Had to happen - Atom clone...

[NathanE]

I think it's stupid designing a spaceframe with curved tubes. It might look nice, but it is pointlessly adding weight as you have to make to tubes much larger to be able to take compressive forces without failing, or tensile forces without lengthening. If you are designing a spaceframe chassis for minimum weight and maximum strength, (structural)curved tubes have no business being involved.

Aluminium tubes are very strong. Far stronger than a square aluminium tube anyway

 

[Jonny69]

Aluminium tubes are very strong. Far stronger than a square aluminium tube anyway

I think he means curved along its length

 

[paradigm]

I think he means curved along its length

I'd imagine that is what he meant yeah

Lose a fair amount of tensile strenght with bending.

 

[Dogbreath]

Aluminium tubes are very strong. Far stronger than a square aluminium tube anyway

For equal weight a round tube is somewhat stronger in bending and torsion, though not massively so. If the diameter of the round tube is equal to the distance across the flats of a square tube, the square tube will be heavier but will be stronger in bending.

Cloudy, just been reading about your build on LCBs, don't often visit the middy forum! Just looking at your chassis, the curved tubes look like they might not be particularly stressed anyway, as you still have a fully triangulated structure down the side of the car though I am guessing. Have you done any stress simulations?

If the curved bars next to the drivers/passengers heads are not important structuraly, perhaps you could consider hinging that section to improve access to the car?

 

[cloudy]

you are correct, those top tubes are involved in minimum amounts of loading - the chassis would be fine without them. The curved bars need a serious rethink anyway due to the proximity of the head and possible side vision obstruction - still thinking on that one, so if anyone has any good suggestions let me know!

James

 

[TripleT]

I love the Atom so much Doesn't look half as good to me.

Would be the first car I'd buy should my lottery numbers come up

 

[Morba]

Unfortunately not the first I've seen...

*n

im sure i have seen many similar prior to the Atom being released, mostly by students in tech classes and stuff.

if anything the atom is just a better version of these, rather than being the first themselves.