It would be interesting to know why driver-activated rear wings are being allowed back after being banned for 40 years. Did something change in their design, or the design of cars, to make them safer?
I agree, Ann. It would also be nice to know how else this technology will be used. Will it only be used while trailing another driver (as is described here)? Or will drivers be adjusting it repeatedly throughout a race?
F1 officials say that this functionality will be controlled by "race control" (electronically) only on some straightaways and only when a car is trailing by one second or less. Seems like too much is being taken out of the driver's control. See this article.
I agree with you Ann - why the change of heart? The sport is dangerous enough without adding to it. Hopefully technology has caught up so that rear wings are safe enough now...but the article didn't mention any countermeasures to the previous danger.
And like you Charles, I am wondering when will activating the rear wings be allowed - according to the article:
"Drivers are now able to control the rear wing once they have been behind another driver for a set amount of time, thereby reducing drag on the straightaway and allowing greater opportunity for overtaking."
With the incredibly fast-paced movement of the vehicles into different spaces - how will the driver determine that "the set amount of time" has been met and what penalties will occur if the driver did not wait the correct amount of time - and how would all of this data be collected and processed?
I'm also interested in understanding how this set amount of time can be determined. Is there an additional safety risk if the driver activates the wings too soon?
The FIA allowed the use of these wings to increase overtaking for fan enjoyment. The aerodynamics of a car following are greatly affected when following another car that it is hugely difficuly to pass. I think the safety concerns of wings breaking (from aero or vibration loads) are behind us.
There is a timing mark on the circuit before the DRS zone (Drag Reduction System) that measures the time gap between cars (all the cars are equiped with tracking). If the time gap is less than 2 seconds then the driver is allowed to activate the wing and go for a pass. What is interesting about the system is that in qualifying the drivers are allowed to use the system where ever they want on the track. I recall a race this season where Michael Schumacher's wing was stuck inthe open position. He lost a huge number of positions from the lack of down force while he limped back to the pit to have it fixed.
Last season there was a driver adjustable front wing also. It was not restricted to its use onthe track. Many drivers would increase the wing angle when following to get some more downforce on the front tyres.
I'm not sure if one is allowed to post links in the comments but if anyone wants to peek into the F1 technical world a bit a great place to start is Scarb's F1 blog. it will come up in any search engine.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
1 
