F1 in Schools
Autodesk Inventor Professional 2016
Design Guide
Contents
Introduction
Creating a New Part in Inventor
Saving the Part File
Creating Sketches
Vertical Reference Plane Guide Sketch
Wing and Wheels Guide
Wing and Wheels Above Guide
Virtual Cargo Guide
Virtual Cargo Guide Vertical Reference
CO2 Chamber Guide
Car Body Side Profile
Extrude Side Profile
Model Base
Extrude Model Base
Wheel Hubs
Axle Holes
CO2 Chamber
Closing the Cartridge Hole
Rear Wing Mount
Front Wing Mount / Tail­stock
Filleting
Tether Line Slot
Drilling Axle Holes
Create New Assembly
Place Part
Create Part in Place
Axle Bush
Pattern and Mirror
Wheels
Rear Wing
Front Wing
Tether Line Guide
Exporting STL's
Axles
Calculating Weight of Model
Adding Material Properties
Adding Decals
Drilling Axle Holes CNC Program
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Introduction
The aim of this guide is to illustrate a way of designing a car to compete in the F1 in Schools
Technology Challenge which complies with the rules and regulations.
The author of this guide works for Denford Ltd and has good knowledge of the machining
process.
The techniques shown in this guide are by no means the only way to create a design, but the
methods have worked well for the author and are offered as a helping hand to get you
started.
This guide uses the 2015 / 2016 Technical regulations and Autodesk Inventor Professional
2016 on Windows 10.
There is also an F1 in Schools Car Manufacturing Design Guide and a QuickCAM Pro
Training Guide available, which will also assist you in the design and manufacture of your
model.
The part files created in this guide are available as a download and can be used as a
reference.
This guide makes use of screen shots, where possible, and will use the following conventions:
Instructions will be in this format
Any software buttons to be pressed, a picture of the button will follow the instruction
This guide assumes that you are using Autodesk Inventor Professional 2016, some features
may be different if using a different version.
Denford Ltd provide Car Manufacturing training and it is recommended that you undertake
the training and use this guide as a revision after completion of the training.
The design in this guide has a weight of 64g according to Inventor. The actual car when
manufactured has a weight of 58g. This discrepancy is likely due to the 3D printed parts
being printed hollow.
This design recorded a time of 1.22 seconds, which would have been fast enough to have
won at 3 of the UK regionals last year.
Good luck!
Creating a New Part in Inventor
To start the design of your model in Inventor you will need to create a new part. You should
create a Standard(mm).ipt
Click the "Metric" folder
Click the "Standard(mm).ipt" button
Click the "Create" button
Saving the Part File
It is recommended to save your document at different stages to protect against an
accidental power off or reboot of your PC.
As you will be creating a number of different parts for your design, it is a good idea to create
a folder on your PC where you can save all those parts together.
This will make it easier to locate your components later.
Click the "Inventor" button
Move the mouse down to the "Save" option
Move across to "Save" and click the "Save" button
Set the "Save in" location
As you can see in the image on the
right, I like to save to the Desktop.
Click the "Create New Folder"
button
Name the "New Folder"
Double click on the "New Folder"
to open it
Type a "File name" for your part
Click the "Save" button
Creating Sketches
When creating a part in Inventor I like to create sketches as guides to assist in designing a
part that can be manufactured to meet the specification.
Click on the upper part of the "2D Sketch" button
Click on a plane (XZ)
Use the controls on the "View Cube" to adjust the
view
You want the X Axis running left to right and the Z Axis
running from bottom to top ­ as the icon next to the view
cube illustrates.
Vertical Reference Plane Guide Sketch
Using the sketch created in the previous step, we are going to create guide lines to ensure
our design meets the regulations.
Firstly we will draw a line for the ground plane.
Select the "Line" button
Starting from the origin (X0,Y0,Z0), draw a horizontal line to the left.
Click to place the line, then press the "ESC" key to end line drawing.
Next we will place a dimension on the line. The Dimension Tool is under the Sketch Tab
grouped under the Constrain Section
Click the "Dimension" button
Click on the line you drew.
