Project Supernugget

A car project 2 years in the making: a tube-frame motorcycle-powered race car with a vintage station wagon skin.

Check out the Instagram page for current updates:

3D Scanning

This technology was essential to ensuring my CAD models were accurate to real life, and vice versa. Every capture was performed using my iPhone 13 through Polycam, an app that can use cloud-based photogrammetry and the rear camera's LIDAR sensor. The technology we have at our fingertips always amazes me!

Suspension components from a Mazda Miata were used to save design time. I created this accurately jointed model from the scan meshes to be able to check clearances and ensure the steering geometry was accurate.

Interior, exterior, and some suspension scans needed to be overlaid to get a full picture of the existing surfaces of the 1973 VW Type 3 "Squareback".

ZX12R Motor Scan

Since the car is centered around the unique powerplant, an accurate representation was critical. This high-definition scan was actually performed with my old iPhone SE 2 - a single lens is all that's needed for photogrammetry!

Chassis design and fabrication

3D scanning was critical to ensure close fitment to the body. Using photogrammetry and the iPhone 13's LIDAR through the Polycam app, I was able to get decently high-resolution meshes of the inner and outer sheet metal.

Carrying forward skills I learned making race cars with Virginia Motorsports, I designed and fabricated a fully custom vehicle chassis with the main safety cell built to FIA hillclimb specifications. Implementing best practices supported with FEA, the resulting structure is an incredibly stiff and light skeleton for my project.

Chassis validation FEA results are shown here, and the results are a torsional rigidity of 1,785 n*m/deg - almost twice as high as many production sports cars. The structural safety factor under an extreme bump loading case is ~2.5 with simplified loading.

The rear subframe was designed so the entire powertrain could be removed as one piece for servicing or future modification. It separates from the main chassis with only four bolts.

Powertrain: Differential Carrier

This design is a clean-sheet approach to mating a motorcycle output chain to an automotive limited slip differential. The main structure is made entirely with 2D manufacturing operations (laser and plasma cutting) and a few off-axis holes which were done by hand.

High-powered sportsbikes often have an incredibly long first gear compared to the following five, mostly to combat front wheel lift. In the case of a stock ZX12R, redline in first gear is approximately 90 mph... I needed a solution to reduce the final drive ratio enough to not burn the clutch when moving from a standstill. The final drive ratio in this arrangement is 5.2:1 allowing for rapid starts while saving clutch material. A two-chain solution with independent tensioning was required to get this amount of reduction while maintaining CV clearance.

3D printing was critical for the development of the differential carrier. This full-scale prototype was made for less than $30 and enabled me to find and address some slight tolerance issues before manufacturing the metal parts.

3D Printed Exhaust Fitment tool

I developed a 3D printable LEGO-style mockup kit to make manufacturing exhaust headers easier.

Inspired by off-the-shelf kits that can retail for over $1000, my kit was made from less than $40 worth of filament and streamlined the design and manufacturing process greatly.

This was an excellent case study for parametric design since this kit can now be scaled to almost any size and shape tubing.

Next Project: High-Flow Air Filtration

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