10 July 2021

An innovative concept for manufacturing the external shell of a racing front wing with the presence of an undercut was developed. In the last months, the design of the tooling was optimized, ad a cinematic study of the movable parts of the mold was carried out. Tooling were produced in April 2021, and a first prototype of shell with undercut was manufactured with standard Prepreg fabric. Encouraging results were obtained with this first trial. Namely, target geometrical tolerances were achieved as well as an optimal surface finishing.

Further tests will be made in the next weeks, aimed at optimizing the process parameters, such as mold temperature, closure force and curing time. The tooling will be tuned as well in order to minimize the gaps between the parts that are in relative movement.

In the next months, prototypes of this part will be manufactured with unidirectional carbon fibres layers developed in the frame of the Smartfan project.