Set dimension to 209mm
Dimension is set to 209mm as the Max Overall Length of the car is 210mm as specified in
Critical Regulation T3.3 (­6 pts) and I am giving 1mm clearance to avoid a penalty.
I am aiming for maximum length in this design, as the longer an object is the more
aerodynamic it is for the same frontal area.
Next you should draw a rectangle above the existing line. This rectangle will represent the
billet and the previous line is the ground plane.
The rectangle should be 2mm above the Ground Plane as per Regulation T3.6 (­6 pts). I
have drawn it 3mm to allow a 1mm safety margin.
The rectangle should be 50mm high as this is the height of the billet.
You should now also draw a rectangle within the billet to represent the cartridge hole. This
should be 19.5mm in height and 60mm long, the centre line should be 29mm from the
bottom of the billet.
Using the "Line", "Rectangle", and "Dimension" buttons.
Add the details shown on the sketch below to your sketch
A line can be converted to a centreline by selecting it and clicking the "Centreline" button.
Convert the centreline of the cartridge hole using the "Centreline" button.
Click the "Finish Sketch" button
It is a good idea to rename the sketch in order to keep your model organised.
Double click the sketch in the Model Browser and type in the name below:
Press the "Enter" key to save the name
Wing and Wheels Guide
We are going to add the wings and wheels later as 3D printed items for this design, but we
must plan their location before we can design the shape of the body.
Wheel Diameter
The smaller a wheel's diameter the less frontal area it will have. Critical Regulation T8.3 (­6
pts) states a minimum diameter of 26mm so I will design the wheels to have a 27mm
diameter. This gives a 1mm margin.
Regulation T10.3 (­6 pts) states that the wing surface must have a minimum of 3mm clear
space, so we will have 4mm between the front of the wheel and the trailing edge of the wing.
Rear Wing Location
Critical Regulation T10.4 (­6 pts) states that the rear wing must be behind the centreline of
the rear wheel, we will make it 1mm behind.
Critical Regulation T10.5 (­6 pts) states that the rear wing must be higher than 34mm from
the track surface. We will make it 35mm.
Front Wing Location
Critical Regulation T10.6 (­ 6 pts) states that the front wing must be in front of the
centreline of the front wheels. Our wing will be in front of the front wheel.
Regulation T8.6 (­6 pts) states that the front wheels may only be obstructed to a height of
15mm from the track. We will make it 14mm.
Wings
The longer an object is the more aerodynamic it is. Regulation T10.11 (­2 pts) states the
maximum chord length is 25mm so we will make it 24mm.
Regulation T10.12 (­2 pts) states the Max thickness of the wing is 6mm. We will make this
5mm.
Regulation T10.12 (­2 pts) states the Min thickness of the wing is 1.5mm. We will make this
2.5mm.
Create the sketch shown below and name it Wing and Wheels. It should be created on
the same plane as the Vertical Reference Plane
Wing and Wheels Above Guide
We must now plan the location of the wheels and wings from above.
Wheel Width
The narrower the width of the wheel the less frontal area it will have. Critical Regulation T8.4
(­6 pts) states a minimum width of 15mm, so we will make it 16mm.
We are aiming to get the smallest frontal area possible for our design. Critical Regulation
T8.2 (­6 pts) states that the distance between opposing wheels must be a minimum of
30mm. We will go 31mm
Wing Span
Regulation T10.9 (­6 pts) states that the minimum wing span is 40mm. We will make ours
42mm
Regulation T10.10 states that the minimum span segment is 20mm, ours will be 21mm
Billet Size
The Billet that the car will be machined from is 65mm wide. We should add this dimension
to this sketch.
Create the sketch shown below and name it Wings and Wheels Above. It should be
created on the XY Plane
Virtual Cargo Guide
Virtual Cargo
Critical Regulation T4.3 (­6 pts) states that a virtual cargo must be completely encompassed
by the body and be wholly positioned between the front and rear wheel centrelines. This
must also be clearly identified within the engineering drawings Regulation T4.5 (­3 pts). We
will make all dimensions for the virtual cargo larger by 2mm as a safety margin to avoid
penalties.
