Generally there are a few options. For highly loaded uprights fabricated steel or Ti is common, this is time consuming but for a team with a skilled fabricator is a cheap option. Then there are cast (or CNC’d) versions. These can come in suitable alloys of Aluminium, magnesium (rarely), Ti or commonly in F1 MMC. Depending on the bearing cooling vane layout the upright can be a mix of methods with a fabricated finned bearing carrier and cast extensions welded on. Up until the development of investment cast Ti, this was the most common method for F1 and one make series.
Some years John Barnard Ex McLaren and then Current B3-technologies MD, offered to develop a Carbon composite upright for F1, this was never taken and never even reached a prototype stage.
Look a crptechnology.com, CARP are ‘the’ Cast Ti and MMC experts, their website has a forum where you’ll get excellent information direct from the company and other experts.
In terms of layout F1 cars used to have the bearing held in a vaned cage to pass cooling air through to the brakes and around the bearing. Nowadays the upright is more shrunken around the bearing and thus cooling air for the brakes passes around the upright (rather than through it). Wishbone mounting tends to be via a camber plate for the upper mounting, the bearing in a horizontal attitude to take the radial loadings, while the lower wishbone mount tends to be vertical, this is pass the vertical loads through to the pushrod, at the expense of radial loads, as a result the lower wishbone joint tends to be of a much larger diameter.
Wheel bearings in F1 car very large ceramic angular contact roller bearings. Costing around 3-4k each they aren’t an option for all but F1.
Try looking at SKF or Cerobears websites.
also.....
http://scarbsf1.com/RBT_Upright.jpg
http://scarbsf1.com/upright.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarbsf1/s ... 822715795/
Mail me if you need more info…
Scarbs…
Scarbs@scarbsf1.com
