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PostPosted: October 8, 2009, 2:48 am 
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So you may have heard of the Ar-i-el At-om and you Love it....you want your own. Maybe you have even decided to build one.
Read this first! I will try to answer most your questions.

The motor is a FWD engine moved straight back behind the driver. The wheels still turn the right way, but everything is shifted back.

Usually a

Have you checked this Site?
*link deleted due to virus concerns*
An At-om Discussion on that site found here....
*link deleted due to virus concerns*

What are the Frame Dimensions?
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4599

Yes private builders have done it....
JonW's Low-Cost At-om VTEC
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1503

Cheap Racer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheapracer
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4807

Proximacentauri's Mid-Engine Exocar
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3030

3rotors
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2509637

Make sure you read these sections before posting and asking and re-asking the questions that have already be answered.

At-om frame dims???
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4599

Home-built replica of an At-om
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2896

How the Ar-i-el At-om Works
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ariel-atom1.htm
Image
Image
Brammo's Ecotec powered At-om
Image


Check out the wide variety of exo skelatal cars....
http://www.exocars.net/

I have heard some say that the concept of the exto skelaton came from the 1987 movie "running man"....
Image
Image
You be the judge!

Some info about the At-om...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Atom
Wikkipedia claims that the At-om was first shown in 1996 by a design student... Nik Smart.


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PostPosted: October 10, 2009, 1:28 am 
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Later I will get mine and an At-om for side by side pictures and you will see there is little comparison between the 2 other than the obvious exposed left and right spars.

I certainly prefer to use the term 'At-om inspired' rather than "clone" which infers copied but have no problem maintaining that At-om have set and are the originators for this recent trend.

The curved tubes by the way are ideal for solving some packaging issues while maintaining aesthetics.


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PostPosted: October 10, 2009, 12:46 pm 
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cheapracer wrote:
At-om have set and are the originators for this recent trend.



I don't believe At-om was the originator of the exoskeleton. I can't tell you who and when exactly, but I saw several prior to the introduction of the At-om. They have just been the most visible user of the exoskeleton.

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PostPosted: October 11, 2009, 11:25 am 
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carguy123 wrote:
cheapracer wrote:
At-om have set and are the originators for this recent trend.



I don't believe At-om was the originator of the exoskeleton. I can't tell you who and when exactly, but I saw several prior to the introduction of the At-om. They have just been the most visible user of the exoskeleton.


Sure including me at 18 years of age working with a Guy who only built Off Road racing buggies for a living - I wanted to make a Ferrari'ish style exo frame but no design really came out looking anything but with an Off Road racing buggy look! Later I made a mid engine Subaru 1800 special with exposed tubes and sold it before I finished it and the Guy used it on his farm, :lol:

I have seen road registered Buggies even in magazines from the 60's but I have never seen the concept that was presented by Nick Smart which became the At-om, basically the twin curved spars are unlike anything previously (that I have seen anyway).


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PostPosted: January 12, 2010, 8:40 am 
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First shot at At-om Clone design
Image
Found at...
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4736&start=0
(stumbled on this looking for something else It is a promising start ... posted Oct 30, 2008...then the entire thread dies of loneliness and negelct on Nov 22, 2008)

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PostPosted: January 13, 2010, 11:31 am 
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mr.peabody.d wrote:
First shot at At-om Clone design
Image
Found at...
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4736&start=0
(stumbled on this looking for something else It is a promising start ... posted Oct 30, 2008...then the entire thread dies of loneliness and negelct on Nov 22, 2008)



How do you get in it? Build the car around you?

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PostPosted: January 22, 2010, 3:22 pm 
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Hey ... Thanks for the mention there.....

For some more, up to date inspiration.... I'm also maintaining a flikr stream of my current Build....

Image

this time round, running a boosted Toyota 4AGE 20v engine at about 450 wheel Kw, or there abouts...

this, My 3rd car to date, will be about 320mm longer than it's Predecessor, width still the same and total weight probably also about 700KG.

fuel tank capacity 52l, so it should have some long distance capabilities too, fuel consumption on these little 1600cc engines are absolutely phenomenal, even at these elevated power levels...

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PostPosted: January 23, 2010, 4:06 pm 
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3rotor wrote:
Hey ... Thanks for the mention there.....

For some more, up to date inspiration.... I'm also maintaining a flikr stream of my current Build....

Image

this time round, running a boosted Toyota 4AGE 20v engine at about 450 wheel Kw, or there abouts...

this, My 3rd car to date, will be about 320mm longer than it's Predecessor, width still the same and total weight probably also about 700KG.

fuel tank capacity 52l, so it should have some long distance capabilities too, fuel consumption on these little 1600cc engines are absolutely phenomenal, even at these elevated power levels...

Got a link to this photo stream you speak of?

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PostPosted: January 23, 2010, 6:53 pm 
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Click The pic.... :wink:

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PostPosted: February 1, 2010, 9:54 am 
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3rotor.

Looks great, do you still have the Youtube vids of the older cars? the Guys may like to see them too.


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PostPosted: April 9, 2011, 10:08 am 
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How are you bending the tubes?

Are they simple 2D bends over a form? I've shaped tubing over plywood forms with a torch, but I had the idea the At-om style spars were bent in more than one plane.


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PostPosted: April 13, 2011, 11:49 am 
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TRX wrote:
How are you bending the tubes?

Are they simple 2D bends over a form? I've shaped tubing over plywood forms with a torch, but I had the idea the At-om style spars were bent in more than one plane.


I don't know if the at-om main tubes are bent in different planes but they are certainly not a constant radius. I'll be bending my tubes with a tubing roller for HF and I've designed them so they're planer, constant radius bends. That should make the process a little easier and it doesn't hurt the looks too bad.

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PostPosted: April 13, 2011, 11:55 am 
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I agree that the main tube bends are planer. This is based on the 100 +/- photos I viewed.

The top tubes work with a constant radius. The lower tubes have shorter radii from the seat cushion (widest point) aft.


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PostPosted: April 13, 2011, 3:54 pm 
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all 4 my tubes are twin radius and in a single plane.
the long radius being 4765mm and the tighter one being 1337mm
I just thumb-sucked those figures and then started to work from there...

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PostPosted: May 24, 2011, 3:56 am 
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3rotor wrote:
I just thumb-sucked those figures and then started to work from there...


Best way! My first 2 tubes I rolled looked to tight so I did a second 2 and rounded them off to a even number (290mm underbelly clearance when standing vertical to the floor).

Then did the lower 2 to suit and also rounded it off to an even number (240mm).

The purchased tubes are 6 meters long so cut in half entirely determined the length of the car and rounded off numbers determined the shape, then rounded off the 3 major height points of the lower and upper tubes such as say 400, 700 and 600mm's (example only) for the front, middle and rear points of the upper tube - how can you go wrong? Makes it easier to get side to side equalisation too.

My builds are not complicated and every tube is rounded off to even numbers where possible as are angles.

Big tip for those who want to roll your own joints, errr tubes, weld a wide crossbar say 1 meter long on one end (your handlebars) and as it goes through the rollers and up the other side, steer the far end of the tube up along a verticle line on the wall, this is by far the best way I have found to combat tube twisting/screwing.


Last edited by cheapracer on September 1, 2011, 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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