AkumaNoZeta Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I know I spelt Aluminum wrong, it was supposed to be entertaining. So back to my topic. I have heard that aluminum body panels are lighter than fiberglass, but slightly heavier than carbon fiber (but carbon fiber costs out the wazoo). So I was wondering if this was true because I read it off some sight a while back ago and if it was true how hard would it be to make parts removable from the unibody like hoods and fenders out of sheets? Aluminum doors would be cool, but I think aluminum windows would be a tiny bit difficult to see through. I'm curious on the fabrication part of it but mainly on the weight reduction factor. I wouldn't mind attempting to start making aluminum parts out of sheet one day. How would one do the body lines? Like the ones on the bottom of the door and the hood bulge, that would be difficult. The hatch doesn't seem like it would be too difficult because it's so smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Carbon fibre isn't that bad, just depends what grade you get, the stuff they use on the A380 is quite expensive, but you can get grades of CB that is 1/5th the price of that! like $20US/m and if you only use it as as top layer, cheaper again, As for making your own metal door panels, well thats easy, you just need some moulds and a press Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 How about making some custom shaped dolleys and various sizes of hammers? And I didn't mean door panels, I meant doors. Have the skin shaped from sheat and then more parts of it made of sheet and then very carefully tig it all together and have a door that looks like the original but ways a couple hundred pounds lighter, BTW thats an exageration. And I think a thin sheet of aluminum would be lighter than a fiberglass piece with a layer of carbon fiber on it...not sure though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Really, it comes down to a factor of cost vs. performance. Aluminum body panels and doors would be cool, but very expensive to start making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 Still a lot cheaper than a carbon fiber peice right? How much lighter would an aluminum door be compared to a fiberglass one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNkEyT88 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 The problem isn't the cost of the material, but the cost of the tooling. A carbon fiber door will cost you more in material than fiberglass, and you will have to make your own molds which will take time. Other than that, most can be done in your own garage. You'd better be really good with sheet metal if you want to form your own aluminum doors. Or to have a part stamped out will not be beneficial because of the high cost of tooling and the low number of production. Fiberglass doors would be so much lighter than stock that it's totally worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garvice Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I meant doors. Have the skin shaped from sheat and then more parts of it made of sheet and then very carefully tig it all together I thought you couldn't tig? http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=145188 As for Aluminium Panels, Check out Jack280 in this thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=137471 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi303 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 that might be why he's trying to learn tigging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Yeah, I am trying to learn how to TIG but its so much harder than I thought it was gonna be. I used to be the most patient and calm-headed person I knew until I got to the butt weld, now I'm pounding my head against the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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