MS16 Steering Mechanical Design Sprint
- Caleb Nebiyou Mengistu
Design Sprint Goals
The purpose of this design sprint is to give dynamics team members who have proven their skills and interest in mechanical design and have already made contributions and commitment to the team by completing other tasks. While there is a steering system to reference, this is an open ended design, so try to think critically about different approaches, materials, and optimizations that could improve performance, manufacturability, and reliability. Consider trade-offs between weight, durability, cost, and complexity when making design decisions.
Questions to ask yourself while you design:
What are the primary failure modes of the current steering system?
How can we reduce compliance and improve steering response?
How does our design integrate with the rest of the vehicle's suspension and chassis?
What manufacturing constraints should we keep in mind?
GitHub: MSXV → Development → DYN → STR-SOS → Caleb
Purpose
Design two Ackermann steering linkage systems with different steering configurations for MS16. The first configuration is middle steering, which is MS15’s steering. Its steering arm will be mounted on the upright in between the upper and lower control arms. The second configuration is over the lap steering, with the steering arm mounted above the upper control arm. The nodal has been created and is under the bild: MSXVI → Dynamics → Steering
Steering Configuration Decision Matrix
Criteria | Weight | Over the Top | Middle | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Manufacturability | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | Both are equally manufacturable, but middle steering has been manufactured before. |
Reliability | 2 | 0 | 1 | Middle is likely to be more reliable as we have created one before, but over the top steering should be reliable too. |
Form Factor | 1 | 1 | -0.5 | The form factor for over the top steering is much better than the middle steering, because it will not interfere with the driver’s legs. |
Integration | 1.5 | 1 | -1 | Middle steering is difficult to integrate with chassis and aerobody constraints, especially when considering the size of canopy needed to reach the solar array area. However integrating with FSU is harder with over the top. |
Performance | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | Both should have an equal performance, but middle steering’s performance has already been tested and confirmed before. |
The final steering system that will be manufactured and installed onto the car is entirely dependent on the manufacturability and simulations of FSU’s upright.
Steering Timeline
Week 1/2: Initial Design (CAD) (March 1 - 15)
Design will be divided between the steering arm and the center bar plate.
Steering arm must be mounted to the FSU’s upright, while the center bar plate needs to hold the rack and minion and be connected to the chassis.
Reference the nodal for placement and displacement of bearings.
Week 3: CAD review and Subsystem Integration (March 16- 22)
Review CAD and confirm OTS parts (bearings, rack and minion, etc.)
Review that the steering mechanical design matches nodal and integrates with FSU and chassis
Week 4/5: FEA simulation and Design Iteration (March 23 - Apr 3)
Conduct FEA simulations on the steering arm and center bar plate.
Iterate on the mechanical design based off of FEA, and work on mass optimization through simple weight saving cuts
Finalize design :D
Focus on finals watch out for calc 2- Caleb
Final Notes
Reach out to @Caleb Nebiyou Mengistu for any questions! Let me know if there’s anything I missed that would be useful for your progress!