Doing some drawings and 'want' to have a front wheel spindle of 12mm diameter for a lightweight, 200cc powered cart.
Any thoughts? Any metalergist here to recommend a material? Or am I totally wrong on going so small?

Are you tempted to try using some secondhand kart spindles/stub axles, e.g. https://secondhand-karting.co.uk/cat/759/axles-and-running-gear ?

Cheers
Mike

[Edited on 13/3/22 by Mike Wood]

no expert , but 12mm feels a bit small for a stub axel on a powered vehicle

We'd need a lot more information to make an informed decision, but assuming you're looking at a cantilever spindle and a sensible bearing span and wheel sizes for something with a 200cc motor, it's too small in steel.

I haven't run any numbers but if you go into exotic heat treated steel or titanium to make it work on paper, you're then into joining issues to tie it back into the uprights because you'll need flanges so it's not 12mm bar anymore. You're going to end up with very little factor of safety or a very dubious load case for your design calcs, regardless of the material.

What's making you think of using 12mm spindles?

Most thougts match what I was thinking.

Don't want a lot of rolling resistance so am using scooter tyre, and the spindles are usually around 11mm (Burgman) and 12mm (Lexmoto)

Might have to have a loop like the Eco-Exo.

quote:

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Originally posted by designer
Might have to have a loop like the Eco-Exo.

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Some uprights I fabricated a few years back for an unpowered soap box cart. M8 bolts used for the spindles to mount wheelchair wheels.

I wouldn't trust it for a powered vehicle myself (even if it were professionally fabricated).





[Edited on 16/3/22 by nick205]