Most low volume and niche chassis are built using limited or no tooling and assembly fixtures. Generally the component parts are hand finished prior to assembly. This leads to poor dimensional quality and repeatability and could in some cases lead to safety issues for the final product.
The low-cost tooling part of the project, investigated the use of the laser cutting process to produce a suite of simple, accurate and easy to assemble tooling, plus the possible benefits of the system for use in some low-volume body-in-white assembly applications.Collaborative development was undertaken between partners Stadco, Zolfe and Reynolds Technology to develop a low investment chassis assembly process that could be used for tubular, spaceframe or monocoque chassis construction based on sound manufacturing principles that give the control and quality of mainstream automotive manufacture.
In this project the Zolfe tubular steel chassis was taken from the concept design phase through a number of activities to develop the manufacturing system, design and develop the manufacturing process, creating a demonstrator chassis built through the proposed process.
The project involved 2 basic areas; low-cost design & manufacture of tooling and chassis frame assembly.
Partners defined the manufacturing process the following elements of the chassis design: Tubular components; Brackets, Machined components, Aluminium closing panels, Chassis Assembly, Assembly Fixtures, Design & Specification and a proposed process of manufacturing sequence.
The project resulted in the production of a demonstrator chassis through the manufacturing fixtures to prove out the process. A process critique and inspection was carried out to ensure the initial aspirations have been achieved.
A report on the project's findings can be found on the programme reports page, which you can see on the menu when you login. Login/register here