Quote:
Originally Posted by pfreivald
Our sheet metal sponsor is used to building giant buses, not small parts, and gave us a lot of pointers on what would work well for their people. To whit, more, simpler parts with fewer bends where possible. This has resulted in some compromises between what we feel would be ideal and what they want to work with!
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This is a really good idea. Different sponsors, whether they specialize in machined parts or sheet, have certain strengths and specialties. It is always a good idea to work with them and play to the sponsor's strength. Working with shops in this way has great educational value and is one of the underrated benefits to working with sponsors.
Do you have a specific way of tensioning the belts? Or are you planning on getting it right first and then not changing it?
Also, its a little hard to tell from your picture, but you may want to add in some more ribbing, especially at the corners. From the way the brackets are bent and they way you did the hole pattern, it seems like these corner pieces would mount to the bumper? correct me if I'm wrong. The way it is design it seems like you could see bending of those flanges through the rigors of competition. You can take a look at 971's
CAD screenshots to get a better idea. We put a lot of support on the inside of the drivetrain, independent of using the bellypan as an integral part of the drivetrain. It's a step up on complexity, but your drivetrain will be much more likely to survive high speed impacts that were more common this season.
Otherwise, it's great your team is spending the offseason trying to improve/design a drivetrain. I'm looking forward to seeing more from your team.