motorsport manufacturing
Inspiring a Generation Breaking 1000 mph is not the main mission of the Blood-
hound Project. The key driver of the project is to inspire the next generation to consider careers along the line of STEM subjects. There is a whole team of educational ambassadors that are working with over 5000 schools and colleges across the UK and beyond. Their duty is simple—use the exciting material of the project to enthuse the engineers of tomorrow.
Straight and Symmetrical From the beginning, the Bloodhound Project team knew they needed a technology partner to achieve the ultimate in dimensional control and precision manufactured compo- nents. With the forces working on the car’s structure as it reaches top speed, they wanted to have the highest confi - dence in build quality, and most importantly, that the car is truly straight and symmetrical. From the smallest detail on the car to the alignment of the major car components over its total length, everything has to be right. Conor La Grue, Engineering Lead Commercial at Blood- hound, noted, “We originally met with Hexagon Metrology [Telford, UK] at an engineering event and they introduced the possibility of using their products and services to measure various stages of the car build, and we were pleased to sign them up as product sponsors.” Hexagon Metrology has performed many different tasks during the project including
onsite and offsite measurement, training, long-term equip- ment loan and expert metrology advice. The company has some of its own staff involved with the STEM program, too. Due to the many parts that make up the 44.29' (13.5- m) long car, the build process is split into several modules, allowing work to continue on several components at the same time. The team uses fi xtures to ensure the modules remain intrinsically accurate with each other. Utilizing a Leica Absolute Tracker AT402 laser tracker from Hexagon Metrol- ogy, the team selects key alignment points on each module and fi xture, and then virtually checks that all parts are in the correct place as they build them.
Measuring Hidden Points
The laser tracker uses spherical-mounted retro-refl ectors (SMRs) to gather 3D point data. Traditional methods required that the tracker has line-of-sight to the SMR in order to take measurements. While it was still possible for the team to measure all the features they needed using this method, it also meant that they needed to move the tracker repeatedly to achieve line-of-sight. Due to that circumstance, Blood- hound became an early user of the Leica B-Probe, a hand- held probing tool for the Leica Absolute Tracker AT402. The probe can gather hidden 3D points in a measurement volume of 65' (20 m) ø. For very large structures that require highly accurate measurements, the volume can be extended within a working volume of 1049' (320 m) ø with virtually no loss in probing accuracy by completing a laser tracker move station. “Collecting measurement data is so much quicker with the hand-held probe than using traditional refl ectors. We can now set the tracker up and get all the data we need with- out having to move and re-reference the tracker. When you combine the time savings with the addition of SpatialAnalyzer software, I estimate that we are halving the measurement time,” said Luke Dee, Components & Assembly Management Engineer at the Bloodhound Project.
Planning for Measurement in the Desert
Luke Dee, Components & Assembly Management Engineer, applies a B-Probe to one of the ribs of the Bloodhound SSC. The B-Probe is a hand-held probing tool for the Leica Absolute Tracker AT402.
The team has also expanded the use of the laser tracker system. The tail section of the car looks like it came from a jet fi ghter. The forces which will be placed on the tail during high speeds make it the hardest working tail fi n ever made. But to transport the car, the tail must be removed and reassembled on the Hakskeen Pan, the dried lake bed in the Northern
64 — Motorized Vehicle Manufacturing 2015
Courtesy Hexagon Metrology
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