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HOW MODERN CATERHAM CHASSIS ARE MANUFACTURED
Ben Corley | April 5, 2007
The Caterham Seven is one of the most widely copied cars in the world. As last count there were about 29 manufacturers with varying levels of specification and quality. To add to that are dozens if not hundreds of homebuilders making Seven-type vehicles. With all this going on it’s a wonder people still fork out higher sums for the REAL THING - A Caterham Seven. One key difference is quality. Caterham’s main selling point is the quality. One major difference between Caterham and the cloners is their excellent chassis manufacturing methods.
Caterham (Formerly known as Lotus) Sevens used to be made from brass brazed steel tubing made at Arch Motors, England. Caterham recently appointed roll cage maker CAGED, which has invested in over £500,000 worth of modern manufacturing equipment and are moving to a 9500sqft facility in Frome, Somerset, to service the new Caterham chassis contract.
CAD
Utilising the latest in parametric 3D modelling software, Solidworks, Caged are able to design an accurate and definitive chassis for both Series 3, SV and CSR. The software allows Caged to model all the individual parts in the chassis such as tubes, plates and bushes. Not only does Caged design the chassis assembly on CAD but all the fixtures and jigs are designed from the model to ensure total accuracy. The software then gives us all the information needed to drive the CNC equipment.
BLM ADIGE TUBE LASER
The LT120 is a tube eating monster, with a capacity of between 12mm and 120mm OD tube or box section. Load 4 tons of 6.5m tube into the bundle loader at one end, and the 1kw Blade laser resonator will munch its way through and discharge all the parts out the other end – all automatically, nested to reduce wastage and with an accuracy of 0.1mm. The LT120 will process parts for most of the assemblies being built and will cut and notch the tubes for chassis, wishbones and A frames etc. One ability the LT120 has is to pre cut the rivet holes into the chassis to reduce the time it takes to panel a chassis.
PANASONIC ROBOTIC WELDING CELL
Caged’s next biggest investment was the robot cell. The computer not only controls the robot, but also the welding power source allowing the interface to operate up to 250 times faster than conventional robots. The robot welds utilising the ‘SP MAG’ system. Imagine this as MIG welding – but on steroids, with no undercut and with a repeatable accuracy of 0.1mm!! The computer collects welding data every 100 micro seconds and monitors for welding defects and corrects current, voltage and wire speed automatically depending on the material type and thickness it encounters. The robot also pulse welds 100 times per second minimising the heat input into the chassis and therefore reducing the heat effected zone. Another welding option is the DIP PULSE system which allows the welding of thick and thin materials together, ideal for items such as the De Dion tubes. All the fixture jigs will be designed on software and cut in-house, increasing accuracy and repeatability.
SHEET LASER CUTTER
Not such modern technology any more, but boy what a toy to have in the workshop. The sheet cutter cuts all the plates that you will find on the chassis, and will also cut all the aluminium panels that will clad the chassis. Just as with the tube laser, the sheet laser will cut all the rivet holes in the panels for ease of assembly.
Also being purchased are a CNC lathe, CNC milling machine, CNC pressbrake and powder coat oven. Utilising the above equipment, Caged believes it is set to deliver chassis of unparalleled quality and repeatability to all modern Caterhams.
SOURCE: http://www.therollcagepeople.com/news.htm
Topics: Chassis |
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:19 am
[…] built using sophisticated laser-cutting and robot-welding techniques (As Seven Builder reported here). Some items are pre-fitted for safety, peace of mind and help save assembly […]