TF

METODOLOGIA PARA EL DISEÑO DE SISTEMAS TECNICOS
AUTOMOTRICES
MAURICIO TORO RESTREPO
UNIVERSIDAD EAFIT
INGENIERÍA MECÁNICA
DISEÑO METODICO
MEDELLÍN
2007
INTRODUCCION
El diseño de automóviles es uno de los campos más amplios y lucrativos del
diseño a nivel mundial. Sin embargo no es muy común que esta se haga con
las metodologías adecuadas e incluso las metodologías existentes son
bastante excluyentes y se centran en un solo tipo de vehiculo. Es por esto que
se quiere en el presente trabajo plasmar en papel los lineamientos para el
diseño al igual que información técnica que permita simplificar la tarea de
diseño automotriz. Se tendrán en cuenta todos los aspectos del mismo desde
la investigación de mercadeo y viabilidad hasta las evaluaciones post
fabricación. Se mostrara la aplicación de las diferentes metodologías de diseño
aplicadas al caso particular del automóvil y se mostrara cuales son mas
importantes y porque. También se intentara mostrar que algunas veces es
conveniente realizar un proceso de diseño convencional para algunos sub-
componentes y que no es el objetivo de este trabajo convertir el diseño
automotriz en un proceso meramente mecánico del cual emergerán vehículos
estándar. Mas aun el objetivo de este trabajo es simplemente ampliar el
espectro del diseñador y ayudarle a tener en cuenta los distintos factores que
han entorpecido las labores de diseño en procesos anteriores. Existen
básicamente dos corrientes de diseño automotriz y las dos son igualmente
usadas y validas. La primera parte de una forma del vehiculo tanto exterior
como interior y alrededor de esta se procede al diseño mecánico de los
componentes. La segunda parte del diseño mecánico y una vez se completa
este el diseñador sale a darle una forma agradable a el mismo, inclusive en
algunos casos la forma no la da el diseñador sino el ingeniero experto en
aerodinámica. Como se puede intuir de la primera metodología surgen

vehículos muy estilizados y de la segunda se obtienen vehículos de altísimo
desempeño y/o rendimiento. En otras palabras en el diseño automotriz actual
existe una clara barrera entre los vehículos diseñados con objetivos de
ingeniería y los vehículos diseñados con objetivos estéticos o de diseño.
También se tiene la concepción según García 1 que el diseño automotriz es un
proceso lineal. Sin embargo en este documento se planteara un nuevo ángulo
de diseño, muy utilizado en la industria aeronáutica, que además de acortar el
tiempo que se toma el proceso de diseño busca obtener vehículos que son
fuertes en ambos campos. Esta metodología busca evitar una dependencia del
diseñador mecánico o en su contraparte del diseñador industrial y simplemente
seguir una secuencia lógica en la cual ambos diseñadores toman decisiones
relacionadas con su especialidad.
METODOLOGIA DE DISEÑO
Como se puede observar en la figura 1 el proceso de diseño se aleja un poco
del diseño lineal y hace que las tareas de procesos que no tienen que ser
secuenciales en un brazo paralelo que básicamente se convierten en tareas del
Ingeniero, y tareas del diseñador. Obviamente estos roles no indican de
ninguna manera la verdadera profesión e incluso en algunos casos el oficio
(por ejemplo el trabajo de un ingeniero aerodinámico en la carrocería externa)
sin embargo en este documento se separaran las dos tareas ignorando estos
casos “excepcionales”. Cada paso de la metodología planteada exige una serie
de documentos que deben ser presentados para garantizar la debida
realización d dicho proceso de diseño.
1
Garcia, Alvaro. Race Car Design. 4 Sept. 2006. 31.
Fig. 1 Esquema del flujo de actividades de diseño
Una vez se conoce el diagrama de flujo se puede comenzar a explicar cada
paso del proceso con mayor profundidad y de igual importancia los resultados
en lo que a documentación se refiere de cada uno de estos pasos. También
antes de comenzar se considera importante hacer un énfasis en lo que el uso
de una metodología de este tipo significa en un proceso de ingeniería. Hay que
comenzar por insistir que todo proceso de ingeniería se resume a dos factores
importantes que se llaman tiempo y dinero. Es increíble pero cierto, cuando un
cliente solicita un servicio de ingeniería lo único que pregunta es ¿cuanto se
demora?, ¿cuanto me vale?, ¿cuanta plata me ahorra implementarlo? etc. En
todo caso utilizar una metodología de diseño que además tenga incorporada
una metodología de gestión de proyectos será posible estimar de una manera
mas precisa desde el comienzo del proyecto.

CONFORMACION DEL EQUIPO DE TRABAJO Y DIVISION DE TAREAS
La primera tarea que se debe tener en cuenta antes de comenzar un trabajo de
diseño es la conformación del equipo de trabajo, esta se puede hacer de
muchas maneras pero la ideal es conformarlo por las áreas de especialidad por
ejemplo, los especialistas en diseño mecánico y mecanismos serán los
encargados de la suspensión, así como el especialista en ergonomía y teoría
de la forma encargado del diseño de la carrocería, etc. Pero como este mundo
no es ideal, algunas veces los equipos de trabajo se forman por “dedocracia” y
en algunos casos cuando no hay nadie que tenga el nivel de especialidad o los
deseos de cumplir con una tarea tendrá que aparecer el denominado doliente,
porque en el trabajo de diseño no todas las tareas a realizar serán del total
agrado del equipo de trabajo. También es importante notar que hay ciertas
jerarquías y posiciones que se deben llenar en un equipo de diseño
independiente del producto y estas son:
Jefe de Proyecto:
El jefe del proyecto es un dictador que tiene que ser suficientemente inteligente
para hacer sentir a los demás miembros del equipo que el trabajo es una
democracia. Además es la persona encargada de verificar el estatus de la
gestión del proyecto y más importante aun es el encargado de ser la imagen
del proyecto ante las fuentes de financiamiento del mismo. Generalmente este
puesto lo ocupa la persona con más experiencia y reconocimiento del equipo
de trabajo.
Tesorero del Proyecto:
El tesorero del proyecto como su nombre lo indica es el encargado de las
finanzas del proyecto, el será el único miembro del equipo que tiene acceso a
los fondos, también este miembro debe llevar un registro completo de cuanto
dinero se toma un determinado componente y que tanto esto se acerca o aleja
del presupuesto inicial asignado al proyecto.
Encargado de la Documentación:
El encargado de la documentación deberá almacenar y ordenar todos los
documentos que surjan del proceso de diseño, algunos surgirán del proceso en
si y otros surgirán del acto de diseñar. Los documentos que surgirán del
proceso son los documentos que se plantearan como resultado de cada una de
las fases del diseño. También se deben incluir todos los documentos que
surgen del acto de diseñar como lo son los cálculos realizados por todos los
ingenieros participantes en el proyecto, las órdenes de trabajo, los planos de
taller, de ensamble y hasta las facturas de compra del material. Estos
documentos facilitaran la tarea de hallar un error en el diseño y serán útiles
sobre todo en áreas como la automotriz donde es tan sencillo que algo salga
mal y mas aun que los resultados de esto sean catastróficos.
Encargado de Seguridad
Todo equipo de diseño automotriz debe tener un encargado de seguridad que
es la persona que verifica el correcto cumplimiento de todas las normas de
seguridad como que las estructuras anti-vuelco, la protección contra impactos
laterales, los airbag, etc.

