Aluminum Honeycomb Monocoque
Worked on the chassis team for the development and manufacturing workflow of an aluminum honeycomb monocoque, including mold preparation, layup planning, material cutting, curing, sanding, and assembly.
ENGINEERING CASE STUDY
Formula SAE
Large-format 3D printing, mold development, CAD, and hands-on manufacturing for an aluminum honeycomb monocoque race car.
Overview
Race car engineering · CAD · manufacturing · large-format 3D printing
During my undergraduate years at National Tsing Hua University, I joined NTHU Formula Student Racing and worked on the chassis team for the development of an electric Formula Student race car. My work focused on CAD, aluminum honeycomb monocoque development, mold design, manufacturing support, and large-format FDM 3D printing.
A major part of my contribution was supporting the manufacturing workflow of the aluminum honeycomb monocoque through 3D-printed mold development. I worked on CAD modeling, mold segmentation, BigRep industrial FDM printing, slicing parameters, print troubleshooting, post-processing, and mold assembly.
The project gave me hands-on experience with the gap between digital design and physical manufacturing. Many problems could not be solved only on screen. Warping, surface quality, dimensional error, nozzle clogging, mold alignment, and assembly stability all had to be tested, adjusted, and solved through iteration.
What I Worked On
Selected responsibilities
3D-Printed Mold Development
Created CAD models for mold sections, prepared mold segmentation, printed mold parts, and supported post-processing and assembly for full-scale monocoque manufacturing.
Large-Format FDM Printing
Operated a BigRep industrial FDM printer with a build volume around 1 m³, working with PLA, slicing setup, print orientation, support strategy, machine setup, and parameter tuning.
Print Troubleshooting
Solved practical printing issues including large-part warping, surface quality, dimensional error, nozzle clogging, failed prints, bed temperature adjustment, print speed tuning, and nozzle temperature tuning.
CAD / CAE Support
Used SolidWorks for CAD work and worked with ANSYS and Inventor Nastran for analysis-related tasks, supporting chassis development, packaging, suspension mounting considerations, ergonomics, and manufacturing feasibility.
Team Engineering
Participated in design reviews and helped connect CAD decisions, manufacturing constraints, and hands-on fabrication work across a student race car development environment.
From CAD to full-scale mold manufacturing
How digital design moved into large-format 3D printing and monocoque fabrication.
CAD Model
Create and revise mold geometry in SolidWorks based on monocoque manufacturing needs.
Mold Segmentation
Split large mold geometry into printable sections and plan assembly alignment.
BigRep Printing
Prepare slicing, PLA material setup, orientation, support strategy, and print parameters.
Post-Processing
Grind, sand, repair, and prepare printed mold sections for assembly and surface quality.
Monocoque Build
Support mold assembly, layup planning, curing, sanding, and final chassis fabrication workflow.
Selected Outcome
Team competition results and manufacturing impact
As a team, NTHU Formula Student Racing competed internationally in the 2022 season. The car achieved EV Overall 18th out of 66 teams at Formula Student Germany 2022, including 5th place in Endurance. At Formula Student Croatia 2022, the team achieved EV Overall 5th out of 31 teams and 3rd place in Skid Pad.
My work contributed to the chassis and manufacturing side of the project, especially the 3D-printed mold workflow for the aluminum honeycomb monocoque. Over the development cycle, the mold process involved more than 20 mold sections and around six months of printing, iteration, troubleshooting, and post-processing.
I Learned
What this project trained me to think about
Manufacturing exposes the truth of CAD. A mold can look correct on screen, but printing, shrinkage, warping, surface quality, assembly fit, and post-processing determine whether it actually works.
Large-format 3D printing is a process, not just a machine. I learned how bed temperature, nozzle temperature, print speed, orientation, support strategy, and segmentation decisions affect full-scale prints.
Engineering confidence comes from troubleshooting. The most valuable part of this experience was having the freedom to figure things out, fail, adjust parameters, repair issues, and turn uncertain manufacturing problems into workable solutions.
I Enjoyed
The part that still connects to how I work now
I enjoyed the freedom and responsibility of figuring out the large-format 3D printing workflow. Many problems were not solved by following a fixed answer. I had to test parameters, understand failure modes, adjust the process, and keep improving the mold output.
This experience also made me more comfortable with 3D printing as a manufacturing tool. That confidence still carries into my current footwear and product design work, where prototyping parameters, material behavior, and print strategy directly affect the final result.