Enter the carbon fiber Axon hatchback, Progressive Automotive X-Prize competitor
Last year at the Sexy Green Car Show, Axon Automotive introduced the world to their lightweight version of that iconic classic, the Caterham 7, which they dubbed the Eco-M. They said they'd return in 2008 with a more practical design and return they have with a new vehicle which they lovingly refer to as the Axon hatchback. This vehicle, like last year's effort, features a recycled carbon fiber chassis that is key to their plan to use lightweight construction as a means of making mileage gains and, hopefully, winning some of that $10 million Progressive X Prize money.
The carbon fiber in question is produced by "sister" company, Axontex, and is a "patented material manufactured from a flexible carbon fibre braid surrounding a foam core." Not only is it as strong as steel, the company expects manufacturing vehicles with their materials to be less expensive than their metal counterparts because the tooling is from easy to machine, low-cost materials and the time from part design to production can be "reduced to a few days." Hopefully, this will help them stay within their target schedule. Axon hopes to have their "hatchback" on salesroom floors by 2010.
Gallery: Axon Hatchback
[Source: Axon Automotive]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jon 8:58PM (5/26/2008)
wow! this thing is incredibly cool looking! is anyone using the carbon-over-foam process yet or is this a completely new idea?
this might be my new favorite concept car.
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stevefazek 10:41PM (5/26/2008)
this is far from NEW. Its over 50 years old. Boston whaler has been using polyfoam cores for years.
Also thats would never pass any crash tests. True pound for pound carbon is much stronger than steel. But when steel fails it just bends. carbon shatters. So what would cause the doors to get jammed in a steel car would cause this car to shatter.
My bet is that are using Molded Foam cores and then carbon sleeving the parts. I did this for spoilers for years
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Rei 12:29AM (5/27/2008)
Yeah, normally you want carbon fiber over a metal frame -- the panels help absorb the shock but the car stays in one piece if they fail. Preferably a metal frame that has a high strength to weight ratio,such as titanium or lithium aluminum, although that raises the price. And yes, foam-core composites are nothing new.
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stevefazek 1:41AM (5/27/2008)
titanium or lithium aluminum, both those metals go for 50 bucks a pound i dont think they would ever make a car out of it. Besides titanium is heavier than aluminum by almost a factor of 2
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Discount Auto Parts 4:20AM (5/27/2008)
Nice car... Sexy car. What company is the original producer of that car...
Is the auto parts of that available now?
Discounted Auto Parts Online --> http://autoparts-4you.com/
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Media 8:00AM (5/27/2008)
hey whether its a carbon or lithium, the car looks smarter and prttier. its suits most for ladies rather than gents i guess. it has got that lady factor in it ...@stevefazek, if you are right that it wont pass the crash test, then its pretty much a rubbish decision to go for such cars..totally my opinion
cheers
http://www.portfolio-europe.com
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Rick 6:29PM (5/27/2008)
I can't even look at it past the wheel covers. Sorry, that's a major deal breaker for me.
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CNCMike 10:45AM (5/27/2008)
Don't count out the foam. I remember reading many years ago about a Pinto that was filled with high density expaning polyurethane foam(doors, fenders, hood) and tested in a head on collision with a Grand Torino. The Torino was totaled and the Pinto had less than $1000.00 damage.
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Gordio 11:27AM (5/27/2008)
That looks like a honda insight but shorter in length.
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meme 12:33PM (5/27/2008)
". titanium or lithium aluminum, both those metals go for 50 bucks a pound i dont think they would ever make a car out of it."
Sure they would. An *expensive* car, which is why I noted the price aspect.
"Besides titanium is heavier than aluminum by almost a factor of 2"
It's also a lot stronger than aluminum so you need less of it. Hence mentioning the strength to weight ratio.
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Sam 2:50PM (5/30/2008)
Reminds me a little of the hypercar.
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Gary 2:46PM (5/27/2008)
It's looks like a Honda Insight that got rear ended.
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stevefazek 7:04PM (5/27/2008)
Meme yes its stronger. The tensile strength of titanium is great but its biggest problem is that it takes a ton to make it fail. When it does fail it pretty much shatters.
You dont want energy transfer with a crash structure which is what a high tensile strength will give. You want energy absorption. I am all for use of aluminum in cars. Its more money but you'll use less.
We can save weight in strange places.
Switching from a Steel to a plastic trunk would save 30Lbs, while leaving hte price exactly the same.
Going from a Metal to composite roof since they havent been structural part of cars in many years. Would save 5lbs but lower the center of mass. would add around $10 per unit.
Making glass slightly thinner can save 20lbs.
Going with aluminum door skins, and side impact beam. For the side impact beam a 7075-T6 would be fine for just about any car. A simple extrusion would do for the beam.
To lighten the frame of the door and the hood using thermoplastics would further reduce its weight.
Total added cost per car under 100.
Dump steel sub frames and go to cast aluminum.
Go with plastic seat frames over steel modern plastics are strong enough for this.
A Lighter car would require a smaller engine and less hp while still getting the same performance
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meme 8:02PM (5/27/2008)
"The tensile strength of titanium is great but its biggest problem is that it takes a ton to make it fail. When it does fail it pretty much shatters."
Depends on your temper. Coincidentally, I was actually working with titanium wire the other night. You have a hard temper wire and you flex it too much, sure, it'll shatter right through. Not so with a soft temper. Also, it depends on your alloy.
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rob 9:50PM (5/27/2008)
Carbon-fiber + thermoset plastic (epoxy) = brittle fracture + manual layup + slow cycle times
Carbon-fiber + thermoplastic (nylon) = plastic deformation + automated layup + rapid cycle times
Carry on...
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stevefazek 11:47PM (5/27/2008)
What alloy did you use Meme? 6-4? My coasters are half inch 6x6 inch 6-4 plate lol behind gold or silver prolly the most exspencive coaster on earth.
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meme 12:07PM (5/28/2008)
Yep :) 14ga. Got it from a chainmail-making supply store. I'm just amazed at how strong this stuff is. Originally, I kept trying to outright cut it with wire cutters, but that was mostly just bruising my hands (and it wrecked a pair of wire cutters, too). I eventually figured out a trick -- if I tried to cut it as hard as I could without bruising my hands, and then bent the wire at the spot where the wire cutters nicked it, I could break the wire in half. The wire cutters work-hardened it, making it brittle.
The other problem was attaching pieces, and I didn't really find a good solution to this. I don't know how to weld and don't have the eq, so I initially tried to solder the pieces together. That didn't work at all; the solder didn't even come close to adhering to the titanium. I've been using a subpar (but probably sufficient for my needs) solution of "lashing" the pieces together with aluminum wire and/or spectra and then epoxying the joint. It doesn't need to be perfect; I'm just making a backpacking birdcage/table. It's to hold our parrot, but at the same time, the base is designed to be strong enough that we can hook it perpendicular to a tree with some spectra line and rest a dozen or so pounds of cooking gear and food on it so we don't have to prepare/eat our meals on the ground. The tabletop side is thus stronger than the rest, made of space trusses and dense wire, while the other sides are just broad, arching loops; all of it is covered in aluminum mesh. The whole thing weighs about one pound, and the table side is roughly three square feet.
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