Una vez se ha conformado el equipo y los roles principales dentro de este se
han definido se puede comenzar a formular el proyecto. Atención porque no es
lo mismo formular el proyecto a definir el problema. Para formular el proyecto
simplemente se hace un balance de lo que se tiene como recursos de
ejecución de personal, capital y capacidades de manufactura y analizando
todos estos parámetros se definen unos objetivos claros que serán cumplidos
al finalizar el mismo. También pues será importante teniendo en cuenta los
recursos de tiempo y dinero con los que se cuenta ir definiendo las tareas de
diseño o especificación de deberán ser realizadas por el equipo de trabajo.
De este paso saldrán dos documentos clave para el desarrollo del proyecto
uno es un documento fijo que una vez se redacta y se fija no deberá ser
cambiado una vez se comienza la ejecución del proyecto, este documento se
denominara Anteproyecto (este será complementado una sola vez cuando
aparezca el documento de definición del problema). El segundo documento es
un documento dinámico que servirá de guía durante el resto del proceso de
diseño y que será complementado durante todo el proceso de diseño. Este
documento se denominara Documento de Estructuración de Tareas. Ahora se
entrara con más profundidad a estos documentos.
Anteproyecto
El anteproyecto es un documento en el que se especifica a grandes trazos que
es lo que se va a hacer en el proyecto. Como parte del anteproyecto se
encuentra una definición del problema que simplemente indica grosso modo
que es lo que se busca con el proyecto y porque. También esta puesta en

papel la información del equipo de trabajo, quienes van a ser los ejecutores del
proyecto, algo sobre sus trayectorias y cuales son sus rangos en el equipo de
trabajo. Además se debe tener un objetivo general del proyecto que en este
caso seria pues diseñar un vehiculo o algo por el estilo. Se deben también
incluir objetivos específicos que el equipo de trabajo quiere lograr. También
debe enumerar de una manera clara y concisa cuales son los resultados
esperados del proyecto. Por ultimo el anteproyecto deberá poseer una
bibliografía inicial que desde el momento en que se redacta el anteproyecto
será puesta a disposición de todo el equipo de trabajo. A continuación se
mostrara un ejemplo de anteproyecto:
PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROYECTO, DISEÑO Y FABRICACION

DE UN VEHICULO MODULAR, ECONOMICO Y MULTIUSOS.
Mauricio Toro R
Estudiante
Grupo de Investigación en Desarrollo de Productos
Universidad EAFIT
Medellín, Colombia
PALABRAS CLAVE
Diseño, Automotriz, Comercial, Bajo Costo, Modular
1. Planteamiento del Problema

Al analizar el mercado automotriz colombiano se detectan dos falencias clave, Primeramente se observa
un alto precio de los automóviles con respecto al exterior, Esto se debe en gran parte a los altos aranceles
de importación que tienen estos vehículos para ingresar a Colombia. Esto a su vez ha causado un auge en
la venta de soluciones mas económicas al transporte como lo son las motocicletas, en especial las
motocicletas de fabricación china. Estas tienen dos problemas claves, el primero es su baja capacidad de
carga y el segundo es la alta tasa de accidentalidad inherentes a este diseño de vehiculo. También se
expresa un interés por demostrar que en Colombia tenemos las capacidades técnicas e intelectuales para
diseñar y fabricar nuestras propias soluciones de transporte aptas para las condiciones económicas y
fiscales de nuestro país. Además si a esto añadimos la altísima demanda que existe actualmente por los
vehículos a motor recreativos y la creciente demanda resulta bastante atractivo embarcarse en un proyecto
de este tipo.
2. Ejecutores del proyecto

El Proyecto será ejecutado por los profesores y estudiantes miembros del grupo de investigación en
desarrollo de productos de la Universidad EAFIT. Se propone además como practica del uso de la
ingeniería colaborativa, dividir el equipo de trabajo en al menos dos grupos de trabajo, uno encargado del
diseño del chasis, suspensión y demás componentes mecánicos y el segundo encargado del diseño de la
carrocería, de los posibles módulos y de todo lo que tiene que ver con la ergonomía y la arquitectura del
diseño.
3. Objetivo General
El objetivo general del proyecto es diseñar, fabricar analizar la producción de un vehiculo utilitario
multifuncional buscando siempre la economía tanto de producción como de operación. El vehiculo
contara con un chasis y carrocería de diseño propios del equipo y un motor comercial de baja cilindrada.
4. Objetivos Específicos
• Realizar un análisis sobre la viabilidad de diseñar y producir un vehiculo en Colombia

• Trabajar con el modelo internacional de ingeniería colaborativa en el cual un grupo de
ingenieros trabajan en el desarrollo independiente de cada componente de un determinado
componente y después se hace el ensamble del mismo.
• Utilizar el Know How adquirido en el desarrollo de los distintos vehículos en la universidad para
evolucionar sobre estas bases.
• Utilizar las metodologías de diseño conocidas como ground up para optimizar el tiempo de
desarrollo del vehiculo.
• Utilizar equipos de medición que permitan verificar los parámetros y evolucionar el diseño una
vez este completado el primer prototipo.
• Realizar un proceso de diseño completo desde la concepción inicial hasta la evaluación y
mejoras del prototipo.
5. Resultados Esperados del Proyecto
Resultados de documentación
1. Análisis de viabilidad del vehiculo, soportado en estudios de mercado y legales que regirán el
resto del proceso de diseño.
2. PDS y Cronograma de trabajo y diseño donde se deben especificar todos los parámetros de
diseño y condiciones de frontera del sistema.
3. Matriz de selección de componentes indicando los conceptos de solución para todos los sistemas
del vehiculo
4. Resultados de la evaluación de la matriz de selección de componentes
5. Modelación detallada del sistema con análisis de resistencia de materiales y elementos finitos de
los elementos que así lo requieran.
6. Planos de taller y ensamble completos del vehiculo con revisiones realizadas durante la
manufactura y las pruebas.
7. Resultados de las pruebas y planteamiento de soluciones
8. Cartas de proceso y de producción para todos los componentes del vehiculo
9. Análisis financiero y costos de fabricación unitarios.
Resultados Físicos
1. Prototipo funcional del vehiculo
6. Fuentes de Consulta Iniciales
• Engineer to Win. Smith, Carroll. 1a ed. Osceola: MBI Publishing Company, 1984. 277 p. ISBN
0 87938 186 8
• Race Car Vehicle Dynamics. Milliken, William F.. 1a ed. Warrendale: SAE Publications, 1995.
890 p. ISBN 1 56091 526 9
• Competition Car Composites. McBeath, Simon. 1a ed. Sparkford: Haynes Publishing, 2000. 208
p. ISBN 1 85960 624 5

• Competition Car Suspension. Staniforth, Allan, Simon. 3a ed. Sparkford: Haynes Publishing,
2006. 232 p. ISBN 1 85960644 X
• Tune to Win. Smith, Carroll. 1a ed. Osceola: Aero Publishers, 1978. 172 p.
7. Lineamiento de Actividades de Diseño
Diseño Mecánico
1. Investigación de viabilidad y Mercado.

