III - Manufacturing #

Manufacturing process of GFR monocoque chassis.

Reap What You Sow #

The FSAE competition requires students to manufacture the bulk of the car themselves. Manufacturing an entire composite aerodynamics package in 10 weeks is difficult. For this reason, it’s important to balance performance and complexity during the design phase. It’s worth asking questions like:

• Is it worth increasing downforce by 1% if 50 extra manufacturing hours are required to realize the extra performance?
• If this component breaks and has to be remade, that becomes 100 manufacturing hours. Is it still worth it?

Having to manufacture ones own components teaches valuable lessons in DFM, minimizing steps that can’t be worked on in parallel with other components, and that added manufacturing complexity without a proportional increase in car performance is not welcome on a tight schedule.

Difficulties aside, good composites manufacturing has a refreshingly artisanal component to it.

Laying up a rear wing endplate. Low GSM carbon fiber with foam core.

Endplate under vacuum ahead of the curing process. Curing under vacuum consolidates the carbon fiber to the inner foam core.

The sandwich panel out of the mold, but before any post processing has been done.

Vacuum bagging a wing element. If the vacuum bag doesn’t leak after your first try, go buy a lottery ticket immediately.

Final composite rear wing assembled and mounted to the car.