustin also grew up in Houlton Maine where snowmobiling experience includes powder.  The challenge will be to keep the UMaine electronic engine controller operating for hours at 20 degrees with alternate hot and cold and plenty of moisture. 

Some photos of the start of the competition are available on the UMaine competition web site at:

http://www.umaine.edu/MechEng/Peterson/Classes/Design/2005_6/CSC_Competition/Compet06.htm

A web cam of the garage area is at:

http://www.mtukrc.org/snowmobile.htm

and a description of the projects is at

http://www.umaine.edu/MechEng/Peterson/Classes/Design/2005_6/Projects_overview.htm

A special thanks and a special decal on the nose for our 2006 sponsor, Applied Thermal Sciences of Sanford Maine.  Thanks to the support of ATS, UMaine is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with at the SAE Clean Snowmobile Competition.  The team is also now working out of the newly renovated Thomas Hosmer Engineering Design Laboratory.  Additional support came from the Loring Swain '32 Engineering Fund

and the Mechanical Engineering Department.