2. Recolección de información y especificaciones.
3. Selección preliminar de partes
4. Diseño preliminar.
5. Re-diseño o re-selección de partes
6. Diseño final.
7. Análisis estructural completo de diseño final.
8. Fabricación de modelo 1:1 para evaluación de dimensiones y ergonomía.
9. Refinamiento diseño final.
10. Construcción prototipo.
11. Pruebas preliminares.
12. Refinamiento de diseño
Diseño Ergonómico
1. Investigación de viabilidad y Mercado.

2. Recolección de información y especificaciones.
3. Bosquejos iniciales exterior e interior.
4. Evaluación diferentes bosquejos.
5. Modelación y Render Bosquejo seleccionado.
6. Fabricación de prototipo.
7. Pruebas preliminares.
8. Refinamiento de diseño.
9. Herramientas Computacionales a Utilizar

Modelación y análisis:
Para el diseño y análisis estructural del vehiculo se utilizara la plataforma de Solidworks con su
complemento Cosmos. Si se requiere modelar en otro programa se puede modelar y transferir el archivo
en formato IGES.
Cálculos Manuales:
Estos se realizaran utilizando MATLAB y Microsoft Excel
Gestión del Proyecto y Administración de Recursos
Microsoft Project
Debe notarse que los documentos que aquí se presentan como ejemplo
solamente tienen el fin de ilustrar al usuario la forma y el contenido de este tipo

de documento y no son restrictivos, si el usuario considera que hace falta algún
elemento o sobra algún elemento esta en libertad de removerlo.
Documento de Estructuración de Tareas (DET)
Este tipo de documento es introducido en la metodología planteada gracias a
la colaboración del ingeniero León Darío Castaño y es un desarrollo que el ha
hecho a partir de la metodología de gestión de proyectos alemana REFA. Se
ha expandido este documento para que además de la parte de gestión de
tareas incluya un componente funcional y este es un buen momento para que
el grupo comience una investigación. Gracias a los casi 100 años de diseño
automotriz ya no es necesario realizar una síntesis funcional o en su defecto
una estructura funcional, una profunda investigación de los sistemas y
subsistemas de un automóvil nos haría dar cuenta que estos permanecen
iguales desde los primeros vehículos y que sistemáticamente no hay ninguna
diferencia clara entre un Ford modelo T y un Formula 1. Sin embargo las
técnicas y tecnologías para estos sistemas han evolucionado hasta un punto en
el cual pareciera que estos vehículos son completamente diferentes, esto no es
así. En todo caso esto hace que la fase de diseño conceptual del vehiculo se
haga de una manera extemporánea y poco ortodoxa. Se comienza realizando
una síntesis o estructura sistémica. Esta se realiza de una manera similar a la
síntesis o estructura funcional pero en vez de contener verbos que denotan una
función tiene sustantivos que denotan un elemento o sistema.

Fig. 2 Síntesis Sistémica de un Motor con inyección
Esta técnica es bastante útil porque seria un proyecto bastante ambicioso por
no decir imposible pretender diseñar un vehiculo completamente nuevo en
todos los aspectos igual que fabricar un todos los componentes de un vehiculo,
incluso en las grandes casas fabricantes de automóviles el diseñador de cada
modelo meramente selecciona un motor estándar y lo utiliza en su diseño.
Bueno en todo caso si se realiza una síntesis sistémica se pueden identificar
todos los componentes de un vehiculo y la relación entre ellos que será de
suma importancia en las etapas siguientes del diseño. También será útil para
luego sustituir los componentes que se desea desarrollar con sus verbos o
funciones, además estos sustantivos se pueden utilizar para armar las matrices
de selección de componentes que deberán ser realizadas mas adelante en el
proceso. Bueno en la figura se mostró la síntesis sistémica que es importante
para el diseñador pero en verdad no es la parte mas importante, su principal
función es mostrar las interrelaciones entre las piezas y como fluyen las cargas
y las informaciones por ellos. Ahora se mostrara un ejemplo de un DET,
nótese que como es un documento dinámico no siempre es necesario llenar
todos los campos sin embargo se recomienda ser lo mas completo posible en
el análisis de este documento ya que esto evitara que se cometan errores por
omisión en el desarrollo del producto. Después de realizado el DET del grupo
cada subgrupo, o miembro del grupo deberá realizar su propio DET, esto
permitirá a cada uno organizar sus tareas y responsabilidades además
permitirá asignar fechas de entrega y presupuestar el trabajo, además permitirá
al ingeniero analizar cada detalle y además si organizamos los niveles
inferiores podremos organizar una matriz morfología o de selección de
componentes de acuerdo con si estamos diseñando o especificando.

PROYECTO DE DISEÑO Y CONSTRUCCION PROTOTIPO KART NACIONAL Costo
Estado Actual
Estimado(mil)
Fecha Inicial
Fecha Final
Variacion
Prioridad
Real(mil)
Controla
Asesora
Ejecuta
Dirige
Nivel 1 Nivel 2 Nivel 3 Nivel 4
1 07 de mAYo de 2007 111 Estructura 111.1 Formas de la Estructura 1 MT LD
2 Grupo Kart Nacional 111.2 Material de la Estructura 1 MT LD
3 Hans Ley 112 Elementos de Rigidez 112.1 Frontal 2 LD MT HL
4 112.2 Posterior 3 LD MT HL
5 113.1 Eje Trasero 3 LD MG MT
6 113.2 Sistema de Dirección 5 LD LC AI MT
7 11 Chasis 113 Puntos de Soporte y Anclaje 113.3 Protecciones 5 AI AI LC
8 113.4 Motor 5 AI AI LC LC
9 113.5 Sistema de Frenos 2 AI MG LC
10 113.6 Sistema de Acelerador 1 AI MG LC
11 114.1 Cadena 5 MT AI HL LD
12 114.2 Carenaje Lateral 5 MT AI HL LD
13 114 Elementos de Protección 114.3 Frontal Carro 5 MT AI HL LD
14 114.4 Posterior 5 MT AI HL LD
15 1 Kart Nacional 114.5 Frontal Piloto 5 MT AI HL LD
16 12 Motor 121 Motor 2T/4T 4 LC FA MT
17 122 Sistema de Combustible 3 LC FA MT
18 123 Sistema de Anclaje 5 LC FA MT
19 131 Tren de Arrastre 5 LC FA LD
20 13 Transmisión 132 Sistema Embrague 5 LC FA LD
21 133 Sistema de Cambios 5 LC FA LD
22 141 Pedal 2 LD MG MT n.a.
23 142 Bomba 2 LD MG MT n.a.
24 14 Sistema de Frenos 143 Mangueras 2 LD MG MT n.a.
25 144 Mordazas 2 LD MG MT n.a.
26 145 Disco + Soporte 2 LD MG MT n.a.
27 146 Pastillas 2 LD MG MT n.a.
28 151 Transmisión de Movimiento 5 MT LC LD n.a.
29 15 Dirección 152 Barras de Dirección 5 MT LC LD n.a.
30 153 Cabrilla 5 MT LC LD n.a.
31 16 Habitáculo 5 LD MG LD
Tel Cel Correo

