Sonnenwagen News

5 Questions to Luke, Team Structure at Covestro Sonnenwagen

Meet Luke, one of the members of the Structure team at Covestro Sonnenwagen, and find out more about car simulations, carbon-fibre and the recipe for good team work.

October 2019

1. What do you study and what is your function at Team Sonnenwagen?

I study mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen and I’m a member of our structure team.

2. What exactly does your team do?

Our main purpose is to manufacture all the composite part components of our car. In the first year, we simulated a lot of composite material: the structure, the surface of our car, the thickness and the weight that we want to achieve. Our goal was to to create a really lightweight design. So, we ran lot of simulations to get where we wanted to be.

3. And what do you do specifically?

I designed the car surface and the inside structure. I also did a lot of 3D-modelling, always assessing how does this and that look like? Can the driver get out of the car easily? Stuff like that.

4. What is the main goal that your team hopes to achieve?

After the whole simulation calculation, our main goal was to manufacture carbon-fibre with the highest quality. And that’s why in the beginning, we did a lot practise for a sandwich structure. I often asked myself, how can I make this lightweight product more sustainable for the whole manufacturing process? From the raw material to the end product. The whole process has to be made more efficient and sustainable.

5. What role does teamwork play in building a solar car?

Carbon-fibre manufacturing is not a one-man show. We need a group, which is motivated and really enjoys their work. It’s also important that they can work really well with each other and always with the same product quality. That’s not easy – to build up such a team. But luckily thanks to a very good leader, and a lot of good members, we have this team. And in the end, we can manufacture such a great car and such a big project.