F1 Cylinder Head Design and Pneumatics, a closer look

[Brian Coat]

John Campbell did a good book didn't he?

Called: "Castings".

Edit: Yes, it's on Amazon, Google Books etc.

Good luck with the one-off casting.

[johnny comelately]

congratulations and respect for your efforts with the engine.
i am interested in the valve timing, would you mind saying what they may be?

[Brian.G]

congratulations and respect for your efforts with the engine.
i am interested in the valve timing, would you mind saying what they may be?

Johnny, I dont have cam timing sadly. If you look very hard you may find F1 timing online.

As for casting info - I pm'd the guy some links a while back which appears to be keeping him busy. As for casting books aimed at short runs - while the principals are the same, the sands and binders/coatings have come a long way since many of the books on the subject were written. Im bringing out a book in approx 13 months which will hopefully bring a bit of light on newer methods and technique - its between two publishers at the minute and will display how one would pattern/cast a head.

Brian,

[riff_raff]

Brian.G-

You're actually publishing a book on producing a prototype quantity of cylinder head castings? Impressive!

I've designed quite a few aircraft castings over the past few years. But one thing that has impressed me the most is the advancement in rapid prototyping casting processes. I can get a very complex sand casting made from a CAD model in just a few weeks.

I'd love to buy a copy of your book when it gets published.

[johnny comelately]

brian g,
ok thank you and good luck with your venture

[Brian.G]

Brian.G-

You're actually publishing a book on producing a prototype quantity of cylinder head castings? Impressive!

I've designed quite a few aircraft castings over the past few years. But one thing that has impressed me the most is the advancement in rapid prototyping casting processes. I can get a very complex sand casting made from a CAD model in just a few weeks.

I'd love to buy a copy of your book when it gets published.

Yes - the book will describe how you would from design, to patterns, moulds, machining, and running it on the dyno.

I do know you can just get moulds printed off the cad - have been in a few plants now with said sand printers, but, I dont think anyone really learns anything from that, nor is it viable when the numbers climb. It is very useful in some cases though and have used it many times in the past for stuff that is to be demo'd, or for very limited runs where pattern making wouldn't pay.
I dont want to turn this thread into a 'look at me Im writing a book' advert so I dont want to say much more about it. Its just something a lot of people told me I should do as I had always intended casting my own head anyway. It is written in a way that hopefully wont scare people off, or want to skip large sections, and Im hoping a wide audience will find it useful - from schools, to amateurs, to pros, and on into small design firms. A huge amount of bad info exists online about casting, and I feel this can be improved with a little guidance in the right places. Given I started casting from scratch about 9yrs ago as well as cnc machining, hands on all the way as well as venturing into gravity and diecasting/die design I think I have as good a shot as anyone of providing solid current info since I have learned lots and made many mistakes along the way before getting it all 'right'. Currently I have a large amount of cast parts bolted to various engines around the globe which were all my doing from the drawing board, to the moulds, machine table, and into the engine bay so I have a fair idea now how it all works now. From being in a lot of factories, all these steps are usually very separate involving a lot of different people so knowledge and hands on experience of the entire 'thing' is rare I'm told.
Ill leave the book talk at that now, you'll know it when you see it on the shelf.

@Johnny, thanks. I do have valve timing for a few F1 engines but I told the people that gave it to me that I wouldn't share it as it was given in confidence.

Brian,

[riff_raff]

I have experience designing sand castings for both racing and aircraft applications. The most obvious difference are the far more rigorous QA and engineering qualification requirements used for aircraft castings. Aircraft structural castings usually have specific metallurgical quality standards defined for each area of the casting, depending on the stress levels in that area of the casting. The approach used for acceptance of the castings is based on using a controlled foundry process and a qualified set of tooling. Once the foundry process and tooling for a casting have been certified, no changes can be made without re-certification.

[Brian.G]

Nice old school video here, very slightly off topic and granted not sand casting but relevant all the same,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wubDWvDWywU

For the curious ones,

http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewto ... 16#p581816

Brian,

[Dec]

Fantastic write up Brian. I have been researching engine related topics for a few years now and only came across this thread today. Excellent job, well done, and thanks for sharing.

Declan.

[Brian.G]

Fantastic write up Brian. I have been researching engine related topics for a few years now and only came across this thread today. Excellent job, well done, and thanks for sharing.

Declan.

Thanks Dec, hope you can pull something useful from it.

All the best with Cranfield, must call to see Clive sometime actually.

If I can be of help during, or in mean time let me know.

Brian,

[Dec]

Thanks Brian, much appreciated.

Declan

[EbuetAmecus]

Hello,

Im wondering hou they do reach to bolt the heads on the block ? looking at that cutaway pic, the two long holes we see are for the studs, right ? so a nut can fit, but how the hell do they tighten it ?
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s92/ ... 78d8d3.jpg



Thanks,

-Antoine.

[Brian Coat]

Crow's foot down tappet/PVRS bore or angle drive via angled drillings above?

[Brian.G]

Hello,

Im wondering hou they do reach to bolt the heads on the block ? looking at that cutaway pic, the two long holes we see are for the studs, right ? so a nut can fit, but how the hell do they tighten it ?
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s92/ ... 78d8d3.jpg



Thanks,

-Antoine.

Brian has it correct,

If you google Ferrari p/n # 95971393 you will see spanner type - off the top of my head the Ferrari 348, 512, F40, and F512 all had similar nut layouts to this head.

Brian,

[riff_raff]

Cripes! I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to perform a torque sequence on that head using that adapter. Not being able to see the nut being tightened. Only being able to turn each nut a few degrees at a time before having to lift the wrench and reposition it, over and over. I hope the Ferrari mechanics get paid by the hour.