Alaitz Izaguirre AI 268 45 16 310 891 9941 alaitz.izaguirre@gmail.com Escala de Priooridades
Hans Ley Savelsberg HL 261 95 00 Ext 489 301 419 9129 ley.hans@gmail.com 1 a 5 (De menos a mas)
Felipe Aguirre FA 313 69 34 300 780 72 07felipeam86@gmail.com
Mauricio Toro MT 300 606 1333 mtorores@gmail.com
Luis David Cardona LC 313 509 4847 luida17@hotmail.com
León D. Castaño LD 309 94 80 Ext 108 300 675 9401 leon.castano@moldesmedellin.com.co
Miguel Gómez MG 300 659 1655 miguelangel1707@hotmail.com
EVALUACION DE CONOCIMIENTOS
En el diseño automotriz no hay ningún sustituto para la experiencia, sin
embargo un equipo bien documentado y con buenos conocimientos teóricos es
la segunda mejor opción. Por esto antes de proceder con las tareas que se han
dividido y asumiendo que se de suficiente tiempo para investigar el
coordinador del equipo deberá evaluar los conocimientos de los miembros del
equipo. En este momento cada uno de los equipos debe ser puesto a prueba
sobre las regulaciones de seguridad y los aspectos técnicos que debieron
haber sido investigados para la etapa anterior. Esta fase del diseño es
opcional ya que si el equipo considera que tienen las bases suficientes pues no
tiene necesidad de hacerlo pero se recomienda que cada equipo de trabajo
conozca su área y para esto se recomendara una bibliografía que cada equipo
deberá tener en cuenta a la hora de realizar su desarrollo.
Bibliografía Recomendada
• Aird, Forbes. Automotive Math Handbook. Motorbooks International
• Aird, Forbes. Race Car Chassis Design and Construction. Motorbooks
International.
• Adams, Herb. Chassis Engineering. HP Books.
• Stanifoth, Allan. Competition Car Suspension. Haynes.
• McBeath, Simon. Competition Car Aerodynamics. Haynes.
• Smith, Carroll. Tune to Win. Aero Books.
• Smith, Carroll. Engineer to Win. Aero Books.

• Milliken, William F., and Douglas L. Milliken. Race Car Vehicle
Dynamics. SAE.
En estos libros esta incluida mucha de la información técnica que se debe
conocer antes de aventurarse a diseñar un carro, especialmente la parte
estructural que es tan critica para la seguridad de los pasajeros del vehiculo, se
puede ver que muchos de los libros están dirigidos hacia los deportes a motor,
sin embargo esto se hace porque es en este área donde esta la máxima
tecnología y sorprende la semejanza de los sistemas técnicos, además los
diseñadores de los vehículos de calle nos harían un favor a todos si analizan
algunas de las medidas de seguridad que se utilizan en los vehículos de
competición.
ANALISIS DE VIABILIDAD, MERCADEO Y ESTADO DEL ARTE
Antes de comenzar a pensar en como va a ser el carro el equipo debe hacerse
y responderse de manera satisfactoria las siguientes preguntas.
1. ¿Porque esta diseñando un carro en vez de comprarlo o importarlo?
2. ¿Qué hace que su vehiculo sea mejor que los que actualmente están en
el mercado?
3. ¿Qué gama ocupara el vehiculo que se esta diseñando?
4. ¿Cuál será la autonomía del vehiculo?
5. ¿Cuáles son las condiciones de carga a las que el carro estará
sometido?
6. ¿Cada cuanto se harán actualizaciones o rediseños al vehiculo?

7. ¿Cuáles son las especificaciones de los vehículos de la gama de la que
quiero hacer parte?
8. ¿Con que recursos cuento para el proyecto?
La respuesta a estas preguntas será determinante para orientar el proceso
de diseño y definir la especificaciones del vehiculo, para esto serán
necesarias tanto reflexión como investigación, La investigación se hará
básicamente en tres frentes, la primera es una investigación de mercadeo
con los potenciales clientes, a estos se les preguntara sobre las
características de uso, formas, tamaños, desempeño, etc. Al cliente en las
encuestas se le pregunta básicamente todo lo que se quiere saber y a
donde se va a orientar el diseño, todo excepto una cosa ¿Cuánto pagaría
usted por este vehiculo? O cualquier pregunta por ese estilo, la regla
numero uno del diseño no se le pregunta al cliente cuanto quiere pagar.
Aunque sonaría tentador ya que uno aseguraría que habría un mercado
para el proyecto, en el mundo actual el precio esta dado por el mercado y la
utilidad esta dada por los costos, por ende la mejor manera de determinar el
precio de venta de un vehiculo es realizar un análisis de estado del arte de
vehículos similares. Además hay que tener en cuenta que va a ser muy
poco probable que el vehiculo que se vaya a diseñar sea completamente
novedoso, es mas es muy probable que lo que se vaya a realizar sea
simplemente una innovación en uno de los sistemas del vehiculo, por esto
también resulta muy importante estudiar y analizar que componentes de
cada vehiculo son comerciales abiertamente en el mercado y realizar
trabajos de ingeniería inversa. Es importante orientar el mercadeo hacia las

cuatro p’s del mercadeo que son: Producto, Precio, Plaza y Promoción.
Antes de comenzar el proyecto se debe tener muy claro que es lo que
quiere, cuanto me va a valer, por cuanto lo puedo vender, como lo voy a
promocionar, y a que segmento del mercado le estoy apuntando. Es
importante apuntarle a un segmento determinado del mercado ya que el
tiempo del modelo T ha cambiado y el cliente quiere un vehiculo que se
adapte específicamente a sus necesidades. Esto es sumamente importante
porque determinara el éxito o fracaso de nuestro proyecto y recordemos
que solo un 10% de los vehículos concepto se materializan y por esto es
importante para asegurar que el nuestro se materializa contar con la
aprobación del mercado. Como reporte del estado del arte y ayuda en la
especificación se deberá anexar al proceso un documento de estado del
arte similar a este:
ESTADO DEL ARTE PROYECTO VEHICULO COMPACTO
Mauricio Toro R
Nombre: X-T002 Fabricante: Ligier Modelo: 2008

