3D Printed Intake Plenum for Pikes Peak Sendycar

4x Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner, Robin Shute runs us through the design and manufacture of the 3D Printed Aluminium Intake Plenum for the new Sendycar.
A huge thank you to Prototipo for designing and manufacturing the intake and engine.
www.prototipo....
The new racer is being created with the intent to go and break the overall record at the Pikes Peak mountain. This is a multi-part series going into the design, engineering and building details, sharing with us what it takes to make what could be the fastest race car ever to exist on a circuit or hill climb.
Purchase Sendy Club merch here:
mountuneusa.co...
Check us out on Instagram:
@robin.shute
@thesendyclub
More thanks to:
Borg Warner Performance and their fantastic EFR range of turbochargers:
www.borgwarner...
Airshaper, Aerodynamics made easy:
airshaper.com/
Prototipo and their Synergy Race Engines
www.prototipo....
and also:
Alcon Brakes
www.alcon.co.uk/
Mountune USA
mountuneusa.com/
Motorsports Electronics
www.motorsport...
Sadev Transmissions
www.sadev-tm.com/

[@TheShowt1ime]

I've said this before, but this channel has incredible content. The general public rarely get access to this kind of top-tier motorsport design and development.

[@univisiontech1]

Agreed! It's extraordinary. I was shocked by the amount of quality included in just one video

[@bloudermilk]

We're all really lucky to have this level of insight into a world-class racing team like TSC.

[@TamTran-vw7zm]

I was going to reply, but this comment is almost word for word what I was going to say. Thank you Robin, for another explainer. For all of these.

[@dmcharlestt4945]

I poured a glass of rum and was thinking "I wish TSC posted another update on that monster" and here we are!!!!

[@thesendyclub]

Cheers!

[@russtuff]

I've read hexagons (like speed holes) are good for 1hp each, so nicely done.

[@RubensOteroNeto]

I've done a fair bit of 3d modeling and a lot of that was intake manifolds like this one. I can model everything ok the part he has shown, but the hexagons I HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO DO

[@robert.maynard]

Grindhard Plumbing Co. would approve!

[@russtuff]

@@robert.maynard lol absolutely

[@thesendyclub]

😎

[@LeadFarmer1597]

Hexagons are the bestagons

[@allisonpower2594]

That is awesome! I'm a machinist (5 axis mills) by trade and have been fairly cynical of 3D printing, but it is really coming into its own, with the thoughtful internal details and outer hex grids etc. A slight D shape runner on the internal bend may help flow. I have a flow bench for my rally cars and it has helped.

[@thesendyclub]

3D printing has finally got there after a long time and a lot of hype! Thank you for the heads up on the intake runner shape, that makes sense!

[@kevinkohler2750]

That plenum looks like it was made by mechanical bees.

[@thesendyclub]

Robot bees!!

[@timc5969]

@@thesendyclubRobin’s Robot Bees sounds like a Viz comic strip.

[@tturi2]

and it's gonna make 700 Killer wasps 😂

[@mobius765]

Can’t wait to see some full power dyno runs!

[@thesendyclub]

Me too!

[@Avboden]

That is a gorgeous print! Whatever company did that for prototipo did a bang up job.

[@davidjw14]

Another Master Class in Design Thinking

[@ap0llo.0ne51]

Wow. I discovered this channel an hour ago and I’ve caught up with a few of the videos and man am I so grateful for your work both as a passionate engineer and equally so being willing to share and walk through what you do. This is coming from an aspiring Mechanical Engineer who one day wants to work in race-car design (especially in engines), thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ll be rooting for you!

[@thesendyclub]

That means a lot, thanks for the kind words!

[@Aidan-gk6du]

I especially liked that I saw ITB's, makes trying to calculate and optimise the plenum volume easier with regards to throttle response. Very nice.

[@IanLikesVideosSometimes]

Love the detail on this, keep up the great work Robin, thank you for doing these videos!!!

[@OffRoadLegends]

It's amazing to be apart of the journey with such an advanced level car being built from essentially the gorumd up. So cool to get an idea of ehat goes into the design, testing and building stages.

[@Alex-xl4xe]

Printed my intake manifold from PA6-GF30 (no turbo) as well a few weeks ago but I didn't consider the flow of the air too much and I am now worried it might not be enough, love your considerations and design ideas.