Exclusion Zones
Critical Regulation T4.5 (­6 pts) states that no part of the car body must exist in a 15mm
volume immediately rear of the front wheels. The volume is equal to the wheel width and
wheel diameter. We will have a 16mm exclusion zone.
Visibility from Top
Critical Regulation T8.5 (­6 pts) states that the wheel view cannot be obscured in any way, by
any component of the car in the top, bottom, and side elevation views. A 1mm exclusion zone
must be present in the top view. We will make this 2mm.
Create the sketch shown below and name it Virtual Cargo. It should be created on the XY
Plane
I have chosen to place the virtual cargo as far back as possible to the exclusion zone in front
of the rear wheels. This will give me more freedom in the shape of the front of the design.
Virtual Cargo Guide Vertical Reference
Virtual Cargo
Critical Regulation T4.3 (­6 pts) states that the depth of the virtual cargo should be 8mm
minimum, so we will make ours 10mm to allow a 2mm safety margin.
Exclusion Zone
Critical Regulation T4.5 (­6 pts) states that no part of the body of the car must exist in a
15mm volume immediately rear of the front wheels. The volume is equal to the wheel width
and the wheel diameter. We will have a 16mm exclusion zone.
Create the sketch shown below and name it Virtual Cargo Vertical Reference. It should
be created on the XZ Plane
CO2 Chamber Guide
Regulation T5.2 (­2 pts) states that the lowest
point of the chamber opening to the track should
be a minimum of 20mm and a maximum of
30mm.
As we are using the Official F1 in Schools Model
Block and have a ground clearance of 3mm, our
CO2 Chamber is 22.25mm from the ground
plane.
Regulation T5.4 (­3 pts)states that the thickness
of chamber surrounds must be a minimum of
3.5mm ­ ours will be 4.5mm.
Create the sketch shown on the right and
name it CO2 Chamber. It should be created on
the YZ Plane
Car Body Side Profile
To create my side profile I have started a new sketch on the XY Plane.
A set of guide lines would help us here to show the regulation dimensions. Luckily the guide
sketches we created can be made visible to help us design within the regulations.
Create a new sketch on the XY Plane
Right click on the Vertical Reference Plane sketch and make it visible
Right click on the Wings and Wheel sketch and make it visible
Right click on the Virtual Cargo Vertical sketch and make it visible
Turning off dimension visibility may make the sketches clearer to view
Using the "Project Geometry" button and then selecting the parts of the sketches you wish
to use as guides for your side profile enables you to then turn off the visibility of the sketches
and makes the sketch view less crowded.
Click the "Project Geometry" button
Select the lines you wish to use
Turn off the visibility of all sketches except the current one.
Draw your side profile
You may notice in the sketch below that I have ended my profile 2mm in front of the centre
line of the front wheel. I have done this as from this point forward will be my front wing
support and front wing.
Critical Regulation T10.6 (­6 pts) states that the whole front wing and any support structure
must be in front of the centre line of the front wheel when viewed in the side elevation.
Starting the wing support 2mm in front of the centre line gives me a 2mm margin.
Click the "Finish Sketch" button when you have finished drawing your profile
Extrude Side Profile
Now that we have sketched our side profile we will want to extrude it.
Click the "Extrude" button
If you have created a fully closed vector shape in your sketch then it should be selected
automatically.
In the Extrude dialogue box, select the Symmetric option
I have chosen to make this extrusion 15mm.
You can make it whatever size you wish, but if
it is wider than the distance between your
opposing wheels you may need to cut some of
it away later. Do not extrude further than
65mm as this is the maximum width of the
billet.
Enter the dimension of your extrusion
Click the "Green Tick" button
Model Base
Having created the side profile, we should create the model base next.
Create a new sketch, select the base of the side profile extrusion as your sketch plane.
Make the Wing and Wheels Above sketch visible
Make the Virtual Cargo Above sketch visible
Click the "Project Geometry" button and select the lines that you wish to use.
Turn off visibility of all sketches other than the current one
Extrude Model Base
When you have completed the profile for the model base, exit the sketch.
Click the "Finish Sketch" button
Click the "Extrude" button to extrude the base.
Make sure you extrude upwards.
