Auburn Engineers team up with Vectorply for HERC Challenge
Every year engineering students worldwide compete in the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) to design and engineer human-powered rovers. Teams endure a series of challenges from obstacle courses and missions to judges scoring based on design and functionality. The goal of this project is to further interest in scientific exploration and for students to better understand the task requirements of roving vehicles on the moon.
For the past semester, several senior students from Auburn University’s engineering school visited Vectorply to work on their rover’s wheels. With speed and weight key deciding factors in the race, Auburn HERC team members were tasked with creating new non-pneumatic wheels for their rover. Throughout this process, they partnered with our engineering team to learn the value of mold-prep and fabricated laminates via open molding and infusion.
Composites Engineer Xavier Rachel, an Auburn University Mechanical Engineering Graduate (Class of 2020) led the team throughout this project. Over the course of four months, Xavier demonstrated and oversaw various processes of vacuum infusion and open molding, answering their questions and meeting with them after hours to ensure that everything ran smoothly. “Working with students from my alma mater was an exciting experience and this project was a fun challenge,” Xavier said. “Getting to share the benefits and versatility of our materials to the next generation of graduates was very special.”
The wheels were designed with layers of our C-LT 1800 carbon fabric and filled with polyurethane foam, while the hubs were attached using J-B Weld. Team member Ashley Eng noted, “Our wheels were the most reliable part of the rover and had no issues at all. They held up extremely well for both our runs on the obstacle course and are still in great condition.”
The competition took place April 19th-20th in Huntsville, Alabama where out of the 62 teams participating, Auburn’s HERC placed 13th in the college sector.
To learn more about the HERC project and its origin, click here: About Human Exploration Rover Challenge – NASA
General Motors Co. 
