Automotive Design
expensive to process, and not as strong as steel – meaning that parts must be designed thicker. The titanium project was part-funded
by the Technology Strategy Board, through its Niche Vehicle Network programme. “These projects are about innovation,
and thinking outside the box,” he says. “They’re ideal for small companies, who have the will and the know-how to do things that larger companies don’t want to consider.” And Caged Laser is already involved
Fig. 3. A titanium roll cage could cut the weight of Ariel’s Atom car by up to 10 per cent.
face of emissions legislation. And, he says, learning how to work with titanium could eventually see it competing with the industry’s lightweight material of choice: aluminium. “So many large companies are into aluminium:
it’s lightweight, and quite strong, but it corrodes badly unless it’s pre-treated correctly,” he says. A simple scratch can destroy this corrosion
protection, he says. At the same time aluminium is
in another titanium-related NVN project. In partnership with Lotus Engineering and S&D Metals, it is investigating
whether titanium sheets might be bonded together with adhesives. “Working on the earlier project showed us just how
difficult it is to weld titanium,” he says. “So we thought that bonding it might be a good idea – as there’s no need for a chamber.” Inevitably, a new set of challenges are already
presenting themselves. “Titanium may be hard to weld, but it’s also difficult to bond,” says Squance. ●
For more information ✔ at
www.engineerlive.com/ede
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