Steering column mount

Also along with all the other parts that have been coming along in the last few weeks is the steering column mount.

This came in with a whole mix of parts we had on a laser cutting order that we waited 2 months for.

Once it finally came we got a small sigh of relief and everyone has enjoyed been able to sink their teeth into some good fabrication work.

This part was again designed with solidworks, based on dimensions from laster year car. This was a slight over-sight, there was last minute changed on the fly last year to ensure that the car would pass the technical inspection at the FSAE-A competition and one of the parts that changed was the steering column mount.

As with many of the changes the CAD model didn't really get around to being acurately updated and so the laser cut part came back over size. It was not Until Errol Hassett had bent the part up that he realise his slight mistake BUT we were able to over come this.

To fix it we simply milled a portion out of the centre of the bracket to shrink it inward but maintain it other geometry, this means it will pass the rules set by SAE for the technical insepection, Errol also thought ahead and has updated the CAD model to try and limit the possibility that this will happen again.

The probelm only set us back about 30 mins, live and learn.

Hold tight: Steering column mounting bracket, showing the fabricated and bent part vs the laser cut blank that we ordered. We often order 2 copies of parts that are bent up encase there are errors in our fabrication we have a backup.

You can see the slight differences between what it would have loked like and what it does look like after it's been bent up on the magna-bender and then milled and welded and grinded flush again. The milled section where there is a pocket for the steering column to run through the centre did have a nice semi circle end cut but for some reason the technician when he milled it change that to a squared off end with fillets, despite there being instrution to maintain the same single radius end on the modified finished part.

These things happen, the part is still within our "GOOD" good standards so it will be used. It is currently mocked up on the chassis and waiting to be welded this coming Monday.

We can up with a marking scheme for our work. We realise that nothing will ever be perfect or that it can take too much time to achieve this but we need things to be better than just satisfactory. So we invented the "GOOD" criteria, if it's not quite perfect but it is better than just satisfactory for the intended good then its good and can go on the car.