Trocha: Potencia: 5.36 hp
D/Ejes: Cilindrada: 505cc
Alto:1535mm Pasajeros: 2
Ancho:1440mm Velocidad Máxima:
45km/h
Largo: 2805mm Frenos (D/T):
Nombre: Crossline Super Fabricante: Aixam Modelo: 2008

Luxe
Trocha (D/T): Potencia:
1286/1265mm
1960mm
Alto: Pasajeros: 2
Disco/Tambor
Nombre: Scouty R Fabricante: Aixam Modelo: 2008
Trocha (D/T): Potencia: 5.36hp
1337/1314mm
1744mm
Alto: Pasajeros: 2
45km/h
Disco/Tambor
Nombre: A721 Fabricante: Aixam Modelo: 2008

Trocha (D/T): Potencia:
D/Ejes: Cilindrada:
Alto: Pasajeros:
Ancho: Velocidad Máxima:
45km/h
Largo: Frenos (D/T):
Disco/Tambor
Nombre: M72 Fabricante: Matra Modelo: 2000

Trocha (D/T): 1231mm Potencia: 50hp
D/Ejes: Cilindrada:
Alto: Pasajeros: 2
Ancho: Velocidad Máxima:
100km/h
Disco/Disco
Nombre: Fortwo Fabricante: Smart Modelo: 2008

Trocha (D/T): Potencia: 51/61
1275/1354mm
D/Ejes: 1812mm Cilindrada: 698cc
Alto: 1815mm Pasajeros: 2

Ancho: 1518 Velocidad Máxima:
135km/h
Disco/Tambor
Toda esta información será de utilidad a la hora de realizar el paso siguiente
donde se deberá dimensionar el sistema para poder comenzar la bifurcación de
las tareas de diseño.
ESPECIFICACION Y DIMENSIONADO BASICO DEL SISTEMA
Toda la información recopilada anteriormente nos permitirá realizar una
especificación del sistema orientada tanto a lo que el cliente quiere como los
factores que diferenciaran claramente al vehiculo de la competencia. Para esta
etapa se realizara el PDS o un documento similar en el cual se anotan los
requerimientos del cliente, Se puede realizar un PDS para el vehiculo completo
pero este seria muy masivo ya que cada sistema del vehiculo tendrá sus
propios requerimientos, por esto se recomienda que el equipo o persona
encargada de cada uno de los sistemas realice una especificación de su
sistema y después en reunión del equipo de trabajo se discuta cada una de
estas y la coherencia que debe existir entre las diferentes de cada uno de los
sistemas. Es la labor del coordinador del grupo de trabajo decidir, cuando deba
existir un compromiso entre dos aspectos, cual sistema tiene prioridad sobre el
otro. Este análisis debe ser muy minucioso ya que si existe alguna
incompatibilidad en los PDS a partir de este proceso del diseño y no se
identifica puede causar incompatibilidades en el modelo físico, lo cual traería
costos adicionales y retrasaría el proceso de diseño. A continuación se
presentara un ejemplo de un PDS realizado para un componente aerodinámico
de un vehiculo de competición.
Necesidad Interpretación Métrica Unidad Valor Deseo/Demanda Peso en
Decisión (1-
10)
Que genere Que genere una fuerza de Fuerza Newton Mayor a 1000 Demanda 10
agarre elevación invertida (downforce)
a una velocidad menor a 160
Km/h
Que no pierda Que no genere mucho arrastre Fuerza Newton Menor a 200 Demanda 5
mucha
velocidad
Que no pese Que el material seleccionado y Masa Kg Menor a 8 Demanda 8
mucho el espesor utilizados permitan
minimizar el peso
Que cumpla con Que la envergadura del ala no Longitud mm 1637 Demanda 10
el reglamento sea superior al máximo ancho
permitido
Que cumpla con Que la altura del alerón permita Altura mm Mayor a 50 Demanda 10
el reglamento la visibilidad del tercer stop.
Que sea barato Que los costos de materiales y Precio Dolares Menor a 250 Demanda 9
mano de obra sean bajos
Que se pueda Que permita variar el ángulo del Angulo Grados (°) Entre 0° y 20° Deseo 6
ajustar ataque del alerón
Que sea Que la relación entre downforce Eficiencia Adimensional Mayor que 3 Deseo 7
eficiente y arrastre sea alta
Que sea fácil de Que la manufactura o Tiempo Semanas Menor a 2 Deseo 5
fabricar y reparación del alerón se puedan
reparar realizar en un corto tiempo.
Que sea Que estéticamente haga ver el Aprobación Personas 50% de Deseo 5
deportiva carro mas deportivo encuestados
Una vez se complete la especificación del vehiculo tanto global, como
sistemáticamente se puede proceder a realizar otra actividad extemporánea, la
actividad del diseño de la arquitectura, esta actividad se debe realizar en una
reunión de todo el equipo y para esta se deben considerar parámetros como:
• Ergonomía del conductor y los pasajeros.
• Tamaño de las ruedas, y espacio requerido para que la suspensión
pueda tener todo su recorrido
• Tamaño y ubicación del compartimiento del motor
• Tamaño y ubicación de la transmisión
• Volumen, forma y ubicación del tanque de combustible
• Volumen, forma y ubicación del espacio para el portaequipajes
Una vez se fijan estos parámetros se puede proceder a realizar la división de
tareas.
Fig. 3 Esquema de Arquitectura de un vehiculo diseñado en la Universidad de Missouri,

(USA)
TAREAS ESPECIALIZADAS
No esta en el alcance de este documento enseñarle a los diseñadores a
diseñar o a los ingenieros a calcular y las fases del diseño establecidas en la
primera sección son prácticamente auto explicativas, sin embargo hay dos
cosas en las que se debe hacer hincapié. La primera es la lógica con la que se
deben realizar las tareas de diseño, esta se basa en una filosofía que es
aceptada como “ground up” cuya traducción significa desde el suelo hacia
arriba, esta lógica esta basada en el flujo de las fuerzas y parte de la premisa
que las únicas dos fuentes de fuerzas externas a un carro son las fuerzas
aerodinámicas y mas importante las fuerzas de las ruedas y por ende desde
aquí hacia arriba deberá realizarse el diseño del vehiculo, además resulta ser el
mas lógico desde el punto de vista de los mecanismos porque evita la
existencia de cualquier interferencia. Entonces se diseña de la llanta hacia
arriba pero es importante hacer hincapié en un hecho específico, la parte
estructural del chasis se diseña de última de resto el orden del diseño
mecánico.
La segunda parte en la que se quiere enfatizar es en las matrices de selección,
estas son herramientas que sirven como asistencia para realizar decisiones
objetivas a la hora de seleccionar las opciones que se presentan en un diseño.
Estas metodologías ya están inventadas y en el documento Race Car Design
de Alvaro Gracia (Anexo 1) esta muy claro como estas se deben realizar. Lo
único que se quiere añadir aquí es que el usuario debe fijar muy bien los
criterios de selección y los valores objetivos y no manipular los resultados ya