[@diraziz396]

Am Very glad of the added Hexagon layer over it. Very interesting. Thanks for the Cool update

[@MartinMoleski]

Thanks for taking us along for the ride. Thrilling!

[@stevencase243]

Loving these videos, Very inspirational for my own projects.

[@channelmachinebroke9638]

never seen a race in real life, if I ever were to see one I think it would have to be pikes peak so I could see the car in aciton. Awesome stuff Robin!

[@jamesascher8147]

these videos are so cool! thanks for making/sharing them

[@964cuplove]

H Another great video, thx for sharing all these insights with us / with everybody , can’t wait to hear that engine run !!

[@trevor6814]

Fantastic content PLEASE KEEP THESE COMING

[@-MacCat-]

Thank you for yet another great update.

[@kentonian]

Robin is in his element ❤. Love the detail, it’s going to be a pretty machine as well as fast

[@peas42]

Last time I was this early I was born 10 weeks premature

[@RyTrapp0]

You too?

[@syntropy3020]

Pretty excited to see the dyno results and hear it! 🥳

[@lmetsdesign]

Highly impressive stuff and great insights! Hope it performs as well as it looks.

[@jav3306]

Great videos. Nice to see the design process of a race car.

[@Aricocaruso]

Awesome work.

[@Programentalist]

Another brilliant video!

[@domonic6856]

Great progress ❤

[@linderpowersystems_LPSFAB]

I would love to see how you went about modeling the hexagonal structures, I have been struggling to model features like this for years!

[@ElmerRacing]

Awesome! But you will want to relocate the iat sensor. In that location it will measure the temperature of the plenum wall. It needs to be located in a spot with sustained high velocity airflow to be able to work. (air has a very low thermal capacity compared to the thermal conductivity of the plenum wall and the insulation in the sensor)

[@thesendyclub]

We'll take a look at that on the dyno. Thank you for the head up👍

[@DerekYoungdby]

Amazing work!

[@robertmoore119]

Good work!

[@Charlotte_MTB]

I didn't spot a burst panel, do you plan to run something sacrificial incase a wastegate gets stuck shut?

[@BobSmith-qq3ig]

yes, up the mountain even faster

[@thesendyclub]

Yes, my underpants

[@BuckeyeChuck11]

​...I strongly suggest checking out a video that Rob Dahm recently put out. The explosion of his plenum was actually quite frightening. They will give you an idea of the forces involved with intake backpressures.

[@BuckeyeChuck11]

...I LIKE your solution!

[@racebiketuner]

You bring up a very important point. These things can and do come apart. You must consider where the pieces may end up, as there's enough energy to send them over the grandstands.

[@dmerrigan11]

Nice work! Looks like you've already printed it and so too late to critique but only suggestion I would have had would have to maybe add some ribs and fillets to the plenum vertical internal central wall to avoid stress risers against the 300+kg but otherwise looks awesome! Well done, and yeah...send it!

[@JosephHalder]

Holy cow, cool that you were able to put the secondary injectors in a sane place. Shooting fuel across the plenum to each runner seems like a recipe for disaster.

[@fredio54]

And also a recipe for best evaporation and highest torque at very high RPM. But I hear you, depending on the cam and state of tune that's a real danger.

[@SideshowBen206]

Blown away, as always 😮

[@alcampbell5831]

Pretty impressive looking intake.

[@tomkelley4119]

How many iterations of the plastic intake did you go through? One of the things I've been really impressed with the 3D printing technology is the speed with which the parts are created, and I could see that being a huge boon to someone doing rapid prototyping like this.

[@thesendyclub]

I believe one plastic printed part. The metal part is different. So one iteration

[@MrGadgetgav]

As a CAD jockey, I'd love to see how you laid those hexagons over the curved shape of the intake!

[@jacevincent2574]

I'm guessing maybe the F360 design extension? Autodesk has most of the Next Level geometry pattern tools locked behind that paywall. Sucks for us without deep pockets, but F360+ the design extension is still cheaper than a lot of other professional CAD software

[@thesendyclub]

This was done by Prototipo, it wasn't in Fusion however

[@DrKnowNothing1]

Why hexagons instead of triangles?

[@MrRyanTrott]

Big brain stuff thank you.

