October's Conclusion, and the Launch of our November Crowdfund!
October 2025 Newsletter
The spookiest month of the year has been a busy one with so many announcements and updates! In business news, the November crowdfunding campaign has just launched, titled Falling for FRUCD. Our team’s goal has increased to $8,500 due to rising materials and shipping costs, and we need all the help we can get to continue building FE13. Every dollar counts, so please consider supporting our crowdfund if you are able. We appreciate it!
Our business team has also just launched new merchandise, and for the first time in years, we have designed a zip up hoodie. This limited edition sweatshirt with embroidered details is available for pre-order, so follow the link below if you are interested!
The beginning of this month also saw the release of Beyond the Podium, a documentary collaboration with Davis Film Society. The feature-length documentary about our team is now available to stream on YouTube, so check it out now!
Our Cars and Karts fundraising event took place on October 16th as the first community event our team has hosted! In collaboration with Crescent Cruisers Auto Club and Blue Max Kart Club, we raised money for our team with go-kart races, a local car show, and a local snow cone truck from Woodland. Thanks to Crescent Cruisers, Blue Max, Woodland SnoShack, and all the kart drivers who made this event possible!
In other teamwide news, middle design review was hosted earlier this month, earning us valuable alumni feedback and improving design plans. Our team has also been officially registered for competition in Michigan, with FE13 being assigned #57! We have also begun hosting teamwide workshops teaching Solidworks and GitHub at general meetings every Saturday. New members and recruits are now learning these skills in a more cohesive way, aiming to boost overall design and manufacturing productivity.
This month, our electrical subteam has progressed with board designs and recently started projects for new members. Thanks so much to our new sponsor, Rapid Harness, for access to wiring harness design software!
Wheel package has finished their upright design with a weight reduction from last year’s 1.39lbs to 0.95lbs. What an amazing design achievement! The subteam is also beginning to prepare for in-house manufacturing of several components in the coming weeks, including camber blocks, bobbins, and grease seals.
Aerostructures has also been hard at work to move forward with FE13's aero package. They have been working to expand the range of configurations on the aero package and have been working on defining and developing this season's roll and yaw simulation to better understand CoP (center of pressure) migration under yaw. They have also been exploring SimScale with aero members to teach CFD across multiple different software packages.
Composites has started to bring the aero package to life, having successfully routed the front panel female mold. Additionally, research regarding bond gaps for carbon fiber rods with jigging and tabs for the front wing and rear wing has been taking place this month. They are also finalizing structural design, with members working on FEA of the front wing brackets and more! Aerostructures is also furthering their research on the methods of actuating the DRS system to keep our system within specification.
In October, chassis finalized their design and sent their tube stock and part files to sponsors to begin the manufacturing process. FRUCD is very grateful for the continued support of our tube bender, Upstream Engineering, as well as the generosity of our new laser cutting sponsor, Gerlinger Steel. Additionally, they updated and rebuilt the jig used to hold the tubes in place during welding.
