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PostPosted: March 4, 2016, 1:23 pm 
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Not sure if this is the best thread for this, but a while back, I made a simple tool to help me figure out the shape of the firewall and dashboard based on the nosecone shape. It's hardcoded to what I'm using on my build, but if anyone is interested, I can clean it up so others can use it. I'll just upload it, and people can paste in their own values.
Attachment:
scuttle_design.png


To use it: I cut a piece of cardboard to match the shape of the nosecose (the part that sits above the frame rails). I measured x and y points on the cardboard and entered into the tool. Then, based on desired firewall height/width/location and dashboard location and inclination, the tool is supposed to figure out x/y points representing the shape of both the firewall and dashboard. Using these shapes should provide straight lines from the edge of the nose cone back past the edges of the firewall to the dashboard. Later, I might able to have the tool show the dimensions of the hood and scuttle cover as if they were laid flat.

Might save some time? But for me, I don't do very well when just 'winging it' :cheers:


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PostPosted: March 4, 2016, 2:02 pm 
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Dang, Rob, if you keep coming up with clever stuff, I'm going to have to buy a PC.

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PostPosted: March 6, 2016, 12:57 pm 
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JackMcCornack wrote:
Dang, Rob, if you keep coming up with clever stuff, I'm going to have to buy a PC.

:lol: :lol:

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PostPosted: February 4, 2017, 5:23 pm 
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Rob7 wrote:
Not sure if this is the best thread for this, but a while back, I made a simple tool to help me figure out the shape of the firewall and dashboard based on the nosecone shape. It's hardcoded to what I'm using on my build, but if anyone is interested, I can clean it up so others can use it. I'll just upload it, and people can paste in their own values.

. . . <graphic deleted > . . .

To use it: I cut a piece of cardboard to match the shape of the nosecose (the part that sits above the frame rails). I measured x and y points on the cardboard and entered into the tool. Then, based on desired firewall height/width/location and dashboard location and inclination, the tool is supposed to figure out x/y points representing the shape of both the firewall and dashboard. Using these shapes should provide straight lines from the edge of the nose cone back past the edges of the firewall to the dashboard. Later, I might able to have the tool show the dimensions of the hood and scuttle cover as if they were laid flat.

Might save some time? But for me, I don't do very well when just 'winging it' :cheers:


Hi Rob,

My situation is different from yours in that I'm using the Haynes nose and scuttle from Jack at Kinetic. However, I'm looking at elevating both the scuttle and nose cone off the main chassis rail with metal trim pieces to avoid all this stuff:
Attachment:
Bumpy-Junk.jpg


Maybe I could use your setup (spreadsheet?) to put in the elevated scuttle location and it could help me to figure out how far to elevate the nose cone? I dunno, maybe work a look-see? Could you upload the code or PM it to me?

Cheers,

Lonnie


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: February 4, 2017, 9:09 pm 
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Hi Lonnie - I'm cleaning up the code and UI now. It's just a simple web app. Currently, it calculates the dashboard shape from the nose cone points and the firewall height. But, perhaps if I add a new field that raises the nosecone uniformly, you can use that to figure out what you need?

I'll upload soon and will post a link here

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PostPosted: February 4, 2017, 11:24 pm 
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Somewhat cleaned up and documented: http://vsusp.com/scuttleDesign/

I added the "raise nosecone y" input next so you can raise all of the nosecone points at once

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PostPosted: February 5, 2017, 4:04 pm 
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Rob7 wrote:
Somewhat cleaned up and documented: http://vsusp.com/scuttleDesign/

I added the "raise nosecone y" input next so you can raise all of the nosecone points at once


Thank you so much, Rob. That's much appreciated.

Lonnie

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Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: February 6, 2017, 12:45 am 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
Rob7 wrote:
Somewhat cleaned up and documented: http://vsusp.com/scuttleDesign/

I added the "raise nosecone y" input next so you can raise all of the nosecone points at once


Thank you so much, Rob. That's much appreciated.

Lonnie

You're very welcome - glad to help. Please let me know if you run into any hangups with the tool. The code is much simpler than vsusp, so it's easy to get in there and fix stuff :lol:

:cheers:

-Rob

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PostPosted: January 23, 2024, 4:53 pm 
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I know this is a very old thread, but since you guys are talking about the vsusp scuttle designer, I'm wondering if this template could be printed out somehow?

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PostPosted: January 23, 2024, 5:11 pm 
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tibimakai wrote:
I know this is a very old thread, but since you guys are talking about the vsusp scuttle designer, I'm wondering if this template could be printed out somehow?

Hi tibimakai, there's not really any real support for printing
* using Ctrl-P might not look too crappy
* you could take a screenshot of the page (or part of the page) and copy that into an image editor, and then print

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PostPosted: January 23, 2024, 5:28 pm 
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Thanks for that.

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PostPosted: January 23, 2024, 7:39 pm 
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Tibor,

You can use the data, but need to do some things with it.

1) I converted the first set of numbers into a CSV (comma separated values file) by adding a comma to the last character position in the Windows Text program - easy - 10 minutes time.

2) I fed the altered data into a program (Rhino - not free) that will generate curves from data points. There are free programs out there. Maybe someone will know of one?

3) I got this set of points from the file:
Attachment:
Nosecone Points Graph.jpg


4) Then I asked it to create a curve through them:
Attachment:
Curve Through Nosecone Points Graph.jpg


This is the start of the process. You can make it smoother by eliminating data points in the portions of the curve that has the least curvature. You need more points where it changes quickly. However this file has too many. That's what you ask the software to smooth and simplify it. This curve is for the nosecone data - which is half the width. When you get the curve the way you want it you reflect the curve through the vertical axis.

Some of the free CAD and 3D modeling software may have these features.

Cheers,


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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


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PostPosted: January 23, 2024, 7:43 pm 
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Thanks Lonnie for that.

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PostPosted: January 23, 2024, 8:51 pm 
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Do you guys want me to add "Save As CSV" buttons for the Dashboard Points and Firewall Points?

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PostPosted: January 23, 2024, 9:50 pm 
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Do you think that there is hope for this feature?
"Later, I might able to have the tool show the dimensions of the hood and scuttle cover as if they were laid flat."

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