Clubs & Circles :: Mechanical Engineering Research Group

The Mechanical Engineering Research Group at the Koganei Campus is a group of members who love making things, and are involved in the production of eco-cars and electric bicycles. Their main activity is to participate in the "Ene-1GP MOTEGI" (Ene-1) held every November at Twin Ring Motegi (Tochigi Prefecture). This is a circuit race with a limited number of eco-friendly vehicles powered by 40 AA rechargeable dry cell batteries.

The first year students learn to make electric bicycles, and the second and subsequent years learn to make eco-cars with three or more wheels, learning new skills with the support of upperclassmen.
The fun part of creating something together with your friends is really special," said Mr. Kato. During production, problems occur one after another, such as a motor not working or a brake not working, so we all discuss the problem together and seek a solution through trial and error. After many failures, the moment when the motor of the completed vehicle started running was a moving moment," says Mikami.

There are two types of competitions in ENE-one: (1) "ONELAP Time Attack," in which contestants compete for time to complete one lap of the course, and (2) "e-kiden Long Distance," in which contestants compete for endurance. The total of points based on rankings in (1) and (2) will be used to determine the ranking. Koizumi-san, who was a rider of an electric bicycle in his first year, said, "Unfortunately, I could not finish the race. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the race, but I was happy when I saw my struggle to advance as far as possible on the live broadcast screen and heard the loud cheering voices of the riders," he recalls.

Before the race, the cars had to pass a vehicle inspection, and if they did not pass the inspection, they could not run. Adjustments are made until the very last minute.
Unfortunately, I couldn't compete in the last race (in 2019) because I couldn't fit the brakes inside the car due to space issues," said Mizukami with disappointment.

In 2020, when he tried to take revenge, the event was canceled due to the new coronavirus infection. My activities were also severely restricted.
We have changed our mindset and will first work hard to gather new members," said Ms. Nishino, the representative for the new year. Looking to the future, he says, "The fourth-year students have also promised to cooperate with our activities, so I want to pass on the skills and fun of eco-car building to the younger students so that we do not extinguish the fire of our activities.

(First published in the April 2021 issue of Hosei, a public relations magazine)

*This interview was conducted online.