que de la honestidad del ingeniero con si mismo depende la calidad del
producto.
EVALUACION
Una vez se fabrica el primer prototipo este se debe evaluar, pero su evaluación
no es simplemente salir a dar vueltas en el, es importantísimo saber que
parámetros deben ser medidos y que equipos se deben utilizar, para esto se
hablara un poco de los parámetros importantes para el desarrollo del vehiculo.
Se deben medir las aceleraciones, verticales, laterales y longitudinales en el
carro, en condiciones de uso, abuso e impacto, estas deben ser analizadas y
comparadas con las condiciones de frontera iniciales del proyecto. De las
aceleraciones se pueden interpretar todos los datos desde números de
ingeniera hasta comodidad.
CONCLUSION
Cabe resaltar que el proceso de diseño automotriz es un proceso iterativo y
que es difícil pretender que un vehiculo va a funcionar bien sino se le puede
preguntar a BMW que tuvo en el 2004 un fallo catastrófico con su vehiculo
diseñado por computador, también se debe decir que en el diseño y en
especial el automotriz no existe un sustituto para la experiencia y por esto se
incita a los equipos de diseño que trabajen con gente experimentada que le
pueda transmitir los conocimientos a los miembros jóvenes del equipo.

BIBLIOGRAFIA
• Aird, Forbes. Automotive Math Handbook. Motorbooks International
• Aird, Forbes. Race Car Chassis Design and Construction. Motorbooks
International.
• Adams, Herb. Chassis Engineering. HP Books.
• Stanifoth, Allan. Competition Car Suspension. Haynes.
• McBeath, Simon. Competition Car Aerodynamics. Haynes.
• Smith, Carroll. Tune to Win. Aero Books.
• Smith, Carroll. Engineer to Win. Aero Books.
• Milliken, William F., and Douglas L. Milliken. Race Car Vehicle
Dynamics. SAE.
• Bravo, Santiago. Notas de Clase, Diseño Metodico Semestre 2007-1
Universidad EAFIT Medellín, Colombia.

ANEXO 1
Race Car Design
Study and Understand

Race car design and construction demands a thorough understanding of the systems and
components that make up the car, as well as an understanding of the physics involved.
Before beginning design work on a car, you should understand how things work and why, so
that when designing any individual component, the rest of the car's design intent can be taken
into account.
Learning Sources
The first source for someone without the additional funds for a university degree, should be the
library. Hundreds of books and magazines exist relating to the concepts you will need for
design, and the most useful of these are race car specific. Some of the most useful titles for
general race car design are:
Race Car Chassis Design and Construction - Forbes Aird, ISBN: 0-7603-0283-9 - A book about
chassis design - excellent, with historical info.
Chassis Engineering - Herb Adams, ISBN: 1-55788-055-7 - Handling, suspension design,

physical forces - excellent.
Engineer To Win and other 'To Win' books - Carroll Smith, ISBN: 0-87938-186-8 - Another
excellent book - Metallurgy, engineering tips, nuts/bolts/fasteners, brakes, wheels, plumbing...a
must have book.
Racer's Encyclopedia of Metals, Fibers & Materials - Forbes Aird, ISBN: 0-87938-916-8 - Good
information on materials used in race car fabrication.
Racecar Engineering Magazine - Technical articles on all aspects of race car design.
RaceTech Magazine - Another superb source of technical articles and technology explanations.
A technique that is helpful for the designer-to-be, is to transcribe concepts that are of interest
into a notebook or a computer. Later when working on the design you can easily refer to the
appropriate reference, provided you categorize the information. One thing that cannot be
stressed more...Reading is cheap..Redesigning is expensive.
The second source for design information comes from observation and hands-on. It is a major
advantage to be able to study somebody else's work, especially if their car is winning races.
Better still is the ability to work on a winning car. Good designers connect things in a logical,
and sometimes ingenious way, and observing the nuances of a design with your new found
knowledge is a good way to learn even more.
There is also the internet. While a number of sites on the internet provide good information, it is
darn hard to find. Books are the best way to learn, especially for the new student of race car
design. However, there are a great number of web sites which provide valuable information in
the form of guides, FAQs and tutorials. Searching usually takes a while, and general race car
design principles are probably best learned from books, but sometimes you will run across good
stuff.
The Best Way To Learn

The best way for a would-be designer to learn is by first determining what type of car they wish
to build. Learning everything there is to know about every type of car is admirable (and useful),
but will lengthen the time required to ultimately complete your particular car. Learn all you can
about the physics and features of the class or style you are building for, and you will have built a
fairly solid basis for building a competitive car in that class. Then, be aware of other class
technologies.
What You Must Know

The construction of a race car is not a light matter. If you do not understand critical areas of race
car design, you will likely have a critical failure at some point, which could lead to injury or
death. If a grey area exists in your knowledge, refer to your books or to a mentor who has been
racing for a long time in your chosen class.
Here are the some of the key things you should understand before designing:
Suspension / Handling
• Inertial forces about a car that is cornering, accellerating and braking
• Weight distribution and it's effect on the above
• Tire/wheel properties (Tread, rubber compounds, wheel materials)
• The relationships between tire and road
• The center of gravity and roll center relationship
• Unsprung weight
• Suspension geometry and handling
• Anti-roll bar principles
• Damper/shock absorber principles
• Suspension components, their use and placement for optimum performance
• Troubleshooting methods
Chassis Construction
• Structural design principles, most spaceframe design
• Load and forces which affect the race car
• Designing for the safety of the driver
• Materials and their physical properties (Tensile strength, elasticity, etc.)
• Joining methods (Welding, brazing, etc.)
Engine and Supporting Systems

• A good understanding of the engine and drivetrain
• Intake, cooling and exhaust principles
• Engine placement and mounting principles
• Transmission/Transaxle mounting principles
• Final drive components and placement
• Race car electrical systems
• Troubleshooting methods
Aero/Bodywork
• Principles of aerodynamics (Flow, pressure, etc.)
• Tools of aerodynamics (wings, venturis, flow redirection, etc.)
• Fiber/metal materials for bodywork and their fabrication
• Structural requirements of bodywork and aero devices
• Testing methods
Driver Support Systems

