AMZ News - AMZ Racing

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AMZ News
March/April 2014
CNC-finishing of grimsel´s monocoque
Main Sponsors
Premium Sponsors
Sponsors
SIBATRON AG
Favourers
3M AG
Argotec AG
BAUMANN Federn AG
Bender GmbH & Co. KG
Berner Fachhochschule für
Technik und Informatik
Bossard AG
BWB Oberflächentechnik
CADFEM AG
Centre of Structure Technologies
distec ag
Durovis AG
Dynamic Test Center AG
Evonik Industries AG
FE-DESIGN GmbH
GEDORE
General Dynamics – European
Land Systems
Georg Utz AG
Global Tool Trading AG
H.A. Schlatter Fonds
HABA AG
Helly Hansen
HUBER+SUHNER AG
ILSEBO Handels AG
Jenny + Co. AG
Jörg Hartmeier AG
Kistler Automotive GmbH
Kronoswiss
KTR Kupplungstechnik AG
Leuthold AG
maxon motor
MechaniXclub.ch
Müri Prototech
Rigi-Kühler AG
Rofam GmbH
RoViTec GmbH
SAE Switzerland
SAM Group AG
SATW
Schreinerei Maag + Takacs AG
Sensirion
SKF Schweiz AG
suter-kunststoffe ag
Thoma Folierungen
tissa Glasweberei AG
Utzinger Mechanic
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
grimsel is soon ready to start
Indispensable for the realization: strong partners
The beginning of the manufacturing and assembly phase marked a
transition for the whole team. More
and more the modules moved to the
workshop in the Technopark and the
office at ETH grew lonely. Since the
beginning of April, «grimsel»‘s monocoque, the hull of the new car, lays on
the lift, ready for assembly. And while
assembly is progressing, it gets clearer and clearer how the small groups
of modules, which were previously
working quite independently, are rapidly becoming a big team in which
everyone is helping one another. The
goal, that bonds the team members
together more and more, is to watch
«grimsel» grow, drive and win.
It is a great pleasure to have our six
reliable main sponsors supporting us
for another year. Without the support
of the BMW Group, Caterpillar, EKZ,
SR-Technics, RUAG and Thyssen
Krupp Presta the project AMZ would
not be possible.
Of course also our premium sponsors, sponsors, favourers and patrons are essential for the progress of
the project «grimsel» and for the success of the AMZ racing team. The realisation of our ideas and concepts is
only feasible thanks to the dedication
of our strong partners. Thank you for
believing in us and our project!
Last but not least, we can once more
build on the support of ETH’s Institute of Virtual Production and the
department for electrical engineering
of the Lucerne University of Applied
Sciences and Arts. They are at our
side at all times with help and advice
and provide us with infrastructure.
Front anti-roll bar
Suspension
7.5“, a tiny number which has far-reaching consequences for «grimsel»‘s
suspension. Moving from 6.5” to the
wider tires led to the transition from
carbon wishbones with glued inserts to welded steel ones allowing
smaller tube diameters. After the first
parts for the wishbones arrived from
SR Technics and have been welded
together, they were tested for maximum load as well as for long-time
stress. The results exceeded our expectation and the final parts could
thus be released for manufacturing.
In order to achieve precise welding
results a student-constructed welding fixture was produced by libs.
The rim had to be adapted to the new
tire width and was structurally revised. As a result of the high number
of pieces made, it is the only one of
our CFRP components we are using
a mould made of solid aluminum for.
The two-piece mould, as well as the
Rohacell cores were machined by
Carbomill. Due to its complex buildup sequence the first rim was cut
open to detect possible errors in the
laminate induced during processing.
After a thorough examination, which
revealed no major problems, we started with the production of further
rims. By now we have five of the intended twelve CFRP rims waiting to
be equipped with tires and set loose
on the track.
Two complete sets of uprights are
ready for assembly as well. The manufacturing by Georg Fischer from
cast aluminum in sand moulds allowed a construction which was structurally optimized towards the different
load cases. They arrive at a featherweight of just under 500g each.
The complex two-piece hub has arrived from Polygona and is waiting to
be mounted into the upright together
with the planetary gears. The steering gear from ThyssenKrupp Presta
is already mounted on the monocoque just as the dampers provided
to us by DTSwiss.
In rank and file: the cell packages of grimsel
Batteries
It’s already blinking brightly in the
black box, which will provide all the
energy needed to drive «grimsel». In
doing so the total of 112 modules
of the Battery Management System
(BMS) indicate the willingness to
bring the 414V to use.
The first step however was the production of a worthy container, laminated of special, electronically insulating GFRP (glass fiber reinforced
plastic) and reinforced with a fire-resistant honeycomb core. A fine copper mesh was integrated into the box
and the lid to form a Faraday cage.
This protects the sensitive electronics
from electromagnetic interference.
Laminated GFRP plates were water-jet cut from Qualicut and are
now integrated in the accumulator
container forming the internal subdivision. In addition, they serve as
mounting points for the separately
manufactured sub-packages. 16 of
these sub-packages are installed,
each containing 28 of a total of 448
lithium-polymer cells, which were
provided to us by e-Flight GmBH.
Eight spare packs are available to
quickly replace any damaged sub-
packets within a few minutes. The
supporting frame of the sub-packets
which holds the cells is made out of
fiberglass. The cell tabs on top of
the cell stacks are laser welded on a
conductor structure which was optimised for the electrical currents.
The AMZ M4 motor makes his first turns on the test bench
Drivetrain
The AMZ M4 wheel hub motor which
weighs only 3.5kg still has an astonishing peak power output of 36kW.
Four of these motors will make
«grimsel» gain momentum and agility.
The first one of the powerhouses has
already proved on the test bench that
the drivetrain team has once again
managed to surpass the targets set
in the new construction.
