Manufacturing process for rear spoiler for formula 1 - Coursework Example

Since the rear wing assembly is made from carbon fibre, it has very low weight coupled with high strength and rigidity. In terms of rigidity, it is comparable to steel, although it is roughly 5 times lighter. The drawback is the high material costs and the multifaceted process of manufacturing. It is of note that 1m2 – one square metre – of pre-impregnated carbon fibre sheet cost ranges from €50 to €200. A typical F1 rear wing is build with around 210m2 of pre-impregnated sheet of carbon fibre costing in the region of €42,000 to make the carbon fibre components alone.

The rear wing is manufactured to weigh only 10 kgs (Moore 2012). The manufacturing process of an F1 rear wing is a complex process. The process initially begins with manufacturing the carbon-fibre pieces to be used in making the rear wing. At first, the rear wing is designed on the computer using Computer Aided Design (CAD). The data is then processed and acts as a foundation for Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM). With the use of a 5-axis milling machine, the form is then cut into a tooling block which will essentially serve as a positive mould (Sauber Motorsport 2014).

The laminators place the pre-shaped pieces of carbon fibre on to this tooling block. When this process is finished, the whole item is bundled into a polythene bag. It will then be vacuum-sealed and put in an autoclave wherein it gets cured for between 10 hours to 20 hours at a temperature of roughly 50°C. After a few last touches, the resultant negative mould is then ready to be utilized in manufacturing the actual carbon fibre component – the rear wing (Anderson 2013). ). In manufacturing the rear wing, 2 sets of aerofoils which essentially make up the F1 rear wings are made separately.

The lower aerofoil comprises one element; it is smaller than the upper aerofoil and provides some downforce. The upper aerofoil comprises 1 element and provides the most downforce and it varies from one