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University of North Texas FSAE EV 2025

Mean Green Racing (MGR) is the Formula SAE (FSAE) team at the University of North Texas, where we design, build, and race a fully electric Formula-style race car to compete in the prestigious FSAE competition. This international engineering design challenge pushes university students to innovate in automotive engineering, covering everything from mechanical design and fabrication to electrical systems and vehicle dynamics.

With the transition to an electric powertrain, the complexity of our vehicle’s electrical system has grown significantly. Our car relies on multiple critical circuits, including precharge, shutdown, Brake System Plausibility Device (BSPD), and Insulation Monitoring Device (IMD) latching circuitry—all of which are essential for both safety and performance. As we work with hazardous voltages, ensuring a robust and reliable electrical system is our highest priority.

How It Works

Our vehicle is powered by a high-voltage battery pack built by us (453V), which feeds energy to an electric motor through a inverter. To ensure the safety and efficiency of our powertrain, we have developed multiple custom circuit boards for critical functions:

Precharge Circuit – Protects the inverter by gradually charging the capacitors before full voltage is applied
Shutdown Circuit – Provides a fail-safe system to immediately cut power in case of an emergency
BSPD (Brake System Plausibility Device) – Ensures the braking system is functioning correctly to prevent dangerous situations
IMD Latching Circuit – Monitors insulation resistance to detect potential electrical hazards in the high-voltage system

These safety systems must be rigorously tested under realistic load conditions to meet competition regulations and ensure driver safety.

How PCB Way Can Help

Having access to high-quality PCB manufacturing and rapid prototyping is critical to our success. With PCB Way’s support, we can:

Accelerate prototyping – Quickly iterate on circuit designs to refine performance and reliability
Ensure electrical safety – Test and validate our high-voltage safety circuits under real-world conditions
Stay within budget – Reduce manufacturing costs and allocate resources to other key components

Check out our progress with images and videos below!