The production began with the shaft,
which was turned and wire eroded in
several steps to guarantee high precision. The manufacturing of the rotor
and stator, each consisting of cobalt
sheets, as well as the bonding of
the magnets was supplied by Vacuumschmelze GmbH. Afterwards the
stator was brought to Sibatron AG,
which fitted and interconnected the
windings.
gether the transmission takes its final
location in the upright.
The stator housing with its elaborate
cooling channels guarantees a maximum heat transfer. It was manufactured by Polygona and completes
the stator of the M4 motor. Ultimately
only the assembly of rotor and stator
and the insertion of the resolver provided by Bomatec had to be done.
The motor controllers made by Lenze
Schmidhauser are specially adapted
to our needs. The first of our newly developed housings has already
been laminated and mounted. The
heat sinks for the motor controllers,
which were milled by Rau AG, as well
as the custom-made radiators have
already arrived and are waiting to
be integrated into the cooling circuit
along with the motors.
The increased speed of this year’s
motors required an improved transmission, which is implemented as a
1.5-stage planetary gear. The tooth
forming of the parts is performed by
Sauter Bachmann, while the connection between the planets is realized
with a polygon thanks to Polygona.
As soon as all the parts come to-
The first step of grimsel´s monocoque
Chassis
The chassis is realized as a one-piece monocoque made out of carbon
fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). It is
the most complex part of the car regarding manufacturing and it is selfmade by the students of our team.
The first step is a positive form made
of medium density fiberboard (MDF),
milled by CNC-Dynamix. This form
is then used to make the negative mould out of CFRP into which
the monocoque is laminated in two
steps. Thanks to a well-structured
approach and the support of Connova, we have succeeded to build a
solid base without major problems.
Since the beginning of April the hull of
«grimsel» is placed in our workshop,
ready to gradually turn into a genuine
racecar.
As the monocoque, the vast majority
of our CFRP components are made
from preimpregnated fibres, which
were provided to us by Delta-Preg.
All the holes and openings in the monocoque were then precisely milled
by Carbomill, which enables an accurate positioning of all the attachment points.
More CFRP components of the
chassis, as the two boot lids, the
seat and the crash nose, have also
been laminated and fitted. Together
with the already mounted roll hoop all
supporting parts are already assembled and are waiting for their first ride.
At the same time the assembly of
the pedal box has started. Its components were manufactured by SR
Technics and Rau AG.
The MDF positive mould of the sidepod
Aerodynamics
The challenge for the aerodynamics
team in the production was a new
profile selection and thus three completely new wing shapes. All wings
are made in the same work steps
as the monocoque. By now we can
look back on a completed CFRP
mould for the new flaps and the
MDF moulds for front and rear wings,
which were shaped by CNC Dynamix, like all other MDF moulds.
carbon fiber shell to provide the necessary stiffness to transfer the aerodynamic loads.
The complex wing cores are made of
milled Rohacell and boarded with a
All the parts for the completely new
drag reduction system (DRS) have
A sandwich construction with aluminium honeycomb and laminate,
which forms the new undertray, is already complete. The sidepods were
laminated as well and are waiting for
the final finishing before they can be
mounted on the vehicle.
arrived as well as the first inserts for
the wings. Their complex shape with
an integrated truss structure was
water-jet cut by Qualicut.
Coming clean: distribution of LV power
Electronics
As soon as the chassis team demoulded the monocoque, the now empty
negative mould was engrossed by
our electric team from the Lucerne
University of Applied Sciences and
Arts. So, while the monocoque was
being finished, the wiring harness,
which was coarsely assembled at
RUAG AG, could be efficiently prepared for fast and clean installation
into the monocoque. To increase robustness concerning electromagnetic compatibility mostly twisted and
shielded cables were used.
For the sake of high maintainability of
the electronic components all subsystems were designed pluggable.
In the process we could count on
the quality selection of Lemo. Additionally easily accessible positioning was targeted in order to allow
a quick examination of critical points
and components.
The use of the eight mini-CAN modules, which are supplied to us by
EVTEC, enables the transformation
of our sensor data to the digital interface, which is standard in the automotive industry. The modules’ size
and weight could be reduced to half
this year, while maintaining the same
flexibility. They have already been
successfully put into operation.
The vehicle control unit (VCU) of
ETAS, which we are this year using
for the first time, has already been
utilized convincingly for error detection of electronic components. It now
monitors the entire system stably.
Acknowledgement
We would kindly like to thank all of
our sponsors for their generous support!
Main Sponsors
Premium Sponsors
Sponsors
SIBATRON AG
Favourers
3M AG
Argotec AG
BAUMANN Federn AG
Bender GmbH & Co. KG
Berner Fachhochschule für
Technik und Informatik
Bossard AG
BWB Oberflächentechnik
CADFEM AG
Centre of Structure Technologies
distec ag
Durovis AG
Dynamic Test Center AG
Evonik Industries AG
FE-DESIGN GmbH
GEDORE
General Dynamics – European
Land Systems
Georg Utz AG
Global Tool Trading AG
H.A. Schlatter Fonds
HABA AG
Helly Hansen
HUBER+SUHNER AG
ILSEBO Handels AG
Jenny + Co. AG
Jörg Hartmeier AG
Kistler Automotive GmbH
Kronoswiss
KTR Kupplungstechnik AG
Leuthold AG
maxon motor
MechaniXclub.ch
Müri Prototech
Rigi-Kühler AG
Rofam GmbH
RoViTec GmbH
SAE Switzerland
SATW
Schreinerei Maag + Takacs AG
Sensirion
SKF Schweiz AG
StreetScooter
suter-kunststoffe ag
Thoma Folierungen
tissa Glasweberei AG
Utzinger Mechanic
ZF Friedrichshafen AG