BigBuckORamma

Again, no confirmation. But it would make sense that the number of teeth on the idler gears, and on the top shaft, and the small lower front idler under the top shaft, will all be the same tooth count as the top shaft and idler in the B6 platform, so that the same gearing can be applied.

I think its a damn shame that the car is actively racing right now, and no one from AE has come out and confirmed any of this. This drip feed of marketing wank is annoying. Put out the pertinent engineering information, so the nerds can get to work.

Pistol123

The idler gears do not change the gear ratios at all, they are 1 tooth input equals 1 tooth output.

I did read on here a while back that they get the name idler gear as they are idle and do not change the gear ratio.

BigBuckORamma

Kinda shocked no one noticed this in video #5. As there has been some discussion about the Caster Block Roll Center adjustment, and the carbon plate design. Like, why not just make it similar to the TLR, and screw the ballstud straight into the Caster Block? WHy add a machined carbon plate, 2 screws, and a nut, if you dont have to?

And yesterdays video, showed this...




So clearly someone already had the idea, it was conceptualized, and designed, and 3D printed into a prototype part. And i can not, for the life of me, figure out why they went with the CF plate design?

ALso interesting int his shot is the prototype KPI adjustment. They added an aluminum top mount to the front hub, that looks like it defaults at 0 offset, then can have shims added, like a rear hub ballstub mounting plate, in order to add KPI.
I suppose that makes testing for optimal KPI easier inside of a rapid prototyping environment. But i can also see why they didnt do with this design, because i imagine it would be weaker than a fully molded hub.

WHich then begs the question, why didnt they go for the obvious solution, which would be the fully molded hubs, with various offsets for KPI, and the fully molded Caster Block, with the integrated ballstud mount? Seems like that would be the lightest and strongest overall option. So its just odd to me to go the way they did.

Again, it would be really nice if someone from AE was just like "This is why we did it this way in development" instead of the drip feed of non answers.

sosidge

I think you misunderstand the concept of prototyping.

BigBuckORamma

[QUOTE=Pistol123;16064171]The idler gears do not change the gear ratios at all, they are 1 tooth input equals 1 tooth output.

Ask Sosidge, he knows everything.

sosidge

Wrong!

Step away from the keyboard, you're writing a lot but it isn't correct.

BigBuckORamma

I understand it extremely well.
Not that i need to provide you with my CV, but my degree is in engineering, and my masters courses were on metallurgy. And i can still find my way around a CNC machine quite easily.
And i used to work in tool design, and have posted about it here previously in other threads.

That said, i ended up in IT, so i am behind the curve on some rapid prototyping options. Considering that when i was doing my studies, 3D Printing was just starting to emerge as a major player in design and development at the corporate engineering level, and inside of Aerospace (which was my applied field).

All that being said...

It cant be argued that in some prototype designs, there are ideas that are arguably better than the final design. And for whatever reason get overlooked. The classic "Cant see the forest for the trees" debacle.

The curiosity is WHY a particular design was chosen over another? Why add extra weight and hardware to the front Caster Block, when clearly they prototyped a cleaner lighter design? One that has been proven to work on multiple other platforms. Maybe that was the reason why? They wanted to be "#Different", and came up with what i would argue, is a wasteful and un-elegent design option.

There is nothing wrong with questioning design choices, and discussing them. It doesnt come from a lack of understanding about rapid prototyping. It comes from understanding all to well how bureaucratic decisions drive engineering and design. See: General Motors.

BigBuckORamma

So correct me Blanco Nino.

Educate us all.

sosidge

You're the one claiming to be an engineer so I don't think I should have to explain the concept of an "idler gear" to you. Hint - they are not named incorrectly in a buggy gearbox.

will5879

The three idler gears in the B7 will all be exactly the same number of teeth / same exact part number. There will be no change of gear ratio there from what they already have currently. It's just simply a way to get the motor further forward. Caster block plate... well I don't know what their plan is there with option parts, but when I raced I felt that the "next hole over" was usually too big of a change. With a CF plate, you could do something like half-hole more in or out to have a finer adjustment to really dial in the feel. I like it.

BigBuckORamma

That fine adjustment was the only logical answer i could come up with. It would be cool to see a plate that had something akin to shock tower lobe design on it. With multiple 1mm offset holes to dial it in. There is going to be a TON of front adjustment on this car. An almost overwhelming amount.

daz_75

Maybe this is more appropriate

RC10Nick

iTrader: (9)

1. AE doesn't owe you or anybody an explanation for anything. Demand all the answers you want, AE can safely ignore you while these kits fly off the shelves. If you want the car and don't like those blocks, design and manufacture your own. Maybe you'll stumble on the reason they did it the way they did.

2. 3D printing allows you to get away with all kinds of design features that would be difficult/impossible to achieve with injection molding. It's likely just a design feature they had to drop as part of the move to injection molding either due to a limitation of what they can mold or because it would have been prohibitively expensive to injection mold the prototype design.

BenewahRCTeam

All I can say is that I really need to figure out how to shift some stuff around and get one of these kits coming sooner than later, it looks cool! All this with dirt outdoor stuff to update a bit and stock up on for summer....
I may need to finally sell an RC car or something , or go on a diet for the next month...lol
cheers

blueflagger

iTrader: (4)

I've never had an aquarium, but this must be what it looks like when the residents start consuming each other.