[@UncleManuel]

Hexagons? Yeah, Ethan from Grind Hard Plumbing Co would *really* appreciate this design! 😁🤘

[@papapetad]

F me that looks awesome 😄 I stumbled upon an unassuming little shop in South Auckland a bunch of moons back, maybe 15 years or so that, at the time, had a fancy-looking little V8 motor hanging in the middle of a room. I had gone in the area for something unrelated and just happened to walk past their very discreet "shop" (design/production studio is probably more accurate). After some minor probing, they told me it was 2 motorcycle engines stuck together and I was more than welcome to gawk at it but no pictures were to be taken. I'm wondering if this Prototipo company is them. When I first heard of Ariel's V8, I instantly thought about that engine I had seen on that fateful day but never tried to confirm the source. Anyway, if these printed plenums get to a point of being cheaper than fabricated alternatives, this is excellent news for the aftermarket. The process is so economical on many levels. No billets machined down to 5% of their initial volume, complex shapes integrated into a single piece -not multipart with fastening, gaskets etc...- If this sort of design philosophy and process becomes accessible to average Joe, it could bring a whole lot of good to the market (it already has in many ways but this is next-level with size, materials and structural applications). I'm thinking about a lot of OEM engines built with shitty failure-prone plastic bits everywhere that could be revamped with elegant 3D-printed replacement solutions, addressing most of the factory-mandated flaws.

[@onlythingicantstand]

Thanks

[@salloroc20]

Headed very quickly towards the one thing you're trying to not me. The spendy club.

[@fredio54]

I got a sneak peak of this a little while ago. Neat to get the development back story too. Going to see if I can be there for a dyno run :-)

[@d2doctor]

Loving this in-depth discussion of the design process. Sendycar is an excellent name for the project 😁What's that 4-port throttle body you're using? Apologies if you mentioned it and I missed it. It looks interesting 🙂

[@thesendyclub]

It's the stock BMW S1000RR

[@peas42]

those aluminum prints are sweet. you mentioned pressure and spacing considerations. did you happen to run cfd Sims to optimize flow or are the tests you mentioned for validation?

[@thesendyclub]

Prototipo did run some

[@peas42]

@@thesendyclub nice.

[@ThisRandomUsername]

In future would you be looking to experiment with variable length intake runners? What sort of rev range are you tuning for? This is a fantastic looking part!

[@thesendyclub]

We deleted the variable length runners. The Turbo makes them a lot less important.

[@AraCarrano]

Gotta Love Selective Laser Sintering

[@alpeach9480]

Prototipo : The ' RocketLab ' of the autosport industry !! Trust those Kiwis !!

[@anidiotinaracingcar]

Could you show us how you modeled the hexagonal structures? Is there some generative design there or what?

[@DrKnowNothing1]

For packaging, why not invert the plenum down into the V of the engine? Then longer, curved intake runners would reach up and over the top of the plenum, and plug down into the top of it?

[@sophiatheodores7985]

i was thinking its a little sketchy to have thin wall pieces inside the plenum, i guess there would have to be some weird imbalance forces present to break that wall in the middle, but if that does happen the engine is probably done for, and you can't even (easily) inspect it for cracks

[@thesendyclub]

I hear you!

[@gpegasusm]

I really expected to see some CFD analysis on the plenum. I assume you ran it, will we get to see that later? 😊

[@thesendyclub]

That's for Prototipo to share....

[@gpegasusm]

oh it’s their IP, ok. Understandable. Hopefully they do!

[@tturi2]

air goes in front, air goes to cylinder

[@Ep1cPvP]

Are there any special considerations when welding 3d printed material? I can't find any information on this.

[@Farlig69]

Wow, sexy engineering!!

[@obtFusi]

Thank you for the awesome video! About the secondary injector design inside the plenum: Will you not have heavy turbolences because of the incoming airflow? Making a Fuel:Air mixing ratio inside the Plenum. Couldn't that be catastrophic in case of a backfire? Or does the 300kg test already included such extreme situations? Thank you!

[@thesendyclub]

The secondaries are in the velocity stacks, just higher up. So not such an issue

[@pinklightfever]

Awesome design. Where did you find the file for the turbo or did you model it from scratch?

[@jamest5149]

Its not the 3-400kg of force that needs to be considered, harmonics come into play, especially with a high revving engine, not sure if you can model the harmonics to be able too add or subtract mass to move the harmonics out of a destructive range?

