FSAE Steering Wheel
Background
I led this group project, where my group and I received a $1000 grant to design and fabricate an ergonomic and high-strength steering wheel for an FSAE vehicle. FEA simulations
were done in Solidworks to simulate stresses on the aluminum backplate of the assembly, which were also verified with hand calculations. The grips and electronics housing were 3D printed out of a clear
resin, providing a neat aesthetic and functionality at the same time.
For defining a load case, we used data given in an article by an FSAE Design Judge from designjudges.com, which collected data on maximum force applied on steering wheels. Based on
FEA simulations using this load case, a 0.25 in thickness was selected for the Aluminum backplate, which provided a balance of strength and weight.
My main contributions were conducting and analyzing FEA simulations, advising the design process for the resin shell and 3D printing prototypes for ergonomic testing, and testing
hardware compatibility. Working with our advisor, Professor Robert McMeeking, to perform FEA simulations strengthened my knowledge of computational analysis and the math behind it.
Below are some pictures from over the course of the project.
Image Gallery
This is the steering wheel from the previous year's car. Two of the features we aimed at improving were reducing the assembly complexity, and improving its ergonomics.
In the early stages of prototyping we 3D printed our models to ensure they were ergonomic and could be easily assembled.
Once we finalized the design of the aluminum backplate for the steering wheel, we sent the design to SendCutSend for manufacturing. This image shows the comparison between the
of the new and old steering wheels.
This is the backside of the prototype seen on the left. The quick release on the steering wheel is a modified NRG 2.0 quick release. More on this later.
I designed an adpater for the NRG quick release to allow for wires to pass through the connection to the steering column. This was manufactured by SendCutSend
out of steel so it could be welded, and I tapped the holes for the quick release mounting. The channel for the wires was milled by Josh Bowie, head of the UCSB COE machine shop.
This is a test fit of the quick release adapter before welding.
This is the final resin-printed steering wheel. Unfortunately, the display for the steering wheel was broken after its handoff to the electronics subteam and could
not be integrated into the final assembly.
This is the resin steering wheel in the chassis during its final assembly.