Renault F1 and Boeing Technology Collaboration

[turn1]

http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2004/q2/nr_040617p.html

Boeing, Renault F1 Team to Collaborate on Technology Development
CHICAGO, June 17, 2003 – Boeing, a leader in aerospace technology, and the Renault Formula 1 racing team, a leader in the high-tech, fast-moving motor sport industry, signed a memorandum of understanding this month to investigate technology collaboration projects of mutual interest.

Under this agreement, technologists in Boeing Phantom Works, the company’s advanced research-and-development unit, and the Renault F1 Team have begun discussing possible collaboration on a number of advanced design and manufacturing technologies.

“Boeing Phantom Works has been entering into research relationships around the world as part of our effort to find new technologies and processes for improving aerospace products and services,” said Miller Adams, vice president of Boeing Technology Ventures, a unit of Phantom Works. “There are interesting similarities between the technologies required to develop Formula 1 racing cars and aerospace products.”

“Formula 1 is the ideal proving ground for leading-edge technologies, and we believe that this relationship will make a valuable contribution to meeting our performance objectives, as well as theirs,” said Bob Bell, Renault F1 Team technical director. “Within the team, we are excited at the prospect of collaborating on innovative research programs with Boeing, and look forward to exploiting the natural synergies between the aerospace industry and Formula 1.”

Renault’s history in international motorsport stretches back to victory in the first ever Grand Prix, held in 1906. The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team was formed in 2002 following Renault’s decision to return to the highest level of motorsport after a five-year absence in order to drive sales growth and increase global brand recognition. The team continuously strives to improve and apply technology to enhance its competitiveness. For more information, see http://www.renaultf1.com.

With a heritage that mirrors the first 100 years of flight, Boeing is the world’s leading aerospace company and a top U.S. exporter in terms of sales. Providing products and services to customers in 145 countries, Boeing is a global market leader in commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and launch systems and services. Boeing Phantom Works, the company’s advanced research and development unit, works with the company’s major business units to help determine their technology needs and collaborates with universities, research agencies and other technology companies worldwide to meet those needs. For more information, see www.boeing.com.

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[Sean O'Gorman]

Boy, Dallara sure missed out on a great opportunity!

[Chaos]

There are interesting similarities between the technologies required to develop Formula 1 racing cars and aerospace products

i'd like to see evidence of this.

[Ankf00]

how funny, a prof of mine once scoffed at a conversation of mine concerning F1, interjecting that "they make race cars like Boeing makes jet planes"

and I joined the wrong company, argh!

[oddlycalm]

how funny, a prof of mine once scoffed at a conversation of mine concerning F1, interjecting that "they make race cars like Boeing makes jet planes"

I'm guessing he wasn't aware that it takes 600-1000lbs. of shims to get all the parts of a Boeing airframe to fit up at assembly.... ;)

Seriously though, my guess is that for Renault's part they are interested in upping their carbon fiber fabrication game. I've known for years that F1 teams were desperately archaic in the way they fabricate their graphite parts. They need of a much smaller version of the 11axis gantry tape laying machines Boeing uses for laying up the carbon fiber pre-preg for their airframe skins. Since Boeing owns nearly half (21 out of 48) of all the graphite tape laying machines in the world, there is no doubt they are the ones with the experience to transfer the technology to F1.

Hand layup of all of the little parts that are then joined together to make a panel prior to going into the autoclave is excruciatingly slow, requires many extremely skilled (i.e. expensive) people, and requires too much subsequent routing and finishing work. Worst of all, with hand layup there is no opportunity to take advantage of the enhanced control of stiffness and strength that can be had by building up a matrix of very thin layers of very accurately controlled directionally biased material using very strict control of the pressure and tension of the material being laid. A human simply can't achieve the same process, regardless of how long one spent.

While tape layers probably couldn't be used on the very smallest parts, their 11 axes of motion do allow them to follow even the most complex surfaces. While $10 million is a lot to pay for a machine, there is little doubt it would pay for itself in a year or two considering what the larger F1 teams spend on fabrication of their cars.

oc