As we have to attach a decal to the side of the vehicle, as stated in Regulation T4.6 (­6 pts)
we should extrude at least 15mm so that the decal fits. We will extrude 16mm.
Wheel Hubs
The wheels will need to be mounted. Next we will create an extrusion that will act as the
wheel hub.
Create a sketch on the XZ Plane
It will be necessary to change the view so that you can see hidden edges as this sketch is
within an extrusion.
Click the "Visual Style" button and select Wireframe with Hidden Edges
In order to place the hubs in the correct place you
should make the Wing and Wheels sketch visible
Make the Wing and Wheels sketch visible
Click "Project Geometry" button and select the
wheels and the line for the bottom of the billet
Turn off the Wing and Wheel sketch visibility
If the projected geometry is displayed with solid geometry lines, you may find the sketch
easier to view if you convert the lines to construction lines.
Select the wheel geometry
Click the "Construction Line" button
Below is my sketch for the Wheel Hubs.
I have created a circle around the axle centre as a construction line. This circle is 6.35mm in
diameter, as that is the size of the tool I will use to drill the axle holes.
The Wheel Hub is then a circle around the axle centre, which will leave 5mm of material as
the wall thickness after the axle has been drilled. I have done this, as anything under 3mm is
liable to break during machining and I have found 5mm of model board all around to be
strong enough to support the axles.
I have checked clearance between the Wheel Hub and the Model Base to ensure that my
6.35mm cutter will fit between the 2 extrusions. It is important to keep an eye on this and be
aware of the tool that will be used to machine your design from the model board billet.
When you have finished your sketch extrude the Wheel Hubs
Be sure to extrude symmetrically.
You should extrude 31mm, as this is the distance we set between opposing wheels in the
Wing and Wheels sketch
Axle Holes
We are going to use a 6.35mm tool to drill the axle holes in our model.
Create a sketch on the face of the Wheel Hub
Draw a 6.35mm circle which is concentric to the wheel hub
Extrude a hole all the way through the body
CO2 Chamber
We will now add the CO2 Chamber to our model.
This will be simple to achieve, as we already have a sketch for this.
Turn on visibility of the CO2 Chamber Sketch
Extrude the CO2 Chamber 60mm
Select the end of the CO2 chamber and create a sketch
Use the "Project Geometry" button to select the cartridge hole
Use an extruded cut to make a hole 60mm deep
Your cartridge chamber is almost complete.
It just needs closing at the front.
Closing the Cartridge Hole
To close the Cartridge Hole we will create a profile on the XZ Plane and draw a profile which
we will use for a revolved extrusion.
Create a sketch on the XZ Plane
Use the "Project Geometry" button to select the front, rear, and top of the
CO2 Chamber
Draw a horizontal centre line through the CO2 Chamber and extending beyond it
Complete your profile as I have done in the image below.
Use the "Revolve" button to create a revolved extrusion.
Rear Wing Mount
We are going to 3D Print the front and rear wings, but we must first create the mounts
onto which they will sit.
For the rear wing mount we want to create a boss on the top of the CO2 Chamber. To do
this we must first create a work­plane onto which we can draw the sketch.
Click the bottom of the "Plane" button to open the drop down menu.
Select the "Tangent to Surface and Parallel to Plane" option
Select the top of the CO2 Chamber and the XY Plane
Your new work­plane should look like the image below
Create a sketch using the new work­plane
Make the Wing and Wheels Above sketch visible
Use "Project Geometry" button to select the
wing geometry
Draw a square as per the image below
Extrude the sketch
4mm symmetrically to
create a boss for the
rear wing
Front Wing Mount / Tail­stock
We now need to create a mount for the front wing. This mount will also double as the tail­
stock for machining the car.
Create a sketch on the XZ Plane
Turn on visibility for the Vertical Reference Plane sketch
Draw a rectangle as shown in the image below and trim it so it fits around the Wheel
Hub
Extrude the sketch symmetrically 20mm
Filleting
We have almost completed the body of our car design. The only thing we need to do now is
add fillets to the points where our extrusions meet.
As we are using a 6.35mm tool to machine the car design, our fillets should be 3.175mm
or greater.
