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Belly pan must be strong enough to support the full weight of each occupant, this will be covered by floor panels |
10.4 - Fastener
All fasteners must be of suitable type, strength, and durability for their application. Friction, glued, or press fit assemblies will not be accepted in critical areas (as defined in 10.4.E) as the sole means of retention. For glued of press fit assemblies a pin is required. The pin diameter shall be 1/4 of the tube’s outer diameter. A press fit roll pin is acceptable for this application. Set screw intended to transmit torque of force will not be accepted.
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Concept 2 improves on Concept 1 by introducing a degree of freedom . However, the design would be improved with some way to rotate the holding plate - a linear movement in the X-axis. This is achieved through the extending rods. In the concept sketch it shows rods, though I think the best course of action would be to use square tubing. In assembly/manufacturing of the mechanism we would join the two plates to the chassis and to the sheet metal. Then, on a square tube mark the gap that would need to be filled and weld everything together (square tube to chassis plate, and square tube to sheet metal attachment plate).
This manufacturing process would allow for gaps between sheet metal and chassis to be rectified and allow for potential rotations in the Z-axis (if the Z-axis is up). As a side note, some of the adjustments to ensure a good fit can come from cutting the sheet metal correctly.
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I have not been able to include the ability to rotate yet. I have some ideas in mind using spherical bearings, however, I think that may be over-engineering the design. Any suggestions would be great!
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A flaw with this method would be the lack of space to put a welder in to bond the joints, assuming the gaps are very small. This would be fixed by removing the chassis plate and welding the square tubes directly to the chassis. If the gap would still be too small, the square tubes would be welded to the chassis and a slotting mechanism would be made between the square tube and the sheet metal attachment plate.
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I believe Concept 3 to be the best solution to attach sheet metal to the chassis. In the manufacturing process we are able to allow deviation from CAD to still accommodate sheet metal. In the case steel sheet metal is used, it can be directly welded to the additional tubes.
In the case where aluminum sheet metal is used, a steel attachment plate can be welded on to the end of the additional tubes, something similar to the place for sheet metal in Concept 2. Then the aluminum can be fastened to the attachment plate. However, as discussed in Concept 2, this will create a gap that a welder might not be able to access.
Though I will be moving forward with Manufacturing Process and Materials, any suggestions would be great!
5.0 Materials
With Concept 3, all there’s needed is addition chassis tubes, and if aluminum sheet metal is used some steel sheet metal would be needed.
Ideally, there would be scraps left over in the bay, that way there are no additional costs. Otherwise, more tubes would need to be sourced. The best place to start would be where the original chassis tubes were sourced. So I would need to get into contact with people on the team to look into where to begin sourcing.
The same thoughts apply to the steel sheet metal.
6.0 Manufacturing Process
With a gap between the sheet metal and the chassis, a tube would marked to transfer the exact geometry needed to bridge the gap.
The shape in the additional tube needs to be cut.
The cutout of the additional tube would be welded onto the chassis.
The sheet metal or the attachment plate would be attached to the chassis.
If there is enough room, welding would be ideal.
Otherwise, a slotting mechanism or mechanical attachment would need to be made.