Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
The Art of Engineering By David Kirkham (kirkhammotorsports.com)
68 points by gvb on Sept 1, 2010 | hide | past | favorite | 15 comments



I've seen the prototype car they did a lot of development for Ellison's car. It's pretty impressive (this coming from a manufacturing engineer). Also, if you're in the Provo, UT area and like cars, think about dropping by for a visit. They seem quite open to visitors to come check out their facility and see what they're working on.


The title of the book is perfectly suited for its benefactor's ego. As interesting as this is, it was certainly /not/ what it says on the tin.


If you haven't seen this, it is also worth a look:

http://www.zohoartforms.com/


Is there a single download file/button somewhere?



Here are the chapters I recommend you read first...

* Introduction

* Chapter 3: Billet Chassis http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_03.pdf

* Chapter 4: Main Frame Rails http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_04.pdf

* Chapter 17: Testing http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_17.pdf

* Chapter 18: Aluminum Body http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_18.pdf

* Chapter 20: Photo Finish http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_20.pdf

* Chapter 22: The Book http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_22.pdf

The craftsmanship of the body is mind boggling, realizing it was pounded by hand out of flat sheet aluminum into a body that is entirely compound curves and then polished to a mirror finish.

The machining is also mind boggling, the time that went into programming all the tool paths so that the tool marks left after the machining operations were "right" (mentioned in Chapter 10: Machining) had to have been immense.


Making bodies like that isn't uncommon when dealing with street rods with metal bodies. They don't say, but they probably also used an English Wheel - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Wheel


the tool marks left after the machining operations were "right"

I was wondering about that - why didn't they do a finishing pass to get rid of those?


Tool marks add to the texture and thus can add to the beauty of a piece. They add interest and engage your eye and mind, drawing your eyes through and around the features of the piece, revealing the path of the tool.

A flat shiny piece is just a flat shiny piece.


I'm guessing because it makes it look that much more custom.



Oops, I didn't see that and the dupe catcher duped me. :-/ Should I delete the submission?


Leave it up. According to the current upvotes, at least 12 people haven't seen it before (like me) or think it's worth seeing again.


Yeah, I hadn't see it and this is right up my alley.

I think once something is around a year old it really isn't a dup anymore, but rather a "classic" if it gets the votes. The classics I post in my Hacker Newsletter each week usually get a lot of clicks because of this.


Nah, it was a while ago, and it's a good article :-)




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: