Mechanical Team Process

Design Process

The mechanical team follows a structured, iterative design process to ensure all components meet performance, manufacturability, and integration requirements across each platform.

Every project begins with the identification of a problem or design need for a given platform. Once defined, the problem is assigned to the appropriate platform and delegated to a specific subteam or individual responsible for tackling the project.

From there, the assigned team member conducts research into the problem and develops potential solutions. This includes developing criteria for what a successful design would look like, such as for the penthouse of REV-3: it needs to mount within a set volume using the existing mounting points, it must fit all of the appropriate boards inside securely, the LVSS needs to be removable from the enclosure as it will be permanently affixed, the fuse and bus bars must be secured inside, and many more. These concepts are evaluated against relevant criteria such as performance, weight, manufacturability, cost, and integration and are weighted to determine the most promising direction.

Next normally the most promising design or design is modeled in cardboard or solidworks to get an idea of what the design will look like in the real world. If you go the solidworks route make sure to save the file in your sandbox folder in the appropriate platform. If you don’t have a sandbox folder in the sandbox folder inside of the platform feel free to make yourself one and name it your RIT username. Remember to always save and check in your parts with PDM so that we can have access to them in the future. 

A formal design review is then conducted with other members of the mechanical team as well as relevant other teams. During this review, the problem, proposed solutions, and supporting analysis are presented, a model of the preferred design and some simulations are a nice touch. Team members provide feedback, challenge assumptions, and offer alternative perspectives to strengthen the design.

Following the review, the design is revised to incorporate feedback. If the changes are substantial, an additional design review may be scheduled. At a minimum, the original design review documentation must be updated to reflect the final decisions and rationale.

Once the design is approved, the part is released for fabrication and integration into the bike. Be it 3d printing, laser cutting, milling, or one of the many other fabrication methods we have at our disposal. Typically a part will be handled from design to fabrication by the same person though feel free to tap in a more experienced member or one of our machinists for help. If this part was modeled in CAD a drawing is needed and the part needs to be brought into the bike assembly and saved in the appropriate folder by an administrator. Once a part is finished and ready for handoff or installation this process starts over again.