We cannot achieve fillets smaller than 3.175mm, as this is the radius of the cutting tool.
Add 3.175mm fillets to all edges where extrusions meet
Tether Line Slot
Regulation 6.1 states that the tether line slot is optional and free in length and location.
As we have designed this car to be modelled from the Official F1 Model Block, we should add
it to our model.
Create a new sketch on the bottom face of your model
Draw a 6mm wide slot running the length of your model
Make the 6mm slot an extruded cut 6mm deep.
Drilling Axle Holes
It is best to get the CNC Router to drill your axle holes. For this you will need to know the
location of them in relation to the datum point.
The datum is at the cartridge hole end of the billet and right in the centre of the cartridge
hole, when viewed from the end.
Create a sketch on the XZ Plane and find the distance to your axle holes from the datum
For the model we have created the centre line of the axles is 18.5mm down from the datum.
This is Y­18.5 in a CNC program.
The rear axle is 25mm from the end of the billet. This is X25 in a CNC program.
The front axle is 167.5mm from the end of the billet. This is X167.5 in a CNC program.
Record your values below
Create New Assembly
We now need to model the wheels, wings and axle bushes.
If you load the body of your car into a new assembly, then you can create parts in place using
the geometry of your car body as a guide when creating new parts.
Select "New" then "New"
Select "Standard(mm).ipt" button
Click the "Create" button
Place Part
We want to place our car body into our new assembly so that we can create the other parts
we need.
Click the "Place" button
Select your car body model
Click the "Open" button
Click to place your model
Press ESC to stop placing
Create Part in Place
The first part we will create is the axle bush. We will need 4 of these and they will be 3D
Printed.
Click the "Create" button
The "Create In­Place Component" dialogue box will pop up
Enter the New Component Name
Click the "Browse Templates" button
The "Open Templates" dialogue box
will appear.
Click on the "Metric" tab
Click the "Standard(mm).ipt" button
Click the "OK" button
Click the next "OK" button
We have to select the sketch plane for the
base of the feature.
As we are creating a bush for the axle holes,
we want to select the Wheel Hub.
Select the Wheel Hub
You are now back in Inventor part modelling,
but the geometry from the body of your car
can be used in the creation of your part.
Axle Bush
We are ready to create our Axle Bush part in place. Let's begin:
Create a sketch on the XY Plane
Click the "Project Geometry" button
Select the face of the Wheel Hub
Finish the sketch
Extrude the sketch 2mm away from
the Wheel Hub
Now that we have created the base of our
bush, we need another extrusion to go into the
Axle Hole of our model.
Create a new sketch on the face of the
extrusion you just created
Click "Project Geometry" to select the inside
of the previous extrusion.
Draw a circle concentric to the Axle Hole
that is 3.3mm in diameter
Extrude the sketch 7mm into the model
Click "Return"
You have successfully created a part in place.
Save the Assembly
Pattern and Mirror
We do not want to create another 3 Axle Bushes, so it would be much easier to use the
Pattern and Mirror tools.
Pattern
Click the "Pattern" button
The "Pattern Component" dialogue box will appear.
In the Model Browser, click on the Bush
Click the "Rectangular" button
Click the "Column Direction" button
Set the direction to be in X as per the image below
Set the number of Elements to be 2
Set the distance to be the distance between
your axles
Remember we asked you to record this value on
page 28.
You can type this as: Front X Value ­ Rear X Value
Click the "OK" button
Mirror
Click the "Mirror" button
The "Mirror Component" dialogue box will appear.
In the Model Browser, click on Component Pattern 1:1
Click on the "Mirror Plane" button
In the Model Browser, expand the model for the body of your car and then expand the
Origin.
Select the XZ Plane
Click the "Next" button
Click the "OK" button
Hopefully, you now have the hang of the Pattern and Mirror tools.
You will be needing them after you have created the Wheel part.
Wheels
We will create the Wheel in much the same way as we created the Axle Bush.
Create a new part named Wheel and use the face of the rear wheel bush as the sketch
plane
Create a new sketch on the face of the rear wheel bush
Turn on the visibility of the Wing and Wheels sketch in the Model Browser
Use "Project Geometry" button to select the rear wheel geometry.
