OVERVIEWBetween my third and fourth year of university, I chose to take a year out to work for Red Bull Racing Formula 1 Team so that I could gain more engineering experience, learn what it is like to have a full-time job and take a short break from university.
Red Bull Racing (RBR) is a Red Bull branded engineering organisation that designs the world's fastest racing cars and develops new motorsport technology. It is owned by Red Bull, an energy drinks company from Austria and is the most popular energy drink globally with 9.8 billion cans sold in 2021. Red Bull spends large amounts of money on branding, mainly promoting extreme sports such as Formula 1 Racing. Formula 1 is the top class of open-wheel single-seater road-course racing. |
MY ROLE
My placement was in the electronics design department who designs hundreds of sensor installations all over the car that are used to improve the performance of the car throughout the season and to aid car setup for each race. Day to day, I worked on a variety of projects including designing on and off car components and test equipment, identifying causes and solutions to on car faults, speaking with existing and potential future suppliers and writing documentation. I occasionally also worked in the operations room during race weekends to assist race strategy.
The 4 main categories of work that I did was:
The 4 main categories of work that I did was:
HARDWARE DESIGN
This is the design of the component connectivity, how sensors communicate with the onboard computer and the interface of components. At the beginning of my placement, I was trained to use Zuken E3 (an E-CAD package), which allows the engineers to specify circuit layouts. I used this and other internal tools to specify appropriate components, the wiring layout and tooling required.
SYSTEMS DESIGN
This is the mechanical design of electrical components. Systems engineers use CAD (Siemens NX) to design the 3D routing of parts and wiring around the car. I received a week's training in Siemens NX (CAD) during my 3rd week on the job which taught me how to use the relevant tools required for systems design. Electronics is routed in CAD to ensure parts are packaged as tightly, reliably and light weight as possible. The forces and vibrations that the sensors and looms experience going hundreds of MPH would cause severe damage to the electronics without careful design. Over the 13 months of my placement, I clocked over 700 hours using NX during which, I designed over 169 new parts (including 25 on car parts) and modified over 177. Parts ranged from wiring looms to SLS 3D printed brackets to machined aluminium components. For each part I also produced drawings used for manufacturing. I learnt how to use solid modelling, surfacing and electrical routing tools to create these parts.
FAULT DIAGNOSIS
Designers at Red Bull receive faults for issues encountered with the design of their parts. I was given the responsibility of investigating faults designed by myself, previous students and pressure tap faults. When pressure sensors (a.k.a pressure taps) failed, I had to identify the cause and determine design or manufacturing improvements to prevent repeat issues. I investigated and actioned over 80 different faults during my 13-month placement.
DOCUMENTATION
To ensure consistency and reliability in design, manufacturing and testing, Electronics group maintain a database of procedures that are updated regularly. On placement, I wrote documents on topics including: Wire splicing, antenna and speed sensor testing, bond preparation and part servicing.
PHOTOS
Below are some photos from my time at Red Bull Racing. This includes: Working in the operations room during the final race of the 2021 season with Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen, clinching the champtionchip victory on the final lap, my first and last days at Red Bull and watching the 2022 Silverstone Grand Prix with co-workers.