Bodywork

[davethemenace]

Hi,
i am having trouble deciding which material to use for the bodywork of our car. i have been through the previous threads, but each team seems to have a different opinion. on what basis should i choose?any place where i can find more info? ANY help will be appreciated.
Thanks.

[davethemenace]

Hi,
i am having trouble deciding which material to use for the bodywork of our car. i have been through the previous threads, but each team seems to have a different opinion. on what basis should i choose?any place where i can find more info? ANY help will be appreciated.
Thanks.

[Will M]

Sounds like it is time for a lesson in FUNDAMENTAL DECISION MAKING! Fortunately there are many options. I recommend starting with some the classics like cost/benefit analysis or PMI (Pluses, Minuses, Implications). Once you've worked through those you can move on to some of the more advanced concepts like Pareto Analysis, Paired Comparison and Grid Analysis.

Additionally these tools scale! They can be used to make almost any decision; even ones not related to Formula SAE. So go ahead and try them out, with just a little bit of work they will yield the answers you are looking for. In goes criteria and out comes an answer! I know it sounds like magic but I promise this it will work.

[Kirk Feldkamp]

Management tools mumbo jumbo aside, you've only got a few common choices:

1) Fiberglass
2) Carbon fiber
3) Aircraft fabric

The first two are basically the same process, but with slightly different materials. Fiberglass is cheaper retail, but in my experience it's not very hard to find surplus carbon fiber that people/companies are willing to donate. The key with either fiber process is learning how to only use exactly as much resin/epoxy as you need to get the job done. The fiber doesn't weigh much... but the matrix sure can if you use too much. Also, the fiber processes require that you learn how to do molds, which is easy to do, but tougher to do correctly.

There are some OK threads on here about aircraft fabric. It's light and it's relatively straightforward. Basically, you're shrink wrapping over the frame tubes, so your "bodywork" looks like what you've got underneath. Because it's not removable in the same sense as a composite part could be, you have to think through your approach a bit differently.

In my mind, the decision comes down to what resources (time/money/manpower) you have available to dedicate to this portion of the project. All three are viable.

[shark.ashwa]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Kirk Feldkamp:
Management tools mumbo jumbo aside, you've only got a few common choices:

1) Fiberglass
2) Carbon fiber
3) Aircraft fabric

The first two are basically the same process, but with slightly different materials. Fiberglass is cheaper retail, but in my experience it's not very hard to find surplus carbon fiber that people/companies are willing to donate. The key with either fiber process is learning how to only use exactly as much resin/epoxy as you need to get the job done. The fiber doesn't weigh much... but the matrix sure can if you use too much. Also, the fiber processes require that you learn how to do molds, which is easy to do, but tougher to do correctly.

There are some OK threads on here about aircraft fabric. It's light and it's relatively straightforward. Basically, you're shrink wrapping over the frame tubes, so your "bodywork" looks like what you've got underneath. Because it's not removable in the same sense as a composite part could be, you have to think through your approach a bit differently.

In my mind, the decision comes down to what resources (time/money/manpower) you have available to dedicate to this portion of the project. All three are viable. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Another good option is sheet metal with rivets. You could easily use 0.1 mm sheet aluminium with pop rivets and be happy with results. This is useful when time is of the essence and there is no one in the team who knows the process of making molds.
I have seen TU Frieberg with some very good sheet metal bodywork!

Sharath

[mech5496]

I think Freibergs' was magnesium though.... You can use plastic mesh (like the one used to cover car parking spots for shadow) stretched over the chassis, or some sort of fabric like Bayreuth in 2011 FSE (http://elefantracing.uni-bayreuth.de/cms/front_content.php) or thin plexiglass (that looks cool if properly used, a German team did it in FSG for a couple of years now and it looks fantastic; i just cannot recall which team was that right now). Options are almost limitless, think about them, write them down and balance pros and cons for your team. Also take a look here: http://fsae.com/eve/forums/a/t...25607348/m/634103503 (http://fsae.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/125607348/m/634103503)
And PLEASE use the "Search" function, you will surprised but there is a lot of info on the internet and on this particular forum.....

[davethemenace]

wow thanks a lot guys!! we are going with fibreglass. carbon fiber is too costly..and aluminium sheets wont be strong enough.

[rmk36]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by davethemenace:
aluminium sheets wont be strong enough. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What kind of stress if your body going to see?

[Freddie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rmk36:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by davethemenace:
aluminium sheets wont be strong enough. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What kind of stress if your body going to see? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Also; what kind of stress that fiber glass can handle wouldn't be solvable with aluminum sheets?

[JT A.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by davethemenace:
Hi,
i am having trouble deciding which material to use for the bodywork of our car. i have been through the previous threads, but each team seems to have a different opinion. on what basis should i choose?any place where i can find more info? ANY help will be appreciated.
Thanks. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Or you could use a "jump" to conclusions mat. Get it? Its a mat, with different conclusions written on it, and you JUMP to them!