• Driver safety considerations/driver support (Rollover, impacts)
• Ergonomics of driver and controls
Other
• Fuel cells and fuel delivery
• Fire extinguisher systems
• Probably a bunch more....
That about sums it up. The process of designing a race car is started with a solid knowledge
and understanding. The more information you have, even without the benefit of past real-world
experience, the more successful your car will be
Design Approaches
Now that you have studied and understood, it is time to consider the way to approach the
designing of a car.
Firstly, the design process for a race car is linear, that is, each step is followed in succession.
However, being as there are a million different ways to build things, the designer is quite often
forced to consider other components which relate to the area being designed. For example,
when designing the suspension of a car, you inadvertently affect the structural shape of the
car's chassis in and around where the suspension will mount. Therefore, it is wise to construct
the suspension first, keeping in mind the requirements of the things the suspension affects.
Secondly, the design process demands a fair bit of estimation and compromise. Juggling
performance, safety, efficiency and cost are what it's all about. This is where you want
specifications ready to assist you in putting the pieces together.
Before You Get Started

Computers, mostly PCs, are incredibly useful tools for race car design. A good, but optional
investment is solid modeling software. Numerous companies make it, with very few selling
below $5000. The lowest cost, value packed package is probably TurboCAD Solid Modeler.
This software enables the designer to create virtual models of each part, in whatever required
detail, and to create assemblies and finally a whole car. Sometimes training is required, but the
picture it gives is as complete as it gets. For those with a smaller budget, there are still 2D and
3D CAD programs to fit any budget.
Other useful software also includes annotation and information recording/categorizing. Free
tools are available for creating a simple database of information concerning your design.
The Race Car Project Steps

The chart below illustrates the major steps in designing and eventually constructing a car. (See
explanations below) The design steps are discussed in more detail below.
Research Of And Viability of Intended Class of Car is there to put a reality check into place
before any work is done. There are many levels of motorsport and it is important that you
understand the technical difficulty of the class you have chosen. Formula 1 is not a good place
to start. Also consider the cost. Anyway, ask people racing in your intended class for help and
you will probably get it.
At this stage, it is wise to do a scale sketch of the car, in simple side, front, rear and top views.
Assuming you are designing for an existing class, there will be plenty of examples of other's
work, and your car's shape won't change much from the others.
Information and Specifications Gathering is the step where you must go out and source the
parts for your car. Whatever you cannot buy, you must fabricate, and 9 times out of 10 it costs
more to fabricate, so off-the-shelf will result in lower cost. Fabrication does have it's advantages
in that it allows for absolute control and optimization, an important feature in looser rule classes.
Whatever the course of action for a particular part, it is important to know the dimensions,
weight, and features that apply. Catalog or record these figures for later reference. Collect
brochures, and any other product information suitable--the internet has a wealth of companies
offering specs and catalogs.
Use a checklist of parts that the car will need, and collect several examples to chose from when
dealing with race-critical parts. This checklist will be used later when design requirements meet
available parts
Rough Part Selection can be accomplished by first verifying that each of the available part
models can do the job. If one can't, it's eliminated. Then, on the second go round,
considerations such as space (volume) required, weight distribution characteristics, and
aerodynamics can be evaluated and parts which don't fit can be eliminated. Repeating this
process will usually get you down to 1 to 3 possible models. Always save your data. If
requirements change somewhere else on the car, it may make a part you eliminated, feasible
once again.
The part selection process is somewhat simplified if you use your earlier sketches of the car as
templates on which to draw the "spaces" occupied by each part on the checklist. Alot space,
according to your research, keeping in mind weight distribution (Front/rear/left/right), safety,
aerodynamics, and all the other effects the part has depending on placement. Work out several
different layouts if you like, and consider later servicability.
The Preliminary Design is where you translate the pictures you created above into a physical
layout. You must focus on connecting all the parts, with small particulars like nuts and bolts left
out of the picture, except where suspension and driveline are concerned. The idea at this stage,
is to get a starting point. Then, you can use that baseline later when the REAL design work
begins. It is a good idea to use CAD or Solid Modeling software for these tasks, as they are
easily revised.
Part Re-Selection or Re-Design is the next step. When you study your preliminary design, you
should evaluate it for it's acceptability in terms of performance, safety (think impacts from all
four sides, and rollover) and efficiency (how well it works for it's weight and size). If there are
conflicts in the design, or areas that can be improved, make the change, but keep a baseline
copy to go back to if the idea didn't work.
The Final Design is not really the final design. Actually, it is the complete design. This is where
you pull out the drafting paper (hard work), or start your solid modeling package (easiest). The
goal of this design is to assemble the entirety of the parts you have in the design into a cohesive
car. If suspension geometry wasn't considered prior, it is your last chance to consider it without
redesigning. The saying "Built from the ground up" is true. No race can be designed without
starting at the rubber contact patches, and working toward the chassis.
To simplify life, Final Design Testing can be done if you have the right software. These tools
consist of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to test tortional and structural rigity for chassis, Fluid
Dynamics to test aerodynamics, and even tools that allow for ergonomics testing. They are
generally costly, but can be very helpful.
Assuming everything has gone well, the Final Design Refinement and Completion will consist
of small changes and verification that all parts work together, do not bind, etc. At this stage, it
should be clear where every bolt goes, and how many bolts there are in the car. If it's not clear,
then you need to complete your final design. More often then not, this will mean going back to
research some more to find solutions to problems or shortcomings.
Construction, Preliminary Testing, Car Analysis and Refinement and Future Development
notes are planned for the future.
The Race Car Design Process
Outlined in the table below is order in which major components of the race car can be designed,
and some of the related aspects you will need to consider (There are many more than what
are shown!)
Order of
Component Considerations
Design
* Wheel appropriate for application
* Tire appropriate for application
1 Tires/Wheels * Wheel matches the hub/rotor
* Available rotors and calipers are appropriate.
* Unsprung weight is acceptable
Hub/Rotor * Hub/Rotor appropriate for application
assembly, Wheel * Same for bearings/spindles
2 bearings, spindle, * Upright/knuckle design
Uprights ("At the * Suspension geometry design
wheel" suspension) * Loads affecting these components
Suspension * Strong enough for application
3 wishbones/axle * Aerodynamics for exposed wishbones
shafts, housings * Mounting positions on chassis
* Shocks/spring/anti-roll bar appropriate for
application
Shocks/springs/anti- * Mounting considerations
4
roll bar * Leveraging (pivot) considerations and mounting
* Spring/damping rate appropriate for travel,
adjustability, vehicle weight, etc.?
* Steering ratio
* Left/right wheel movement (Toe in/out) through
5 Steering
suspension travel
* Mounting location on chassis
* Strong, intrusion-preventing safety cell for the
driver
* Good ergonomics for controls and seating. Good
visual field
* Pedals/Steering wheel positioning correct for driver
6 Driver cockpit * Position for weight distribution
* Appropriate steel tubing, bend radius for
roll bar.
* No protrusions that could cause injury to
driver
(This step could arguably be with suspension and
steering, as it guides motor placement, if that course
is preferred)
7 Driveline * Determined torque handling for chassis

