Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• introduce the requirements and constraints associated with the design of an automotive suspension assembly.
• perform relevant design calculations to predict and optimise the performance of particular components of the assembly.
• understand the importance of selecting appropriate materials, manufacturing processes and standard parts.
• perform the embodiment design of a sub-assembly of an automotive suspension.
• prepare detail design information necessary for manufacture.

Content

This project involves the design of components of an automotive suspension assembly for a Formula Student race car. Tasks include conceptual, embodiment and detail design, all performed individually. The project should appeal to students interested in mechanical design and automotive engineering.

FORMAT

Lectures will be given on automotive suspension systems and mechanical design. Demonstrators will be available at other timetabled sessions to discuss individual design work. Students work individually, but discussion of ideas will be encouraged. Work takes place in the Dyson Centre in week 1, and in the DPO during weeks 2-4. Solidworks will be used extensively in the second half of the project. Detailed instruction on the use of Solidworks will not be given. You may wish to revisit the IA CAD tutorials and tasks if you have not used Solidworks since IA. Pencil/paper drawing is an acceptable alternative but it may constrain your ability to make good design decisions.

ACTIVITIES

Week 1: Review existing design solutions. Estimate the forces and stresses in a suspension assembly. Perform a material selection exercise for several components of a suspension assembly. Review the Formula Student Technical Regulations. Identify the key design requirements and constraints. Write a short report.

Week 2: Select a design concept. Perform calculations to estimate the forces in the suspension assembly. Select standard parts. Write a short report. Begin designing non-standard components.

Week 3: Design component geometries, select materials and manufacturing processes, while satisfying the requirements and constraints. Prepare a CAD model, a 2D design arrangement drawing, and a parts list.

Week 4: Prepare a dimensioned and toleranced detail drawing of one component of the assembly. Write final report.

Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• introduce the requirements and constraints associated with the design of an automotive suspension assembly.
• perform relevant design calculations to predict and optimise the performance of particular components of the assembly.
• understand the importance of selecting appropriate materials, manufacturing processes and standard parts.
• perform the embodiment design of a sub-assembly of an automotive suspension.
• prepare detail design information necessary for manufacture.

Content

This project involves the design of components of an automotive suspension assembly for a Formula Student race car. Tasks include conceptual, embodiment and detail design, all performed individually. The project should appeal to students interested in mechanical design and automotive engineering.

FORMAT

Lectures will be given on automotive suspension systems and mechanical design. Demonstrators will be available at other timetabled sessions to discuss individual design work. Students work individually, but discussion of ideas will be encouraged. Work takes place in the Dyson Centre in week 1, and in the DPO during weeks 2-4. Solidworks will be used extensively in the second half of the project. Detailed instruction on the use of Solidworks will not be given. You may wish to revisit the IA CAD tutorials and tasks if you have not used Solidworks since IA. Pencil/paper drawing is an acceptable alternative but it may constrain your ability to make good design decisions.

ACTIVITIES

Week 1: Review existing design solutions. Identify the key design requirements and constraints. Estimate the stresses in a suspension assembly. Perform a material selection exercise for several components of a suspension assembly. Write a short report.

Week 2: Select a design concept. Perform calculations to estimate the forces in the suspension assembly. Select standard parts. Write a short report.

Week 3: Design component geometries, select materials and manufacturing processes, while satisfying the requirements and constraints. Prepare a CAD model, a 2D design arrangement drawing, and a parts list.

Week 4: Prepare a dimensioned and toleranced detail drawing of one component of the assembly. Write final report.

Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• To introduce the requirements and constraints associated with the design of an automotive suspension.
• To perform relevant design calculations to predict and optimise the performance of particular components of the assembly.
• To understand the importance of selecting appropriate materials, manufacturing processes and standard parts.
• To prepare detail design information necessary for manufacture.

Content

This project involves the design of components of an automotive suspension assembly for a Formula Student race car. Tasks include conceptual, embodiment and detail design, all performed individually. The project should appeal to students interested in mechanical design and automotive engineering.