[@thesendyclub]

That's a run it on the dyno and see if there is a problem type deal.

[@toonverbruggen7351]

Did you do any analysis on the pressure waves from the cilinders? CFD like stuff? Or are you just winging it and hoping for the best?

[@thesendyclub]

I didn't, it went through Prototipo's design process where they looked at this

[@cliffordbradford8910]

Are variable length inlet trumpets a thing with turbo cars? I don't think I've ever heard of that combo.

[@bobqzzi]

I'm curious about the tuning with ITBs with the MAP sensor in the plenum where there is no vacuum. Are you using Alpha N with a pressure correction?

[@thesendyclub]

Yes

[@nick4506]

ktm 950s and 990s have the carbs/throttle bodys inside the plenum so it can go all the way down in the v. its free real estate. no idea how that would work with boost or even if its structurly possible but eh thinking about this stuff is fun.

[@booln4595]

Hello, love your videos and builds you do, it's amazing! Please tell me how you calculated the volume of intake? What is the logic to that? Thank you!

[@thesendyclub]

Benchmarked from some other Prototipo projects...

[@PepijndeVos]

The risk I took was calculated and boy am I good at math

[@WickedTRX]

looking awesome! why the throttles up side down? interference between the dc motors? would it be better the injectors spraying on the top? EDIT: I was looking to the CAD, but last pictures they the "right" way around.

[@thesendyclub]

They're spun around rather than flipped. Packaging reasons... Dyno setup is a little different

[@WickedTRX]

@@thesendyclub not english native speaker, that's out i meant, inlet is bigger that outlet, it wouldn't fit. The results was what I was curious about, transient must also be different. Thank you for sharing the development.

[@naimatakku]

That design looks to be utilizing 3d-printing well, which is always nice to see. Rather than copying other manufacturing methods with 3d-printing.

[@thesendyclub]

So much more can be done once you use it properly!

[@naimatakku]

@@thesendyclub you mentioned the price being competitive. Is it the complex design or is alu 3d-printing close to the price of a machined part.

[@billbrockbank8111]

air temp at rear of plenum? I've not seen this as a good location vs ait close to inlet air stream by throttle... You end up measuring plenum temperature as dead end on a plenum is'nt seeing fresh incoming air.. Awesome design & explanation video tho.. Great work.

[@martinscasny164]

Could you plese show the design and thought process of modeling it?

[@thesendyclub]

I share that in another video. It will be another part as I didn't draft this one

[@anidiotinaracingcar]

Could you go over the math of an air-to-air intercooler in a video? Speed, flow, pressure, all that?

[@WillTablet-d8v]

I feel like I'm squandering access to such great information. Should I be building race cars?

[@thesendyclub]

YES!!!

[@shoobsey]

could you list the programs you are using? I love doing cad work, and I want to eventually be able to model stuff like that!

[@thesendyclub]

I'm using Autodesk's Fusion

[@LuqmanHM]

Hi Robin, have you decided yet wether to go for or not go for dual stage supercharger/turbocharger like on WW2 Spitfire? Also there is other techs like Swirl throttle like on FW190 D9

[@LuqmanHM]

Dual stage like on Spitfire have packaging advantages where both turbines set is place 1 behind another and connected with same shaft and spin at same speed

[@thesendyclub]

Yes, we are being conventional on this one and sticking with the single turbo

[@LuqmanHM]

@@thesendyclub okay Robin. Cant wait to see the final design!!!!

[@luciengenova8688]

Great video!! How did you generate the hex pattern on the outer skin of the plenum, if you don't mind me asking?

[@luciengenova8688]

Also would love a video on the use of generative design here. The parts you showed towards the end looked awesome.

[@thesendyclub]

Prototipo did that one

[@thesendyclub]

Yes, will be doing one on that. Watch this space!

[@loopie007]

No intercooler? I know you like lightweight, but the water intercooler could be part of the complete intake manifold system. Feed tubes, main body, and runners can have intercooler tubes with water inside. Having a pump and radiator will add weight, but more power? What's really needed is a way to stick to the ground on slow corners.

[@thesendyclub]

All sounds very complicated, heavy and expensive!

