© Mercedes
MANUFACTURING, A RETROACTIVE PROCESS
Monocoque, bodywork parts and wings are manufactured out of thin carbon-fibre sheets that are cut, formed and laminated in a mould before they are cured in an autoclave furnace. Let's now take a look at the carbon fibre parts.
Carbon is a delicate material to handle, as F1 engineers must take into account ply thickness and ply orientation as the part is laminated. In order to avoid any mistakes and ensure a smooth transition, technicians use a specific software that makes the link between the 3D model and the workshop. The software automatically generates instructions that are sent along to the composite materials department in the form of a ply-by-ply assembly guide. Should the design be modified, the plan is automatically updated as well.
The software can also underline in advance (i.e. during the design phase) any potential manufacturing issue that might arise and send out preventive alerts to the designer. For instance, it can identify that a curve might result in wrinkles on the carbon sheet. That way, F1 designers are able to address the problem before the production of the part is launched, which saves both time and money.
© Renault F1, Mercedes & Force India
PRODUCTION OF A PATTERN
For a carbon part such as the monocoque, the process starts with a full-size pattern. The CAD data are then sent to a 5-axe CNC milling machine, which shapes the model in carving out a block of epoxy resin (several blocks are sometimes needed to form a single part).
Renault’s Enstone factory has recently received new equipment from multipurpose machining specialists Breton. The 7-meter high machine will enable the team to produce voluminous parts such as the car’s floor and monocoque internally.
On the epoxy model, many carbon-fibre layers are manually applied to create the mould, that will be then cured in an autoclave according to a multi-step process.