FORMAT

Lectures will be given on automotive suspension systems and mechanical design. Demonstrators will be available at other timetabled sessions to discuss individual design work. Students work individually, but discussion of ideas will be encouraged. Work takes place in the Dyson Centre in week 1, and in the DPO during weeks 2-4.

ACTIVITIES

Week 1: Review existing design solutions. Identify the key design requirements and constraints. Perform a material selection exercise for several components of a suspension assembly. Write a short report.

Week 2: Select a design concept. Perform calculations to estimate the forces in the suspension assembly. Select standard parts. Write a short report.

Week 3: Select component geometries, materials and manufacturing processes. Optimise the design to satisfy the requirements and constraints. Prepare a design arrangement drawing and parts list.

Week 4: Prepare a dimensioned and toleranced detail drawing of one component of the assembly. Write final report.

Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• To introduce the requirements and constraints associated with the design of an automotive suspension.
• To perform relevant design calculations to predict and optimise the performance of the components and the assembly.
• To understand the importance of selecting appropriate materials, manufacturing processes and standard parts.
• To prepare detail design information necessary for manufacture.

Content

This project involves the design of automotive suspension components for a Formula Student race car. Tasks include conceptual, embodiment and detail design, all performed individually. The project should appeal to students interested in mechanical design and automotive engineering.

FORMAT

Lectures will be given on automotive suspension systems and mechanical design. Demonstrators will be available at other timetabled sessions to discuss individual design work. Students work individually, but discussion of ideas will be encouraged. Work takes place in the Dyson Centre in week 1, and in the DPO during weeks 2-4.

ACTIVITIES

Week 1: Review existing design solutions. Identify the key design requirements, constraints and functions. Generate and evaluate design solutions and select one for embodiment/detail design. Write a short report.

Week 2: Perform design calculations and refine the design solution. Select standard parts. Write a short report.

Week 3: Select component geometries, materials and manufacturing processes. Optimise the design to satisfy the objective and constraints. Prepare a design arrangement drawing and parts list.

Week 4: Prepare dimensioned and toleranced detail drawings of selected components. Prepare manufacturing instructions. Write final report.

Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• To introduce electronic system design concepts.
• To gain familiarity with computer-aided design methodology required for electronic system realisation.
• To gain experience in testing and performance evaluation of electronic systems.

Content

This project is based on designing an electronic system which can capture data and store/process it on a PC. It is intended to serve as a practical introduction to a number of aspects of embedded electronic system design and to result in the development of a prototype electronic product.

The project will utilise a microcontroller development board (Arduino) and custom hardware to produce a prototype device. There is a free choice of application, but all projects involve the design and implementation of analogue data capture electronics, firmware for the microcontroller, a communications protocol, and a Windows application.

A reference design will be provided to the students in the first instance. By the first week, students will have constructed and tested a simple device which can demonstrate PC-control (via blinking an LED). The ultimate goal is to build a PC-based application, for example a digital/analogue oscilloscope. The second week will be spent on deciding on the system specifications (eg. the voltage range, frequency range etc in the case of an oscilloscope), functions (eg. gain control, offset control, triggering, etc) and data processing (eg. on-screen measurement, fast fourier transform). The students will then need to produce a design for their specification and a bill-of-materials (on a fixed budget). This must be submitted during the second week. The last two weeks will be based on the implementation and testing to specification of the prototype. The end result of the project is a portable data logger-based device which students can take home and use on their own PC.

This project will involve analogue and digital electronic hardware design. There will also be a significant amount of software development with respect to microcontroller firmware mainly in C/C++. Some prior experience of one or more of these areas would be useful.

FORMAT

Students will work in groups of two, with each group designing and testing their own data logger.

ACTIVITIES

Week 1:ﾠBuild and test your reference design data logger

Week 2:ﾠSpecification issue, design (circuit, comms protocol, Windows application interface) and bill of materials (interim report).

Week 3:ﾠCircuit construction and test.

Week 4:ﾠFinal testing and demonstration of data logger (final report).