Precision turning with Sandvik Coromant
On top of the meticulous attention to detail put into the design and integration of every component on all our cars, we at Monash Motorsport also take pride in the precision in-house manufacturing, which helps bring these concepts to life. We believe that this is an invaluable opportunity for team members to develop an understanding of manufacturing skills, processes, and limitations, knowledge which is integral to developing well rounded engineers. During this process, tight tolerances are strictly adhered to, ensuring the most effective realisation of our designs possible.
As our team continually evolves and takes on larger challenges, it is imperative that these in-house manufacturing processes are able to keep up with innovation and ability to meet deadlines. We are therefore very grateful to have Sandvik Coromant as one of our newest Gold Sponsors, especially as they are amongst the first of our partners to help us prepare our new workshop at Monash Makerspace.
Since their arrival, Sandvik Coromant’s industry-grade tools have been used on a daily basis, and by members in every section of the team up until lockdown measures were put in place earlier this year. The parts that our team hand-machine include the fuel cap and exhaust tip for our combustion powertrain, the lugs that secure our aerodynamics package, hub spacers in our suspension system, and over 100 ferrules. With Sandvik Coromant’s online tool guide and knowledge database, we have not only been able to select the correct tool, but leverage its highly specific and specialised features to our needs. The geometry and material of these tools and inserts, combined with Sandvik Coromant’s Inveio coating technology improves durability whilst ensuring a smooth and accurate cut even in the tightest spaces. Thus, our partnership has no doubt been an indispensable resource, as the quality and durability of their tools have enabled our team to be continuously productive, producing reliable componentry that maximises the performance of all our cars. As Monash Motorsport’s exclusive turning tool partner, Sandvik Coromant has also given us manufacturing confidence in our new undertakings, including the precision turning of hardpoints for our first pair of carbon fibre monocoques in 2019, and post-machining processes done on expensive 3D printed componentry.
Over the early stages of 2020, our partnership with Sandvik Coromant has been the key to a significant portion of our manufacturing. The ability to effectively manufacture new and spare parts with their high quality tooling has enabled us to minimise outsourcing, whilst still ensuring the timelines and tolerances are consistently met. Equipped with tools for turning, thread cutting, boring and parting parts made of aluminium, mild steel and high tensile steel, our partnership with Sandvik Coromant has given part designers the confidence to pursue increasingly ambitious concepts that enhance the performance of our vehicles. This was particularly important at the beginning of 2020, where the cars were spending countless hours testing in preparation for the now cancelled Europe campaign. After our team’s success at Formula SAE-Australasia in 2019, we had planned a number of ambitious upgrades alongside continual testing and validation. With Sandvik Coromant’s support, our capacity to efficiently manufacture components in-house minimised the cars’ downtimes, which was vital to getting our cars ready to take on the best teams and universities in the world before the shipping deadline. Now, as we begin to develop our most ambitious vehicle concept to date, we turn confidently to Sandvik Coromant, who will provide us with the solutions crucial to the fruition of these designs.