After doing some work with the rough headlight enclosure model, it became clear that some modifications will be needed so that it fits with the surrounding panels (Hood Panel - Updated - 2020-07-24 and DriverSidePanel), as can be seen in Figure 1. With the model I received, there are 2 problems. First, the top edge of the enclosure seems to be based off of a different headlight shape and does not follow the edge of the hood well. Second, there was not enough room left for the hood flange, so the enclosure currently overlaps the flange. This flange issue is also slightly complicated because the hood flange indent is not normal to the surface. I think this is intentional to avoid having overhangs on the mold, thus simplifying the machining process so this is something that will have to be worked around.
Figure 1: Arrangement of the hood panel, side panel, and headlight enclosure.
The headlight enclosure was remade to follow the top edge of Headlight Lens Driver - Updated - 2020-07-24. I should also mention that the walls were thickened to a minimum of 2 mm thick. This was to make them a little sturdier based on 3D printing advice from Micah Black. I wanted to make this change early since it will impact how much volume the enclosure takes up and might impact how the parts fit together.
Figure 2: Arrangement of the hood panel, side panel, and new headlight enclosure.
The top portion of the enclosure now fits the hood panel better. Next, the enclosure needs to be shifted downwards to allow more room for the hood flange and evaluate any effect this has on the aesthetics. Min and I have agreed to remove the core reinforcement on the hood panel flange.
It was also around this time that I realized there is a considerable gap between the lens and the flanges. The lens has been modelled as 1/8ā thick but the flanges were made assuming 1/4ā thickness. The hood panel flange can be modified in CAD right now, but the side panel flange will need to be thickened with extra carbon fiber layers after the initial panel layup.
Figure 3: Cross-section of the headlight enclosure and surrounding panels to show the flange gap.
Iām making 2 changes to the hood panel:
The flange depth was reduced from 1/4ā to 1/8ā.
The flange is now being cut normal to the surface, rather than perpendicular to a single plane. Not sure if this explanation makes sense on its own. The flange was previously being cut perpendicular to a specific plane to avoid having overhangs in the mold. This works for most of the flange, except for the curved section at the front of the headlight lens. In this region, there is less space for the headlight lens. Cutting the flange normal to the surface maintains more consistent space for the headlight lens. My trick was to fill in any overhangs afterwards so that the mold can be machined easily.
The result of the changes up to this point are presented in Figure 4. I think these changes allow the headlights to fit with the other panels, so now the PCB mounting points can be added.
Figure 4: New headlight enclosure