Projects

The first optimized parts were three components of the Formula Student F0711-7 from the University of Stuttgart: the suspension bell cranks (front and rear) and the brake pedal. The car was developed by the team Rennteam Uni Stuttgart and won three international competitions between 2012 and 2013: Formula Student Germany 2012, Formula SAE Italy 2012 and Formula SAE Michigan 2013. It also reached 5th place at Formula Student UK 2012 and 1st place in the World Ranking 2012.

Rennteam Uni Stuttgart

Formula Student F0711-7 from the University of Stuttgart

This 600 cm³ gasoline engine car develops 85 HP (air intake restricted to Ø20 mm), 65 N·m torque and a maximum velocity of 125 km/h (limited by the modified gearbox). Many components of the car are structurally optimized, making each of them as light and strong as possible. The whole car weighs only 175 kg.

Rear Bell Crank

A bell crank or rocker is the connecting part between shock absorber, push rod, anti-roll bar and chassis. This component rotates around its chassis connection as the wheel goes up and down.

Race car suspension system (image taken from Rennwagentechnik, Michael Trzesniowski)

Thanks to our design process including structural optimization we could design and manufacture a rear bell crank that weighs only 45 g. A 30 % weight reduction in comparison to the previous version was achieved. The component was milled and made of aluminium 7075-T6

Structural optimization of the rear bell crank

Finished part

Front Bell Crank

The front bell crank, equivalent to the rear bell crank but located in the front suspension, was also structurally optimized to withstand high loads with the minimum material necessary (only 100 g). The part was milled and made of aluminium 7075-T6.

Design process of the front bell crank

Brake Pedal

The brake pedal is one of the most critical components in any car. Just imagine what would happen if your brake pedal breaks while you drive down a hill. Therefore, we decided to design this part as light as possible but also taking into account a Factor of Safety that would guarantee the integrity of the driver no matter how hard he would hit the brake.
The structural optimization of this part was carried out in two steps, achieving a final weight of 170 g with a Factor of Safety of 1.6. The aluminium 7075-T6 pedal was water-cut and milled.

Design process of the brake pedal

Jet Engine Bracket

Our design process can be applied to many areas, not only in Motorsports. One of them is aerospace, where weight plays an important role in fuel consumption.

The following design participated in a contest organized by General Electric in 2013. The objective was to redesign the original part (orange) and achieve the lightest solution possible. The new part would have to withstand the load cases set in the rules of the contest (four load cases in total).

A structural optimization was carried out taking into account the four load cases simultaneously. The result was amazing: 60 % weight reduction, from 2 kg to 800 g, keeping a Factor of Safety of 1.5. The bracket is made of titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) and it is manufactured by 3D printing (additive manufacturing).