Motorsport in the UK is a big deal. 8 out of 10 F1 teams having operations based in the UK, there are 5000+ club events for privateers as well as much smaller teams. Even an entire racing formula for students is held here. It’s estimated that the motorsport industry has a turnover of over £9 Billion, that’s an increase of nearly 100% in the last decade. So it’s no surprise that new developments in measurement technology such as 3D scanning have been so readily adopted by the industry at all levels.
So how can 3D scanning make a difference?
If we start by looking at the large F1 teams with almost unlimited budgets it’s easy to see where and why 3D scanning is favoured. With such a close rivalry and such vast resources, performance margins are tight. The cars endure such high stress, with minimal material for weight saving, they are designed to tolerances less than a human hair (0.1mm) and even down to the size of a red blood cell (0.005mm). So if an F1 car is to make it to the end of a season it’s imperative to have some very highly accurate measurement equipment such as a gantry mounted 3D laser scanner capable of sub micron accuracy. In between seasons there can be some pretty drastic design changes in the hunt for any available extra performance. In the space of around 4 months there can be up to 30,000 design changes so speed is of the essence, the latest hand held 3D laser scanners can capture up to 1,300,000 measurement points a second.
In 2021 3D Laser scanning will also play a part in what could be the largest aerodynamic rule change ever seen in F1. With the focus on ensuring any turbulent air is pushed up away from the cars, to allow a following car to overtake, the FIA scruitineering teams will introduce 3D laser scanning to ensure the strict regulations around bodywork aerodynamics are enforced.
3D scanning is also being utilised in other motorsport formulas. It’s used heavily in the rally and endurance industry, not only for quality control purposes, but also to give reference information on stock items or donor cars. For example; in the design and fitment of FIA approved fuel, fire and impact systems into car chassis that weren’t originally designed to take such extreme safety equipment. It is also used to extract set up data to provide a reference in the design of performance parts, such as the geometry of suspension and chassis mounting positions. 3D Scanning is also commonly used as way of assessing damage in the event of an accident, for example, highlighting deformation in metallic components and structural assemblies.
There are some uses that all motorsport formula can benefit from, for example, the scanning of aerodynamic surfaces for CFD analysis to determine how much resistance and drag the surface of your car, bike or boat is creating. In the study of racing circuits, many race circuits around the world have been scanned to give precise information on camber and incline etc.
But what if you don’t have an F1 or WRC budget?
Many Formula Student, Super Bike, British Touring Cars, International Road Racing, Formula 3, Side Car and EV (electric vehicle) race teams are turning to companies such as Qualis Engineering to utilise our 3D scanning and CAD design resources in there development programs at an affordable cost.
Get in touch to find out how we can help find you find that competitive edge.
Commentaires