Doing more with less
Their brief was to build the fastest vehicle over 100 meters using few Dyson spare parts and all the power they could eke out from one of their handheld motors. The engineers applied what they call, at Dyson, ‘lean engineering’ to invent technology that does more with less.

One of their engineers, Tom Follows’ invention was in the shape of a formula one car. He had the edge over his competitors, ‘I was literally in the driving seat. Originally I tried to stand on my car, but this proved difficult and dangerous so I gave my car the added safety feature of a driving seat.’ He built a sleek, aerodynamic shell, testing different designs to produce a car with as little drag as possible. A few acceleration calculations revealed a 15mph top speed in about 9 seconds was possible.

He continues, ‘I used Dyson vacuum cleaners wheels and took the drive belts from some American spec brush housing assemblies. With three belts I achieved the gear ratio needed. With the powerful engine and streamlined chassis built, I focused on getting the power to the wheels and getting traction.’

Too powerful
Race day didn’t go as smoothly as Follows hoped. The first 5m of the race was wheel spin, immediately ripping off the rubber tyres. His engine was just too powerful.

The Challenge Dyson event is about taking a technology and applying it to create something new. The problem solving skills used are the same ones they bring to inventing new Dyson technologies. As Follows puts it, ‘You use your own ingenuity to solve a problem, and don’t just follow procedures.’ The James Dyson Award for 2012, challenging fearless young problem solvers is still open for entries.