CWRU Motorsports
Overview
I’m currently a part of the suspension division of CWRU Motorsports and I lead our team’s business presentation efforts. Each year we design and manufacture a single seat off-road race cars to compete in Baja SAE competitions against other universities. To learn more about the team, check out our website.
Projects
Suspension Arm Design
- I designed the front and rear suspension arms for SR24 (2024 season vehicle)
- This project was challenging since the suspension geometry required us to lengthen the front arms compared to last year which increased loading
- To solve this problem, I utilized Finite Element Analysis (FEA) at both a part and assembly level to simulate the loads gathered from wheel force transducer testing
- Using these simulations I was able to design gussets and tabs to support the arms in regions of high stress while keeping the arms as light as possible
- Over 20+ hours of runtime (and a crash with another team) the suspension arms have experienced no critical failures
Shock Rebuilding and Tuning
- I work with our suspension lead to rebuild and tune our shocks (FOX Float 3)
- We rebuild our shocks each year to adjust for new motion ratios and overall designs
- Additionally, we test a variety of spring rates and damping levels to ensure we have the optimal tune for each competition event (maneuverability, suspension and traction, hill climb, etc.)
- This allows our car to have drastically different characteristics depending on the demands of the event
- See the difference in ride height between two of our events in images 2 & 3 in the slideshow to the right
Manufacturing
- I do a variety of manufacturing for CWRU Motorsports ranging from turning simple lathe parts to bending clevises on a hydraulic press
- By manufacturing a wide range of parts I’ve learned how to design for manufacturability and conversely how the process of manufacturing can impact the finish part