LocostUSA.com

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software enabled chassis stiffness to be optimised.

To gain a ‘tortional stiffness’ figure, Caged reverse-engineered the original chassis into SolidWorks and used Cosmos to obtain this figure. The company then optimised the chassis tubes to increase stiffness using a set of parameters that they felt would work. “When we then installed a range of engines that we needed to package and checked the chassis we had a clash – so we changed the tubes to suit, ran the chassis through Cosmos again and gained the additional increase.”

Following the introduction of the state of the art chassis construction techniques the result was a 14 per cent increase in torsional rigidity. After the clash was discovered with the engine mounting and a problem of space for the alternator was resolved by use of SolidWorks, rigidity was increased by another 0.5 per cent again.

The robot will weld using the ‘SP MAG’ system. Imagine this as MIG welding – but on steroids, with no undercut and with a repeatable accuracy of 0.1mm! The computer collects welding data every 100 micro seconds and monitors for welding defects and corrects current, voltage and wire speed automatically depending on the material type and thickness it encounters. The robot will also pulse weld 100 times per second minimising the heat input into the chassis and therefore reducing the heat effected zone. Another welding option is the DIP PULSE system that lets us weld thick and thin material together, ideal for items such as the dedion tubes.

Until VERY recently all Caterham frames were Brazed by Arch Motors. (Who also do At-om frames.)

I know the new Cats are to be welded,though I am not sure whether that will be only new models or all of them, or a gradual phase out, etc.

T

My new chassis will be in the 9000 ft-lbs / degree range and I can easily get in and out. It does take a real cage but it can be done. Get the mind set that if its not a triangle its almost worthless and think out of the box. FEA is easy to learn and I have posted links to everything you need to rock and roll.

Hint the roll cage is the first thing you build that everything else mounts to. The rollbar is NOT the last thing that goes on added to the top of the chassis.

AW

I doubt anyone wants to spend 3 weeks+ building a chassis just to have Jack torque it in half because something went wrong and then turn around and add one or two more tubes and torque it again.

It just depends if you want it to handle. I just keep adding tubes till there is no bay that falls apart when twisted then I start deleting all the black ones. EZ When your done the FEA lights up on your screen like a Christmas tree.