Strange Sauber F1 EDM part

[itopalid]

The shown part was in one of Mitsubishi's videos about the parts of Sauber F1 car. The spikes sparked my interest. They could be used to obtain a constand bond gap. Anyone got a clue where this part is being used in the actual car?





You can watch the video here:

[nevill3]

I would guess at a coupling for hoses, with the spikes used to grip the hose once the two parts are clamped together

[Vyssion]

I would guess at a coupling for hoses, with the spikes used to grip the hose once the two parts are clamped together

Either that, or some form of carbon rod end insert which is bonded on the outside of the tube with teeth locating it concentrically keeping a constant distance between the carbon and alloy for the resin agent to harden in?

[itopalid]

I thought the same. In the video the final part is shown as one part and not two. But, taking into consideration that the bond gap should be about 0.1-0.15mm the spikes are too big for that use.

A second thought is that the spikes crash when bonding the insert. That way they manage to fix the insert in place until it's cured.

Or there might be part of a hose coupler, which has mechanism that stretches the hose from the inside, in order to stay in the spikes.

[PhillipM]

They're designed to flatten and then dig into the material on reversal, so could well be either hose clamps or inserts to take a carbon tube - they use very similar micro-spikes on brake backing plates to grab the friction material and enhance the bond for example.

[PlatinumZealot]

Track rod/pull rod some rod that takes high loadings.

[PlatinumZealot]

I would guess at a coupling for hoses, with the spikes used to grip the hose once the two parts are clamped together

The spikes would do more harm to the hose than good! tearing the hose is not a good idea. Regular hoses are plenty strong there is not that high a axial component in hoses.

[riff_raff]

Precise control of adhesive bond line thickness is important for optimum results. But there are better ways to achieve it than this arrangement of triangular spikes. As noted by itopalid, the optimum gap thickness for a structural epoxy adhesive bond is around 0.006-0.008 inch. And the triangular spikes appear to be taller than that.

The Mitsubishi wire EDM machine in the video probably costs over $150K. And the sinker EDM machine likely costs almost as much. The carbon electrodes required for the sinker EDM machine are also fairly expensive to produce.

[FW17]

What is this liquid metal that melts at 80deg C?

[countersteer]

The low temp melting metal appears to be similar to what I've seen in the past for "hydro" forming of copper plumbing fittings. I can't recall the name of that particular material but a search turned up this.

Field's metal, or Field's alloy is a fusible alloy that becomes liquid at approximately 62 °C (144 °F). It is named after its inventor, Simon Quellen Field.[1] It is a eutectic alloy of bismuth, indium, and tin, with the following percentages by weight: 32.5% Bi, 51% In, 16.5% Sn.
When prepared, Field's metal can be melted in hot water.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field%27s_metal

[thisisatest]

What if, instead of it being bonded to a carbon tube, it's intended to be co-molded with one?

[humble sabot]

That does seem more probable. The excess height of the 'spikes' would instead of crushing, crashing or doing standoff duty, serve to provide a mechanical bend to the fibers without passing their yield limit. Makes more sense in the pullrod scenario than the pushrod situation.

Actually this reminds me of some discussions a couple years ago when pullrods began to proliferate. Being as carbon is considered much better in tension than compression, the rod can be made lighter for the same duty since it doesn't have to be overbuilt to resist compressive forces. Which seems to fit with the design of this doohickey, if it is indeed suspension related at all.

[scarbs]

Looks like a steering column part

[roon]

Might be for joining two thin-wall pipe ends together. An internal support for carrying the load of hose clamps and maintaining pipe alignment. The raised flange in the center acting as a locating stop for the pipes ends. The spikes would be for inducing turbulent flow into the fluid, so perhaps installed just before a radiator or engine inlet.

See attached image, blue hose seals at the bottom of the radiator. A part like this might lay inside such a joint. My guess anyway.