FFRWRX
06-29-2021, 05:47 PM
So this area of the forum is apparently for technical questions to be answered by Factory Five. So I have one.
Like many people, I am working on the power windows on the 818C. There have been many complaints about the poor design of the mechanism, but I'll leave that part for now. My questions are on the design of the glass itself. I knew very little about how to design side windows on a car, but after working on these for a while, I have learned why, I think, they are just designed wrong. Since Factory Five must know more about designing these than I do, here goes.
The rear of the glass is curved, in-and-out when looking at the glass flat on, or looking at the door from the side with the glass installed. So when the glass moves up and down, it follows a curved path to match the curve in the glass. The fibreglass surround on the roof matches this pretty well.
The front of the glass, however, is not curved; it is almost dead flat. So when the glass goes up and down, following the curve at the rear, the front would also move in a curve. But the glass is flat here, so you can't have a track for it to move in. Why is there not a curve in the front to match the curve in the rear?
Also, if the front of the glass were parallel to the rear (and curved) you could have a nice curved track at the front and rear and the window would work smoothly. So why not have the front of the glass parallel to the rear?
It seems to me like the glass was not designed properly to move up and down while staying close to the contour of the hardtop. It also seems like it would have taken 2 very small changes in the glass size/shape to make it work properly.
So what is the logic in making the glass the size/shape it is, as opposed to what I am suggesting? I'm not trying to be critical here, but obviously time and effort goes into designing every part of the car, so it is not like this shape just happened. Unless the glass is an existing piece from something else.
thank you,
Rick
Like many people, I am working on the power windows on the 818C. There have been many complaints about the poor design of the mechanism, but I'll leave that part for now. My questions are on the design of the glass itself. I knew very little about how to design side windows on a car, but after working on these for a while, I have learned why, I think, they are just designed wrong. Since Factory Five must know more about designing these than I do, here goes.
The rear of the glass is curved, in-and-out when looking at the glass flat on, or looking at the door from the side with the glass installed. So when the glass moves up and down, it follows a curved path to match the curve in the glass. The fibreglass surround on the roof matches this pretty well.
The front of the glass, however, is not curved; it is almost dead flat. So when the glass goes up and down, following the curve at the rear, the front would also move in a curve. But the glass is flat here, so you can't have a track for it to move in. Why is there not a curve in the front to match the curve in the rear?
Also, if the front of the glass were parallel to the rear (and curved) you could have a nice curved track at the front and rear and the window would work smoothly. So why not have the front of the glass parallel to the rear?
It seems to me like the glass was not designed properly to move up and down while staying close to the contour of the hardtop. It also seems like it would have taken 2 very small changes in the glass size/shape to make it work properly.
So what is the logic in making the glass the size/shape it is, as opposed to what I am suggesting? I'm not trying to be critical here, but obviously time and effort goes into designing every part of the car, so it is not like this shape just happened. Unless the glass is an existing piece from something else.
thank you,
Rick