Shock towers.....

[bigfol]

As most of us have found out the alloy that is used in the hop-up shock towers is not that great in terms of strenght, in fact I couldn't tell you what grade it actually is, that being said, I got sick of my towers bending after a bad crash, I push my xbe to the max when ever I drive it, I'm a basher and I love to send it hard......Anyway was in the hardware the other day and came across a dremel router table, light-bulb went off in my head and this is the result.....this my first a tempt, the centre holes are a bit off, but practice makes perfect..........

 

[bigfol]

All fitted up, now for some montain bike track testing......

 

[Guantanamo Joe]

Looks great. I don't know much about cf, but I hope it works out for you...

 

[bigfol]

Thanks Joe, its pretty tough stuff when used in the right application, if only I could use it to build some wing mounts, the lower through bolts are whats holding me back,CF is only strong in certain directions, I'll keep on looking at it, I'm certain I can make it work.......somehow.LOL

 

[bigfol]

Just in case anyone is wondering I used two, 2mm CF plates bonded together with super heavy duty epoxy glue,(clamped) and used the alloy tower as my template, traced it and cut it out using the router......

 

[BoukeG]

Awesome, did you had the chance of testing them?

 

[bigfol]

Awesome, did you had the chance of testing them?

Only just finished it today, I will try it out over the weekend.....

 

[BoukeG]

I have a 3mm plate lying around here... wondering if that would be strong enough.

 

[Deluge]

Looks great, dude!

 

[BoukeG]

Did you do fronts also?

 

[Guest]

That's awesome man! Looks great. Should be stronger. How long did it take to router that out?

 

[bigfol]

Didn't take long at all the carbide router bit chewed through it in know time, not completely sure, but definatley under a hour. So far so good, haven't had it off any massive jumps yet, but it has held up to plenty of crashes, I'm going to do another version, just going to cut just enough space for the wing supports to fit through, you can get carried away if your not careful as you can see the centre holes are a bit off, I have an idea on how to tough'n up the plastic wing supports with carbon plate as well. Can't see a way of going to full carbon yet, not without a cnc machine anyway......

 

[bigfol]

I have a 3mm plate lying around here... wondering if that would be strong enough.

You could bond them together with epoxy, that's what I did.

 

[BoukeG]

That's great new, so you could say 4mm is sufficient for carbon shock towers. Looking forward to your new version

 

[BoukeG]

You could bond them together with epoxy, that I did.

Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. I've measured the stock shock towers and they are 6mm. So 2x 3mm should just be fine, but much, much stronger. The only thing I would need is a dremmel and a router...

 

[bigfol]

That's great new, so you could say 4mm is sufficient for carbon shock towers. Looking forward to your new version

The thicker the better, I used two 2.5mm carbon sheets for the first version and glued them together and then cut them out, I'll use 3mm next time, so it will end up being a 6mm CF plate, thats as thick as you will want to go imo....

 

[bigfol]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. I've measured the stock shock towers and they are 6mm. So 2x 3mm should just be fine, but much, much stronger. The only thing I would need is a dremmel and a router...

I used a dremel router table, its pretty cheap, well it was over here only $60AUS. I already had the dremel tool, just remember to use a vacuum cleaner as well as a breathing mask, carbon dust is nasty stuff to breath in........

 

[bigfol]

Did you do fronts also?

Not yet, I have never bent a front tower, probably because of the front T-bone bumper bar, takes a lot of the impact out of a bad landing, but yeah I will do the same for the front, after all they have got to be matching.......

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. I've measured the stock shock towers and they are 6mm. So 2x 3mm should just be fine, but much, much stronger. The only thing I would need is a dremmel and a router...

Gotta love a reason to get a new tool!

 

[Deluge]

Didn't take long at all the carbide router bit chewed through it in know time, not completely sure, but definatley under a hour. So far so good, haven't had it off any massive jumps yet, but it has held up to plenty of crashes, I'm going do another version, just going to cut just enough space for the wing supports to fit through, you can get carried away if your not careful as you can see the centre holes are a bit off, I have an idea on how to tough'n up the plastic wing supports with carbon plate as well. Can't see a way of going to full carbon yet, not without and cnc machine anyway......

Not bad for only having a router! The extra material should make it stronger.