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Fri, 26 Aug 2005 by Denham
Talked to Todd Narkis aka 'rim doc' just before he left and asked him to share some thoughts on his role as lead Flash-Point researcher.
What did you enjoy most about this project?
Provided a fresh approach, I was able to start with a clean slate and none of the existing rules needed to apply.
Can you share with us the steepest challenges?
Building the rim with minimum sub-parts, optimization of the laminate structure and getting the best out of the base materials. The result of using multiple plys was a pleasant suprise.
Were there any heart stoppers along the way?
Our first prototypes failed in wheel building when we had the wrong fiber orientation. It was necessary to return to the drawing board and revisit all our assumptions.
What lessons do you have to share?
Our final laminate structure works with the 'natural' stretch of the weave and fibre. This made a huge difference to stability, shape conformation and final appearance - don't fight the material, work with it!. It is really hard to throw existing proven approaches totally overboard and start afresh. You tend to keep slipping back into old ways.
Thanks for sharing these insights with us Todd and good luck with your next moves
