Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
TDR Magazine subscribers receive more than the magazine! You also gain additional forum privileges!
Details here: TDR Privileges
Subscribe to TDR Magazine here: https://www.tdr-online.com/
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies To the point: Click this link and check out the Front Page News story(ies) where we are tracking the introduction of the 2025 Ram HD trucks.
I might be in the market for this setup. I think you saw the damage I did in Glamis last month on the other threads.
I like the 3-d interface that you have provided. It showed me something that I was not aware of. Why is the support with the Logo not as large as the other support?
Nice update to the website Sean! I just got back from vacation last night and was pleasantly surprised to have a UPS notice waiting for me. I picked up the IR coils and can't wait to get them installed. I can tell just by looking at them they will have a nice smooth progression curve.
As to the FEA the simulations, they were run using the Algor FEA code. Before I continue, I should point out that I am in no way affiliated with Lorenz Industries other than meeting Sean through the TDR website. As someone who does machine component design in my "day job" I offered Sean a take-it-or-leave-it critique of his initial shock tower design. I really liked Sean's attitude and decided I would put forth a little effort to help out a fellow TDR member (Though I guess this type of help doesn't net me a TDR badge thingy for my truck, doh!). The design ideas were Sean's all the way I simply gave my thoughts on the pros/cons of doing it the different ways he presented. One of the tools I used to help Sean understand what was going on mechanically in his part was to do FEA analysis. For those versed in the field the short clip of simulation that Sean shows in his video is from a non-linear analysis of the stress due to the single application of an ever increasing load. The analysis uses a Von Mises strain hardening approximation to model the plastic deformation of the tower as the load is increased to more than 10,000 lb. (the analysis took about 5 full days of CPU time) For the 50 ksi yield material Sean uses in his towers there is no sign that the tower would fail catastrophically even well above 10,000 lb, though at 10,000 it is predicted that it will start to take some minor (less than 0. 010") permanent set at the highest displacement location. Of course this is all "theoretical" and is no substitute for actual testing. Sean did throw in an extra set of towers when I bought my kit that I will eventually test in a hydraulic press to check how realistic the FEA model predictions were. Why am I doing all of this you may ask? Simply because it has been fun corresponding with Sean and it will be even more fun breaking the towers. I know Sean tried to break his prototypes on his truck by purposely running shocks that were too long and would bottom out and take the full hit into the tower and he could not break them... but a 20 ton press will do even more.
Ultimately I view the FEA as an interesting way for Sean to see what is going on in his part, based on the discussion of typical shock loads I had with various shock manufacturers I don't see plastic overload as the area of main concern for failure in a shock tower (at least one designed as stoutly as Sean's), rather failure in this type of application is most likely to occur from fatigue and many of you have probably already read my thoughts about fatigue over on another thread about aluminum.
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
