Freelance Engineering Contract

A man reached out to Boise State University asking for a student to help him with a engineering problem for pay, I got the job. He needed a 4-bar lift to hold his motorcycles on his custom campervan. He provided me with a image he found online of something similar to what he wanted,  high level CAD of the campervan, and we met and sketched some things out. I then modeled a lift, with a couple check-ins to get feedback and performed simulations on the resulting design. 

The final design included two 4-bar linkages with cylinders rated for the expected loads that I found online. The mounting plates also include a spot for a safety pin to stop hydraulic leakage. The simulations resulted in a min safety factor of 3.4, meaning the weakest point of the lift can handle 3.4x the expected load. I also gave him detailed drawings to facilitate fabrication. Overall, while not the most complicated design, I gained immense real-world engineering experience through this process.