Side and Hood Panel Integration
- Ishan Saini
There are two flanges on the side panels (Figure 1, below) that would be the mounting locations to the hood panel. Epoxy adhesive would be applied to the mounting locations, and the flange clamped to the hood with a c-clamp or spring clamp (Figure 2, below). A cardboard should be used between the clamp and panel to ensure no damage (make sure that the adhesive does not get onto the cardboard).
A hood curing fixture is used to help hold the hood panel in place to let the adhesives dry and permanently hold the hood panel in place. To create this fixture, 4 small extrusions (flexible lengths between 10” - 20”), 2 extrusions that are exactly 18.11” used to hold up the bottom panel (460mm) and 2 medium extrusion (20” – 30”) are required.
Adhesive needs to also be applied between hood and the bottom panel (Figure 3). This connection must be sealed off completely to prevent air flowing into the car. For this adhesive to dry, weights need to be placed on top of the hood so that it presses down against the bottom panel. Since the hood is at an angle, to prevent the weights from sliding off the hood a curing fixture was made in Solidworks that could support the bottom panel and also provide the weights a surface to lean on (Figure 4). From the side view, it can be seen that the top of the surface fixture will prevent the weights from slipping and can be rested on the fixture. To provide extra support, books can be added to the base of the fixture to make sure that the fixture does not get pushed by the weights on the hood.
Finally, the curing fixture is supposed to be placed below the bottom panel circled shown in Figure 5 below, so that it can hold the weights placed on the hood in place while providing support to the bottom panel and holding it in place. Note: Adhesives need 24 hours to cure before removing clamps/fixtures.