Summary of Construction:
The main assembly (NMS-10-001) consisted of 4 sub-assemblies, the sub-assemblies provided by the principle engineer were the front suspension (NMS—10-002) and steering rack (NMS-10-003). The partner engineer was responsible for a rear axle assembly and a chassis assembly and the principle engineer created trailing arms (NMS-20-006) and upper long arms (NMS-20-005) to connect the chassis to the rear axle. The parts created by the principle engineer were manufactured in the following manner; For the front suspension the shock tower (NMS-20-004) and bulkhead (NMS-20-001) were 3D printed. The two control arms (upper NMS-20-003 and lower NMS-20-002) were sent to send cut send to be cut using a water jet. The shocks (NMS-55-002) were purchased. For the steering rack (NMS-10-003) the base (NMS-20-007) was 3D printed, the bearings (NMS-55-001) were purchased. The two arms (NMS-20-008 and 009) as well as the connecting bar (NMS-20-010) were sent to send cut send to but water jet cut. The upper long arms (NMS-20-005) and trailing arms (NMS-20-006) were made using a lathe and a milling machine in the CWU machine shop. The rear shock tower bracket (NMS-20-012) was 3D printed and the rear shock tower (NMS-20-011) was water jetted through send cut send. All part numbers are referenced in the drawing tree in appendix B.01 of the engineering proposal linked on the home page.
Printing rear shock tower bracket
Figure 8- construction of rear shock tower bracket
The above image shows the printer and the finished rear shock tower bracket. This part is responsible for providing mounting locations and rigidity to the rear shock tower.
Cutting stock for rear trailing arms
Figure 9- Cutting stock for rear trailing arms
The stock room was out of 0.5"x0.5" aluminum stock so the engineer cut half inch strips out of aluminum block to start the manufacturing of the rear trailing arms.
Milling rear trailing arm
Figure 10- Construction of rear trailing arm
The above image shows the engineer milling a rear trailing arm. This part is responsible for connecting the rear axle to the chassis and providing a mounting location for the rear shocks.
Tapping threads in trailing arms for heim joints
Figure 11- Threading trailing arm
The engineer is shown threading the ends of the trailing arms to accept the 10-32 threads of the heim joints.
Modifying trailing arm tabs
Figure 12- modifying trailing arm tabs
the above video shows the engineer modifying the trailing arm tabs to accept a wider heim joint that was more readily available than the originally specified M3 heim joint.
Visual of original tab, modified tab, and new heim joint
Figure 13- Comparison of original tab, modified tab, and heim joint
The photo above was taken to demonstrate how narrow the tab opening was on the original part compared to the width of the heim joint. It can be seen that the modified tab will accept the new heim joint much better than the old tab.
Drawing tree
Figure 14- Drawing tree of assembly
The drawing tree shown above demonstrates what what parts are apart of which sub assembly and is a visual for the overall amount and types of parts included on the device.
Summary of device construction and methods:
the engineer has used several methods for manufacturing parts. The rear trailing arms were manually milled to ensure proper sizing and to practice milling operations. The components that attached to the steering rack as well as the rear shock tower were manufactured by means of a water jet cutter at "send cut send". Parts like the front shock tower, bulk head, and rear shock tower bracket were all 3-d printed. during assembly the engineer used mainly m3 and m6 bolts to maintain consistency. He found that eighth inch and quarter inch drill bits worked well for drilling through holes for these bolts. The front suspension was assembled prior to attaching it to the car and the same went for the steering rack and rear trailing arms. All other components were attached to the entire assembly piece by piece. These components included the rear shock tower and bracket as well as all of the electronics.