Quote:
Originally Posted by RWebb
can you post any details
of the manf. methods?
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I believe the McLaren chassis is manufacturered by using RTM, (resin transfer moulding) which basically means layers of dry 3-d shaped or pre-formed woven carbon fabric are manually placed into a multi-piece steel mould, other mould sections are then hydraullically moved to close and trap the fibres before resin is then injected into the cavity and finally cure into a rigid part.
I think McLaren along with the Austrian company that actually does the manufacturing are the first to develop RTM hoolow sections instead of just flat parts like the BMW M3 roof panel.
One neat design feature of the McLaren is the same chassis is used for the MC spyder and coupe models but with a rood section added to the coupe. I think they even use the same basic design of chassis for the P1 hyper car but I'm guessing with some modifications to house the KERS batteries.
The plus points for RTM are its a much faster and less expensive production process but the down side being the structure is not as light or stiff as a manually laminated part cured in an autoclave.