“Working with T3DMC and seeing the capabilities of KSCAN up close was an excellent experience… Capturing the data for our circuit cars was a really fast and straightforward process that was easily carried out in our own workshop. I would thoroughly recommend T3DMC’s measurement capabilities, modern scanners and expertise in unique and complex automotive projects.”
Formula 1 motor racing has millions of fans across the world, and most would give almost anything to step into the cockpit of one of the sport’s high-performance cars and experience the thrill of driving it.
For a lucky few, this has now been made possible by Tour-de-Force Power Engineering (TDF), a Bedfordshire-based company specialising in advanced engineering for motorsport, Formula 1, road car and hypercar applications.
TDF has launched the TDF-1 programme which makes it possible for enthusiasts to buy, own and drive a modern Formula 1 car.
The programme offers access to race cars, but before these can be driven safely on private circuits, numerous modifications are needed. Every car produced as part of the TDF-1 program is built at TDF by ex F1 engineers and mechanics who have previously worked for teams such as Williams, Mercedes, Marussia and Renault.
In many cases the original design documentation for these unique vehicles is simply not available. The first step then is to generate accurate dimensional data for reverse engineering the vehicles and key components. This is essential not only to facilitate the design and implementation of the modifications needed to make the vehicles safer to drive, but also to support on-going maintenance and repairs that might be needed should a vehicle be damaged in a race.
Design engineering company, ES Products and Design Ltd, was tasked with project managing the design work for virtual assembly of the vehicles and with the reverse engineering of key components. To produce the dimensional data needed to underpin this work, the company chose T3DMC for our specialism in 3D scanning and data acquisition, to perform precision 3D scans on the vehicles.
Data from these scans, augmented as necessary by manual measurements made on components, is transferred to a Siemens NX CAD system which is used for modelling and design.
“We were asked to scan the Formula 1 cars for reverse-engineering purposes and also to create a digital twin of the vehicles”, explains Adam Stanley, MD at T3DMC.
“The digital twin means that design engineers can ‘virtually assemble’ the modified vehicles so that they can easily see and correct problems before work starts on the real vehicles.”
“By using our handheld KSCAN 3D scanner we were able to make extremely accurate scans of the panels and of the ‘tub’ that houses the cockpit. We scanned the whole of the exterior (surface A) of the vehicles, then took the panels off and repeated the process to provide a surface B scan. The whole job took just a few hours, compared with the days of tedious work it would have needed to make manual measurements.”
Portable and easy to use, KSCAN quickly captures accurate 3D data and is ideal for use in reverse engineering projects as well as in quality and inspection applications. KSCAN’s exceptional capabilities result from its use of blue laser technology, which easily captures extreme details with 10 μm resolution, complemented by a red laser mode that provides an incredible 600 mm scanning window.
With its Intelligent Edge Detection feature, KSCAN can operate in confined spaces, such as aircraft cockpits and vehicle interiors and, thanks to its portable probe with a capability of 0.03 mm, it is well suited to demanding inspection applications such as determining the dimensional accuracy of drilled holes, trim, edges and cylindrical components. With built-in photogrammetry features, this portable scanner boasts volumetric accuracy of up to 0.035 mm/m and makes easy work of scanning large objects such as car panels or dashboards.
“We were very impressed with how quickly and easily we were able to carry out the many scans required using KSCAN,” says Edward Smith, Director at ES Products and Designs.
“The CAD drawings we produce from the scan data is used for manufacturing components and spares so even if a car is badly damaged on the track it can be rebuilt to exactly the same specification, which gives extra peace of mind to the owners of these spectacular vehicles”.