Turn off visibility for the "Wing and Wheels" sketch
Draw a circle which is concentric to the wheel geometry and make it 3.1mm in diameter
Exit the sketch and extrude the wheel away from the body by 16mm.
As you can see in the image below, we now have a solid wheel.
Whilst a solid wheel will meet the regulations it is
unlikely to be the fastest. It may be a good idea to
remove some material.
How strong you make your wheels is up to you, but
regulation T3.8 (­6 pts) states that only 3 sets of
replacement wheels are allowed.
With the UP 3D Printers, the minimum wall
thickness you should design into your parts is 1mm.
Below this some features may not print.
Remove some material to make your wheels lighter
Click "Return" button to return to the Assembly
Pattern and Mirror the wheels, as we did with the Axle Bushes
Rear Wing
Now we will design our Rear Wing. This part is to be 3D Printed and as such will be created
as a separate component.
Create a part in place as you have done with the Axle Bush and the Wheel
Name the part Rear Wing and use the face of the rear wing boss as the sketch plane
Create a new sketch on the face of the Rear Wing Mount
Turn on visibility of the Wing and Wheels Above sketch in the Model Browser
Use "Project Geometry" button to select rear wing
geometry
Turn off visibility for the "Wing and Wheels Above"
sketch
Use "Project Geometry" button to select the geometry of
the Rear Wing Mount and the base of the fillets in the
model of your main body
Draw a rectangle that uses the outer edge of the Rear
Wing Mount fillets for its location.
Exit the sketch and extrude
the profile symmetrically 8mm
Create a new sketch on the
rear face of the extrusion
Use "Project Geometry" button to
select the CO2 chamber
Finish sketch and do an extruded cut
through the extrusion
Create a new sketch on the XY Plane
of the Rear Wing
Use "Project Geometry" button to
select the top face of the Rear Wing
Mount on the model of your Main Body
You may have to adjust the Visual Style in order to
see the Rear Wing Mount as it is under the
extrusion for the Rear Wing
Exit the sketch and extrude the profile down through
all.
The mount for your Rear Wing is nearly complete.
Don’t forget to add the 3.175mm fillets to the cut­out
so it fits onto your Main Body.
Create a new sketch on the right hand face of the Rear Wing extrusion that you have
created
Turn on visibility of the "Wing and Wheels" sketch
Use "Project Geometry" button to select the Rear Wing geometry
Turn off visibility of the "Wing and Wheels" sketch
As you can see in the image on
the left, the rear wing geometry
from our "Wing and Wheels"
sketch is much lower than the
Rear Wing extrusion that we
have created.
This is not a problem, as we
drew the rear wing geometry at
the minimum height allowed in
the regulations. Just draw your
new profile higher.
When deciding the height of your wing you
should note that Regulation T10.3 (­6 pts)
states that there should be a minimum of
3mm clear air space to any other part of
the car. We will give ours 4mm clear air
space as a safety margin.
Exit the sketch and extrude the profile
21mm away from the car body
Mirror the profile around the XZ Plane
The rear wing now meets the regulations, as it has 2 spans ­ each 21mm wide ­ and the
wing surface has 4mm of clear air space around it.
It would look better, though, if the wing surface continued from one span to the other.
Create a new sketch on one of the inner faces of the wing span
Use "Project
Geometry"
button to select
the geometry of
that face
Exit sketch and extrude it to the other face
Your rear Wing is now complete.
Click the "Return" button to return to the assembly
Front Wing
We will now design our Front Wing. This part is to be 3D Printed and as such will be created
as a separate component.
Create a part in place as you have done with previous parts.
Name the part Front Wing and use the top face of the Front Wing Mount as the sketch
plane.
Create a new sketch on the XZ Plane
Turn on visibility of the Wing and Wheels sketch in the Model Browser
Use "Project Geometry" button to select front
wing geometry
Turn off visibility for the "Wing and Wheels"
sketch
Use "Project Geometry" button to select
geometry of the Front Wing Mount in the model
of your main body
Draw a curved profile that starts 1mm back from the front of your model and ends 1mm
in front of the Front Wheel Centre Line.