[@syntropy3020]

I see you have chosen a twin scroll / divided turbo housing. Will this be of any benefit with four cylinders per divide as their will be overlap in the exhaust pulses? I didn't see it having a spool valve either i.e. block on of the scolls/divides.

[@thesendyclub]

It does help the spool being divided. We are also working on a spool valve. Those images on the vid are over half a year old

[@syntropy3020]

@thesendyclub my understanding is that the divide increases the volumetric efficiency of the engine the most when there is no exhaust valve overlap, i.e.

[@AndreC240]

Does the 3D printed aluminum have any noticeable porosity?

[@thesendyclub]

It doesn't

[@carlt570]

You mentioned Indy cars with no inter cooling, using methanol, is this not an option for Pikes Peak ?

[@thesendyclub]

No, we need a lot more boost so the methanol won't cool the charge enough

[@DrKnowNothing1]

@@thesendyclubdoes anyone use nitrous at pikes peak? Or is the run too long, so you would need too much weight of it?

[@henrymartin2110]

I was hoping to see a split turbo design from f1 . I know that has to be stupid expensive and replacing on the mountain would be a nightmare

[@thesendyclub]

We looked, very custom, no packaging advantage

[@MrBubmer]

About methanol, is it not an option because it'll be incredibly annoying logistically or is there something about being on the mountain that makes it not worth using?

[@thesendyclub]

It requires a big fuel tank and system, the boost pressure is so high it can't effectively cool on it's own. A lot of maintenance also. People do run it, but I think overall is a detriment to whole performance

[@Matnrach2-mf9qr]

Presumably you will have to do some limited development programme of running/stripping and rebuilding before full on mapping to have full confidence to put it in he car and it be reliable.

[@thesendyclub]

Yes @ prototipo

[@Matnrach2-mf9qr]

@@thesendyclub Good. Must be a very small company because the costs of doing this programme with any competitive race engine company I know would be prohibitive

[@racebiketuner]

Most of my intake work has been done on NA motorcycle engines, so the volume of these designs look incredibly small to me. Seems like you'd need to test many iterations to determine the best compromise.

[@thesendyclub]

Yes, much smaller volume than a NA engine. Turbo plenums are optimizing for different parameters

[@neutronium9542]

While you can't do it at home, there are a bunch of places offering metal 3D printing services. Last year I got a set of fins for a rocket printed for less than it would have cost to make them from carbon composites, plus I was able to integrate in a proper airfoil. Unfortunately they ended up going sideways at Mach 3.5, and while they did hold on, they did bend a bit.

[@thesendyclub]

We used Craftcloud

[@nraynaud]

Tangential question: did you keep your CAD model under control, or is it a giant mess?

[@thesendyclub]

Flows and ebbs into different sizes of mess. I've seen a lot worse. It would take up a lot more time to be a lot cleaner

[@Multiversal_Rift]

on the engine you run 2 fuel rails per cylinder bank. why?

[@thesendyclub]

Idle and full boost fueling quality. Not enough range with just one injector

[@2sipsMax]

Will the company that dynos the engine have the capability of simulating 14,000 feet during the testing?

[@thesendyclub]

No, only calculating

[@joell439]

👍👍😎👍👍

[@guifrakss]

😀

[@76844]

How much is this build costing, dear lord.

[@kentonian]

A small fraction of the speedy club 😉

[@thesendyclub]

Less than you think, more than I want. The most expensive thing is my labour, and that is at a heavily discounted rate....

[@talljake]

Looks like a long veiny schlo... Intake....

[@thesendyclub]

Schloingtake 😂

[@greatestone4eva]

that's cool but it's not green. sea level rise is gonna be a bitch. try making a green race car thats just as fast or faster without any emissions. make something faster than formula e.

[@thesendyclub]

This is greener that all the factory electric efforts. Ask me how I know....

[@brianbob7514]

I was first but I forgot to post first that time so I’m posting it now

[@peas42]

ok bud

[@gypsyjayrides6664]

Needs matching valve covers because…hotrod!

[@peas42]

first baybee

[@arealassassin]

Hey Robin, watching with great interest from Oz. Forgive my ignorance, but it seems to me that there is a great deal of volume underneath the plenum (between the runners) that is being under-utilized. Could the pressurized air be fed into this area somehow, to help the air stabilize more before entering the bellmouths. Thanks for the content. Good luck mate.