Suspension Design

The vehicle was divided into major categories for each team member to complete during the Summer of 2022. I finished the design and manufacturing of the front and rear suspension systems with the help of my team.

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The initial vehicle frame was extended to accommodate for off-the-shelf control arms and custom shock mounting locations. 

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The vehicle frame was designed in Solidworks, accommodating for the new extensions at the front and rear of the vehicle. 

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A Polaris RZR 570 was used to match the travel range. The front control arms from the Polaris design were utilized as the front and rear control arms of the Baja vehicle. This allowed for future accommodations such as four-wheel steering.

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Lotus Shark software as well as Solidworks were used to check for optimal bump steer, wheel travel, leverage ratio, bottom-out forces, and wheel base changes. 

 

Several mockups were prototyped to help visualize and create clearances for the control arms and shock components.  

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Three separate jig fixtures were made of steel sheet metal and tubing to accurately manufacture the mounting point for the control arms and shock mounting holes. This gave us precise control in alignment and wheel travel.