The profile should extend from the base of your model at the point 1mm back from the front
to 15mm above the base at the point 1mm in front of the Front Wheel Centre Line.
Revolve the profile
Create a new sketch on the XZ Plane to remove all of
the revolved extrusion below the base of the car
Exit the sketch and do an extruded cut to remove the
revolved extrusion below the car
Create another sketch on the XZ Plane
Use "Project Geometry" button to select
the Wheel Hub in the model of your main
body
Exit the sketch and make an extruded cut
symetrically through all
Create a new sketch on the rear
face of the front wing
Use "Project Geometry" button to select the geometry of the Front Wing
mount on the Main Body.
Exit sketch and extruded cut the profile towards the front of the car by 15mm
As you can see in the image
to the left, the Front Wing
Mount / Tail­stock sticks out
from the end of the Front
Wing.
This is deliberate, to assist in
machining the Main Body of
the car.
After machining, the Tail­
stock can easily be
shortened in order for the
Front Wing to fit.
To make your renderings look better, you can shorten the Tail­stock in your model after you
have exported the STL files for machining.
Now that the we have designed the base of our Front Wing, it is time to design the Front
Wing surface.
Create a new sketch on the XZ Plane
Turn on visibility for the "Wing and Wheels" sketch
Use "Project Geometry" button to select the Front Wing geometry
Turn off visibility for the "Wing and Wheels sketch
Create a profile for the Front Wing like the one below
Exit the sketch and extrude the profile symmetrically
You need to extrude the profile far enough so that you have 2 spans at least 20mm in
length. In the case of this model, the extrusion was 65mm, giving 2 spans of just over 21mm
each.
Don't forget to add 3.175mm fillets to the faces
that mate with the Main Body
The last thing we need to add to the Front Wing is
the Tether Line Slot
As we have used the Official F1 Model Block this is a
6mm x 6mm slot.
Create a new sketch on the YZ Plane and draw a
6mm x 6mm square
Use the profile to create an extruded cut through
all to get the Tether Line Slot
Click "Return" button to get back to the Assembly
Tether Line Guides
For this design we will use the 1" Screw Eyes available from Denford Ltd as they comply with
the regulations and are designed to fit in the Tether Line Slot in the base of the billet we are
using.
Critical Regulation T7.1 (­6 pts) states that the car must have 2 guides, one in front of the
Front Axle and one behind the Rear Axle.
Regulation T7.3 (­2 pts) states that the minimum distance between the inside edges of the
guides is 120mm.
As you can see below, a sketch has been created on the base of the car to check that the
Tether Line Guides can be fitted to our design within the regulation.
Check you can fit Tether Line Guides to your design.
Exporting STL's
Having created all of the parts for our car we need
to manufacture them.
The software we use for manufacturing parts
accepts STL files. We need to export our design
from Autodesk Inventor as STL's
Click the "Inventor" button
Scroll down to "Export"
Move across to "CAD Format" and click the left
mouse button
When the "Save As" dialogue pops
up, change "Save as type" to STL
Files
Click the "Options" button
It is very important to set these settings correctly. If these
settings are incorrect, your design will not machine correctly.
Units are set to CM by default, as the machines we are using to
manufacture these parts use mm. It is important to change this
setting to prevent your part being scaled incorrectly.
Set units to mm
Resolution is set to Medium by default. This affect the quality of curved surfaces mainly. If set
too low then wheels will be printed as polygons, rather than circles and we do not want this.
Set resolution to High
Click "OK" button
Select a folder to save your STL's to and click "Save"
Axles
We are going to use the Long Axles for this model. These are available from Denford Ltd.
The axles are 65mm long and 3.2mm in diameter, made of steel and they weigh 4g.
Create a part in place as you have done with previous parts.
Name the part Long Axle and use the right hand side face of the Front Wing as the
sketch plane.
Create a new sketch on the XY Plane
Use "Project Geometry" button to
select the Rear Wheel geometry
Draw a circle
concentric to the
Rear Wheel which
is 3.2mm in
diameter
Exit the sketch and extrude the profile 65mm
Click "Return" to go back to assembly mode
Pattern the Long Axle just as you have previously done with the Axle Bushes and Wheels
Calculating Weight of Model
Before manufacturing our car, we may want to know the weight of it.
