The vehicle
Behind this garage door is also a concept car with some special features. The Cocoon Car from EDAG was presented in 2015 as an electrically powered vehicle. Equipped with a 185 kW electric motor, the Cocoon Car has a range of around 350 km. The range can optionally be extended with a range extender. With a target weight of 1250 kg, the vehicle weight is in the range of comparable two-seaters such as the Audi TT or BMW Z-4. The vehicle weight is made possible by various measures. From the additively manufactured chassis to new body materials, various new technologies are used.
The technology
Even at first glance, it is noticeable that the body of the vehicle is very different from the usual sheet metal bodies. The Cocoon Car has no sheet metal body parts and instead uses a textile that was developed together with Jack Wolfskin. The three-layer polyester jersey fabric is not only waterproof and very durable, but is also extremely lightweight with a weight per unit area of 19 kg/m². In addition to the outer skin, the chassis, which is visible through the fabric, is also an important factor in the low vehicle weight. Various technologies form the basis for the lightweight construction aspect in this vehicle. Building on the Genesis study by EDAG, bionic structures were also used for the Cocoon Car, which were created with the help of topological CAE calculation simulations. Attention was paid to full compliance with the usual guidelines and load cases. In doing so, attention was paid to full compliance with the usual guidelines and load cases. As is usual in lightweight construction, particular attention was paid to the calculation of the load paths, i.e. a load-appropriate design. As such structures cannot be produced using conventional manufacturing processes, or only at great expense, 3D printed components were used for implementation.
The lightweight aspect
The load path designs of the body and chassis components show the lightweight construction advantages of topology optimizations, which are often used for lightweight construction. If one compares the structure of the chassis and body with other 2-seater cars such as the Audi TT or BMW Z-4, it is noticeable that the Coccon Car clearly stands out from other vehicles. The load path optimization resulted in a predominantly bionic structure, the partially visible structures and the innovative outer skin concept offer both a modern visual impression and outstanding lightweight construction aspects.
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