| Item | Who | Notes |
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| Panel-to-Panel fastening | Russ, Former user (Deleted) | - If the side panels are permanently fastened to the chassis, an over-under lip will be the best solution to bring panels together
- Flanges can be added into the mold after manufacture using sheet wax, modeling clay, etc. in a "one-off" situation (i.e. pulling one panel from the mold)
- Anything rigid will be sufficient to build flanges into the molds, however, it will potentially cause mold-lock
- These flanges need to be properly coated/prep'd such that you can remove it properly from mold without any issues (This is mold-lock)
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| Cutting smaller panels from one large mold | Former user (Deleted) | - Pulling a single panel and removing the door skin from it is doable. There are model concerns currently, however, the process is sound in theory
- We are well within the mold size constraints that FormaShape can work
- The majority of panels can be done in one large panel and broken down after the fact (Doors, top panels, trunks, etc.)
- Some panels pose a concern of mold-lock, but this can easily be smoothed out in CAD with little effort
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| Model Quality | Former user (Deleted) | - Russ says our model is very good, but needs some tweaking and modification to improve DFM
- Headlights can be recessed into the aerobody directly, provided there is a draft angle
- Lots of consideration needs to be given to male-female overlap sections, as these are where molds will get suck into the molds and/or provide issues during assembly
- CNC cut mold is ideal for our uses, however, they can't perform any more than 1-2 layups, and last about 6 months if stored correctly
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| Mold Design | Former user (Deleted) | - Recommend using draft analysis and mold design features in Solidworks to ensure proper draft angle (~1 degree)
- Will need to consider extra flanges around part:
- 1/2" around edge of part to be trimmed away (giving clean edge)
- 6" of perpendicular flange (parallel to pull plane) for vacuum bagging
- extra area for overlap
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| Surface finishing | Former user (Deleted) | - The best way to get a super clean surface finish right off the mold is to work the mold to get it as smooth as possible
- Russ suggests against using a gel-coat due to the required mold prep and associated labor costs; Russ also suggests sanding-grade gel-coat which is easy to sand as a primary layer in the mold
- Paint or vinyl wrap is the way to go, as gel-coat isn't durable under exposure to sun
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| CAD Files | Devon Copeland | - Ideally, FormaShape will receive CAD of exactly the mold we want
- Russ will send photos of the old mold (old CAD died in a server crash on their end)
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| Quotes/Timelines | Tak Alguire | - Russ has not had time to cost out the molds, but looking around $170/sq ft of machined foam
- Lead times 3-4 weeks from receiving the CAD to first mold manufacturing, then 3-4 weeks to finish the first mold followed by 1 week per mold after that
- Lead time roughly 4-5 months at Russ's current estimate, but dependent on how busy they are at the time we get parts to them
- Ideally molds will be shipped in "sets" based on sizes, but FormaShape can prioritize shipments of certain panels (i.e. roof first, etc.)
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