Inlet manifold design


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Ian Mantula
Ian Mantula
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My interest in composites for my Marcos project started as a way to create a part that was too expensive to CNC machine out of aluminium. The V8 engine originally lived in a 2001 Range Rover - plenty of room under the bonnet. The Marcos is a much smaller car with a very low bonnet line. This has required a rethink on the inlet manifold design. While I can keep the cast runners, I have had to discard the single large throttle body. I will use two 48mm Jenvey throttle bodies. To mount these new throttle bodies I will need two asymmetric mini-manifold parts. Here is a rendered view of the CAD model...

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Uploads/Images/59e2abfc-0ebf-422d-89d0-c5ad.png


Now, having failed to get this economically made by other methods I hope to try it in carbon fibre, but is this a realistic idea?

I'm sure that this could be made with a two part mould, but how would I build the flanges? How many layers would I need? Would I need to alter the design to ensure long-term strength? Any comments and suggestions would be very welcome. 

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Dravis
Dravis
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You do not state the dimensions of the part, but working from the assumption that the square flange is what goes onto 48 mm throttle-bodies, I would say a way forward is to make these as "high pressure" ( sometimes called "forged") Carbon fibre .

This would be much more feasible if the flanges are at least parallel in one plane, as the image suggests.

If you already have a 3D CAD model, you could get a "negative" or male mold made by CNC machining the mold itself from Aluminium (a multi-part mold)

You would need to machine a two or three part "outside" mold and a "plug" for the hole inside.

you can then do like the watchmakers  Audemars Piguet do their "Carbon diver"     

I am currently experimenting with a variation of this technique to make Carbon "forged" rifle-scope mounts ..

So far I have made extremely strong flat and curved parts in my tests using simple aluminium moulds, made on my own lathe and mill.

Like with the watch-case, cut up or "shredded" Prepreg would probably work well.   I have used high temp and standard EC resins, with added Carbon Nanotube material from "NanoCyl" + Milled CF powder from EC and my own "cut strand" CF made from leftover cutoffs
This forms an "isotropic" "paste" that can be put in the mould.  

I heat the aluminium mould in an ordinary household oven and compress the moulds using large (M10 and M12) bolts.

This squeezes out excess resin along the joints in the mould. . I Vac-bag the whole mould before it goes in the oven.

The resulting material seems to be stronger than parts of equivalent weight parts made from aluminium, even stronger than T6 "Ergal" alloys in some of the tests.

My current problem is a high variability of the ultimate strenght, but for parts like yours, that probably will not matter. Your biggest problem will be heat tolerance and vibrations

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Ian Mantula
Ian Mantula
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Wow Dravis!
Thanks for your detailed answer. It would certainly take me in a different direction than expected. Lot's more to the world of composites than I ever expected. 

Edited 11 Years Ago by Ian Mantula
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