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DeDion Version 2.0

robertst - 24/6/07 at 05:16 PM

At last i finished my Dedion axle after almost a month of frustration, blood and tears. i am so happy to have this done with! i can truly say it is THE hardes part of the build...

what do u think?

Finished DeDion axle

Finished Dedion axle again

jacko - 24/6/07 at 05:33 PM

Hi i am sorry to say this after all the work you have done but is the big tubes were the drive shafts go through strong enough split like that
Jacko

Fatgadget - 24/6/07 at 06:02 PM

For a road car not using super sticky slick tyres I think it will be fine and dandy.The only ? for me is the single shear panhard mounting point. But that is hardly critical. Nice work mate. Have you got a montage of the build process?

[Edited on 24/6/07 by Fatgadget]

JoelP - 24/6/07 at 06:22 PM

looks a good effort, i'll assume you picked a thick enough material to get away with the split tube. Would agree with fatgadget, a fillet on either side of the panard rod mount would help it transmit lateral force from wheel to car.

ecosse - 24/6/07 at 06:27 PM

Looks good, well done

Cheers

Alex

madteg - 24/6/07 at 06:34 PM

Is the flange on each end cast, ifso how have you welded it.

robertst - 24/6/07 at 07:00 PM

quote:

Hi i am sorry to say this after all the work you have done but is the big tubes were the drive shafts go through strong enough split like that
Jacko

yeah i hate what i've done there but at the time i didnt have the proper tube so i got the one i had which had a smaller diameter, cut it and opened it. tube thickness is 3mm...

before painting it i considered welding in extra plates to close the tube up, but i thought it wouldnt add that much extra strength as the welding points were too small..

quote:

Would agree with fatgadget, a fillet on either side of the panard rod mount would help it transmit lateral force from wheel to car.

dont quite understand u two... do you mean weld some supports for the panhard mount flange? like in case it bends? i got the idea from Rorty's and it didnt specify any supports, it is 3mm round tube after all...

quote:

Is the flange on each end cast, ifso how have you welded it.

yeah there was a split opinion on whether they were forged or cast and i took NS Dev's and gazza's word for it that they were forged. and they went ok when i welded them.. just like normal iron... no cracking sounds

thanks for your replies. i'm quite happy to have assurance that its roughly ok...

i cant wait to put it on its wheels (anytime now) and bounce on it to see if it holds on!!!

[Edited on 24/6/07 by robertst]

[Edited on 24/6/07 by robertst]

oadamo - 24/6/07 at 07:05 PM

theres only one way to find out lol
it will prob bend first then just let go so take it easy then keep checking it then do some full on tests
adam

Peteff - 24/6/07 at 07:05 PM

If it's cast steel why does it matter? It looks like arc welding to me and there's plenty of work left, just wait till you get to the fiddly bits.

robertst - 24/6/07 at 07:12 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
there's plenty of work left, just wait till you get to the fiddly bits.

i like fiddly bits

i just hate the process of measuring, cutting, filing, measuring, fitting, filing, cutting, fitting "AARGH IT DOESNT FIT", filing, measuring, fitting.... ok it fits... then you weld it AND THE WHOLE THING GOES OUT OF ALIGNMENT AGAIN!!!! so you spend a day or two twiddling your thumbs until you get a bright idea...

thats quite what this last month and a half has been for me

JoelP - 24/6/07 at 08:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by robertst
dont quite understand u two... do you mean weld some supports for the panhard mount flange? like in case it bends? i got the idea from Rorty's and it didnt specify any supports, it is 3mm round tube after all...

id say like this myself. I dont think it will bend under normal cornering but if you kissed a kerb with the back end its looking iffy. You might prefer that to break rather than the chassis bend, your call

Rescued attachment finaldedion2.jpg

jacko - 24/6/07 at 08:29 PM

Back to the big tubes are you sure there strong enough when you brake from speed they will try and twist please try and strengthen them better safe then sorry
im looking at this with 35 years engineering and welding experience

Jacko

flak monkey - 24/6/07 at 08:32 PM

Ditto Jackos comment. Those tubes will try and twist under braking, and there is a lot of torque involved.

Also did you weld the bolt in for the panhard rod? Bad idea if so, as it will break off around the weld. High tensile bolts are heat treated and tempered to get their strength, welding one undoes all of that and you either end up with a very brittle bolt, or a very soft one depending on the cooling rate.

David

robertst - 24/6/07 at 10:41 PM

quote:

Also did you weld the bolt in for the panhard rod? Bad idea if so, as it will break off around the weld

well i thought they were supposed to be welded on! how else then? just loose in that thing? how are you supposed to tighten it then?
i'm sorry but all you're saying is that Rorty's plans are a crock of sh!te.

i am really thinking about what jacko said. and it is true. didnt look at it from the perspective of braking torque...

however, maybe the pic is confusing. the tube doesn't cover half of the circumference which is what you are probably interpreting. it is far bigger, and the area left without tube is about a quarter of the whole circumference.

maybe it should be strengthened as it might withstand shocks from the wheels but it might not withstand braking torque as you said...

thanks for pointing that out. for the time being i'll leave it like this.. need to get on with the car.

[Edited on 24/6/07 by robertst]

flak monkey - 25/6/07 at 05:38 AM

quote:
Originally posted by robertst

quote:

Also did you weld the bolt in for the panhard rod? Bad idea if so, as it will break off around the weld

well i thought they were supposed to be welded on! how else then? just loose in that thing? how are you supposed to tighten it then?

Normally you would weld in a threaded boss into the end of the tube, and bolt into that, rather than weld a bolt onto the end.

robertst - 25/6/07 at 09:49 AM

quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey

Normally you would weld in a threaded boss into the end of the tube, and bolt into that, rather than weld a bolt onto the end.

i was about to do that but how do you secure the bolt using that method and not using loctite... thats why i thought of the welded bolt being a better option..