Modular Surfboard Rack

Mission Statement

1. Build a surf rack for Sprinter vans

2. Design must consider interchangeable/modular parts to accommodate for skis, bikes, storage, etc. in future iterations.

Target Audience

Our sponsor, Fred Hamud, is a local entrepreneur and outdoorsman who wants to develop a new cheaper and more convenient alternative to racks in the market currently.

Challenges

1. Finding workshops or 3rd party manufacturers that can bend and weld large sheet metal during the pandemic.

2. Balancing other course work and delivering updates to our professor weekly contributed to us neglecting our communication with the most important person, our sponsor.

3. Creating a secure but frictionless sliding locking mechanism for securing interchangeable parts.

Solutions

1. We built as much as we could with hand tools in my apartment. Processes that took special machines such as welding, waterjet cutting, and bending sheet metal were outsourced to local workshops. We contacted and visited over 6 manufacturers around San Diego, and found the best choice for our cost and time budget.

2. Facilitate weekly meetings with all involved parties.

3. Trial and error prototyping using different designs and materials for parts.

Skills Learned

Sheet metal engineering, physically large-scale projects, outsourcing, FEA.

Team Dynamic

I was clearly the most experienced in hands-on engineering and CADing, so I took on most of the hardware challenges while the others supported me by researching, running FEA, and writing the tedious reports.