The density of the Official F1 Model Block is 0.16g/cm3
For the Wings, Wheels and Axle Bushes, the density of the filament is roughly 1g/cm3
The Long Axles are made of steel and have a density of 7.850g/cm3
We can enter this density into Autodesk Inventor to find the weight of our billet when
machined.
Adding New Material
The Axles are made of steel and the "Steel, High Strength, Low Alloy" material in the
Autodesk material library has the correct density.
We will need to add materials for the Official F1 Model Block and the 3D Printer Material
Select the "Material" button (Above the Sketch tab)
The Material Browser will appear as
illustrated in the image on the right.
The Material Browser should have "Generic"
listed under "Document Material". We need
to create 2 new materials.
Click the "Create New Material" button
The Material Editor will appear, as
illustrated on the right.
The Material Editor has 3 tabs: Identity,
Appearance, and Physical.
The Identity tab will be selected first.
Enter all details as shown on the right
and click the "Apply" button
Select the Appearance tab
The Material Editor will change to show the
options illustrated on the left.
For the Official F1 Model Block, set the
colour to a shade of green and turn off
Reflectivity and Transparency
Click the "Apply" button
When you create the 3D Print material you
may wish to adjust the transparency and
reflectivity, depending on the material you
are using.
Finally the Physical tab. We want to enter the
density here, so that Inventor will be able to
calculate the weight of our model.
Select the Physical tab
We are only interested in the Mechanical
section here.
Expand the Mechanical section
Enter the density for the Official F1 Model
Block as 0.16g / cm3
When you type the density in and hit enter it
will revert back to pound per cubic inch, don't
worry about this.
Click the "Apply" button
Click the "Close" button to exit
The Material Browser will now show the
Official F1 Model Board in the Document
Materials
To add this material to the Autodesk Inventor
Material Library follow the instructions below:
Right click on the material
Select > Add to > Inventor Material Library >
Plastic
You have now added the Official F1 Model
Block to the Material Library.
Repeat the process to add your 3D print
material to the Material Library
Most filament has a density of roughly 1g /
cm3.
Adding Material Properties
To add material properties to a part, follow the instructions below:
In the Model Browser, right click on the part and select "Edit"
Right click on the part in the Model Browser again and select "iProperties"
Select the "Physical" tab
Select the Material
Click "Apply"
Now add material properties to
all parts in your assembly
After you have set material properties for all of your parts you can check the weight of your
assembly.
Right click on the assembly in the Model Browser (Top of the parts tree)
Select "iProperties"
Select the "Physical" tab
Click the "Update" button
The Mass of your model will be displayed under the General Properties section.
Adding Decals
To make the renderings of your model look more realistic for your portfolio, you may want to
add decals for your sponsors.
To do this, you first need an image to be used as your decal and it is recommended that you
save these in the same folder as your model.
Decals are placed by first creating a sketch and loading the image for your decal into the
sketch.
Positioning and resizing are all done in the sketch.
After exiting the sketch, the "Decal" button is used to project the image onto the surface.
For curved surfaces, create a work­plane above the surface to project the decal onto.
We will place a decal onto the rear wing. You must have the part open, rather than the
assembly for decals.
Open the "Rear Wing" part
Create a sketch on the rear wing
Click the "Insert Image" button
Select the image you wish to use
Rotate and resize the image to fit the rear wing
Exit the sketch
Click the "Decal" button
Select the sketch to be used as a decal
Select the face you wish to place the decal onto
Click the "OK" button
You can now apply decals to the rest of your model.
Drilling Axle Holes CNC Program
To drill the axle holes, it is best to use the Denford CNC Router, whilst the billet is still in the
fixture after machining the right or left sides.
As the Official F1 Model Block is quite low in density it can be drilled using the 1/4"
(6.35mm) Long Reach Ball Nose cutter which is used for machining the body of your car.
Type the code below into a new text document and save it as "Axle Holes.fnc"
The values in red should be substituted for the values you recorded on page 28