From Renault F1 Team
In Formula One, we’re always talking about production, the design office and aero, but there are plenty of other departments that are just as important. They may not grab the headlines, but without them the team simply couldn’t function.
As its name suggests, the inspection department is where components are given a final once over before being fitted to the car. Whether it’s a composite part, a fabricated exhaust or a machined upright, they all come through inspection at some time or another to be verified as fit for purpose.
Richard, the Inspection Manager of Renault F1 explains: "Our job is to assess all the parts on the car and compare them to the original design drawing. It’s a case of checking the dimensions to make sure all the parts meet the legal limits defined by the regulations, as well inspecting the finishing quality and machining of the surfaces."
These days all of the car’s technical drawings are created on computer-aided design programmes, known in the business as CAD models. Likewise, our inspection team has had to keep pace with changing technology and now use scanning devices to check the dimensions of parts. It’s not cheap technology, with a scanner costing around £35,000, but they are wonderful bits of kit that allow us to create a 3D profile of each component, which can then be compared digitally with the original CAD drawing.
For Richard's team, this week inspection has been busy signing off all the latest freight items for China, which will get shipped this Saturday. “There’s an update to the front wing which Spencer has been checking this week. That has involved converting all the old versions of the wing, so it’s quite a busy week. It will be rewarding to see those parts on the car when practice begins in Shanghai next Friday.”
In Formula One, we’re always talking about production, the design office and aero, but there are plenty of other departments that are just as important. They may not grab the headlines, but without them the team simply couldn’t function.
As its name suggests, the inspection department is where components are given a final once over before being fitted to the car. Whether it’s a composite part, a fabricated exhaust or a machined upright, they all come through inspection at some time or another to be verified as fit for purpose.
Richard, the Inspection Manager of Renault F1 explains: "Our job is to assess all the parts on the car and compare them to the original design drawing. It’s a case of checking the dimensions to make sure all the parts meet the legal limits defined by the regulations, as well inspecting the finishing quality and machining of the surfaces."
These days all of the car’s technical drawings are created on computer-aided design programmes, known in the business as CAD models. Likewise, our inspection team has had to keep pace with changing technology and now use scanning devices to check the dimensions of parts. It’s not cheap technology, with a scanner costing around £35,000, but they are wonderful bits of kit that allow us to create a 3D profile of each component, which can then be compared digitally with the original CAD drawing.
For Richard's team, this week inspection has been busy signing off all the latest freight items for China, which will get shipped this Saturday. “There’s an update to the front wing which Spencer has been checking this week. That has involved converting all the old versions of the wing, so it’s quite a busy week. It will be rewarding to see those parts on the car when practice begins in Shanghai next Friday.”