Signwave Penrith has taken part in a Western Sydney University solar car project, wrapping a 179kg vehicle that is set to race over 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide. David Amor, owner of Signwave Penrith, says it was the most unusual job they have had a request for.
Signwave Penrith wraps a 179kg vehicle
Amor says, “The student-led, non-profit green initiative is about to compete in the world’s biggest solar endurance race and needed its solar-powered, sustainably-engineered, catamaran-shaped vehicle christened. “We did not have a lot of time. It was less than two weeks from the first brief because the launch was scheduled for mid-September and a little over a week later they were scheduled to travel to Darwin. “Once Ashley Ross the Signwave Penrith graphic designer had arranged the artwork and created the print file, the shell of Unlimited was brought to the centre and they applied the wrap, which had to cover the lower part and underside of the car – most of the flat top side was covered with 391 solar cells.” He says this job required an even greater degree of care and planning than most vehicle wraps. Amor says, “The shell is made from carbon fibre so we had to be careful with the installation. “For vehicle wraps we need to heat the vinyl so that it forms a memory that will allow us to work with complex curves. However, in this case we had to be careful not to overheat the vinyl to avoid delamination of the carbon fibre.” Amor says because the Unlimited will be periodically displayed on its side, the underside – featuring an Aboriginal design – will be viewed by many. “Unusually we had to turn the car upside down to complete the job – it is fairly rare to be asked to wrap the underside of a car,” he says. “The wheels are almost entirely enclosed and the catamaran shape added to the intricacy of the application. Also the cockpit was quite challenging because it has extremely complex curves.” Signwave Penrith also wrapped the trailer that will transport the car alone with magnetics for the support vehicles. Ann Xiao, marketing manager of the Solar Car Project, School of Computing, Engineering & Mathematics, Western Sydney University, says: “A huge thank you goes to Signwave Penrith on behalf of the team and the project. “We could not have done it without you and we want to thank you for turning around the vinyl wrap at such short notice. We are incredibly grateful.”
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