* Mounting of differential
* Driveshafts/Chain
* Path of driving force not a wild angles
* Proper materials used in high stress drive
shafts/half shafts
* Determined torque handling for chassis and
mounting positions
Engine placement
8 * Exhaust clearance and temperatures
and mounting
* Fuel and air delivery
* Cooling system proximity
* Weight distribution
* Transmission placement/weight
* Positioned as far away from driver as possible
* As close to center of gravity longtitudinally and
laterally, but as close to the ground as possible
vertically
9 Fuel Cell * Relative position to engine
* Fuel pump or delivery
* Safety level (Degree of protection) appropriate
* Mounting in chassis
* Refuelling opening is located away from driver
* In accessible location, for maintenance
Electrical/Engine * Relative close position to engine
10
Management/Battery * Battery located anywhere, but use for weight
distribution
* Chassis structure focused on handling forces
generated by suspension mounts and steering
11 Front chassis
* Addresses safety, preferably through extended
crumble zone(s). well ahead of the driver's legs.
* Chassis structure focused on handling forces from
Driver Safety cell side, frontal, and rear impacts as well as rollovers.
12
Chassis * Anti-intrusion panelling to protect driver
* Position for weight distribution
* Chassis structure focused on handling forces
generated by suspension mounts, as well as
13 Rear chassis driveline torque
* Addresses safety, via impact zones, or at least
prevents engine intrusion into cockpit.
* Light as possible
14 Bodywork * Aerodynamically attains goals of design
* Optimizes air flow allowed by class rules
There are quite a few more. The point however, is that the more you understand about the car
you are designing, the more you will consider when designing.
You will notice that the suspension is first in the design areas, then the engine, cockpit,
electrical, and safety concerns are addressed. Finally, the chassis is designed around the
requirements created before it. Each aspect listed above can be thought of as requiring you to
consider every other aspect further down in the list. So, to select the tires and wheels, you must
consider the entire car's dynamic requirements right through to aerodynamic shape.
Two final words of advice. First, know the properties and parameters of what you are designing
by consulting racers in your intended class. Second, understand the fundamental workings and
physics affecting your race car. Combine the two, and you will understand what needs to be
where in your car, and how strong everything needs to be to hold out for that chequered flag!
Starting From The Rules

A good way to start your first race car is to build from a set of rules. While the rules won't tell
you the best supplier of a part, they will simplify the variables of your design by specifying
certain part models be used. Where you find the parts is your business.
In sanctioned classes where a great many properties of the car design are specified in the rules,
it is easier and cheaper to obtain parts because manufacturers are usually specified in the rules.
Looser rule books usually mean the freedom to explore more exotic materials and systems, a
more costly proposition.
Incorporating Rules Into The Design Process

Assuming you pick the class which suits your ability, you will want to make sure your design
complies with the rules. For the rules-based designer, every component or part must be
checked for compliance. This is not as difficult as it sounds (except in engine and drivetrain).
The first place to start is by sketching out the approximate shape, in scale, of the car you intend
to build (and try to follow the lead of winners in your intended class). Having diagrams of the
engine and other components you intend to use is also helpful. Once the sketch is satisfactory,
make copies of it so that you can annotate the (usually) many rules on them. Attach to the
annotated sketch, a list of any rules which may be important but not visually drawn. All together,
this will give you a picture of what you can and can't do in particular areas.
As you design, refer to the sketches and lists to guide decision making. When you have found
the right part, mark it, so that it is known that the rule has been adheared to. And when re-
selecting parts, always review the rules relating to them. Annotate any ideas which are grey
areas. In the future it may be wise to get them cleared with the sanctioning body.
One last comment, is that you should verify the rules aren't going to change drastically, before
designing anything. There is no reason for not contacting the sanctioning body before beginning
work.
Starting From Scratch

Starting from scratch is not easy. The only real reason for designing without the rule book is to
start a new class and usually, to gain sanctioning, you need to follow basic rules (ie. FIA's
Formula Libre - Free formula).
When designing without intrusive rules, one is free to explore cost, performance, and styling.
However, the job is more difficult because of the vast array of available parts. What defines
most cars are the cost, performance and styling requirements. If for instance, low cost is to be
achieved, then all the parts and labour would have to be relatively low cost and therefore mass
produced -- Hence, you might look at stock auto parts to cut costs.
Every existing class has something to offer in the way of standards, parameters, etc. learned
over the years. A new or inexperienced designer will pillage, pillage, pillage from everyone
else's best efforts, optimizing his/her car with the information gained--no harm in that. A good
designer will pillage, then improve, in order to best his/her opponents. And finally, the gurus of
design, will pillage some, study a lot, and experiment with new ideas to outpace the competition.
When designing without a great number of rules, still anotate them into a categorized list. In
addition, you should outline aspects of the car that must comply with your vision/concept.
Always refer back to these lists when making decisions.
Engineering Considerations
As you design, it is important that you can gauge the requirements of your engineering work.
The nature of the race car's normal operation and fatigue life depend on the structure and
material composition of the car. Therefore, topics such as metallurgy and structural design are
important for the designer to grasp.
The whole concept of engineering considerations is that you keep in mind four aspects, where
they are appropriate:
Performance vs. Strength vs.
Safety
Weight
Durability (Life) Cost
If you can optimize all four of these aspects, to select a most appropriate component, or
structure for your car, then you are already winning (or at least saving your neck)
Safety is a first consideration. If your car has proven safety, it will be a great confidence boost
to the driver. Where appropriate, save your neck by using a quality solution.
Performance vs. Strength vs. Weight is another factor that applies to every component on a
car
Durability comes into the picture mostly as a factor of weight penalty or cost.
And finally Cost represents the ultimate limiting factor on most everything. If you can't afford it, it
doesn't matter how well it performs.
Each of the following sample questions ask the designer to address each of the four factors is
some way, and to strike a balance between them.
Sample Questions About Engineering Considerations

What is the tortional rigidity of the chassis? Is it sufficient for the class you are running
in? Can it be improved?
What is a front/side/rear impact going to do to the chassis, at specific speeds of
impact.
Are sufficient anti-intrusion measures in place
Is the structural design of mounts for suspension, engine and drivetrain adequate for
the loads they are to carry?
Is the safety roll bar adequate for protection?
Is the aerodynamic body design condusive to lift or to downforce? (Good to know,
especially for high speed racing)
Is the body optimized for aerodynamics? Assuming the suspension and wheels are
unchangeable, can any part of the body be changed, to improve aerodynamics? Don't
break the rules, should you be using them.
Is the suspension free of bind?
Is the driveline clear of any obstructions or sensitive areas?
Does spring and damper selection reflect the conditions to be expected at various
tracks?
What is the unsprung mass of the tire/wheel/suspension, and can it be improved
within rule limits?
What are the electrical wiring requirements for the entire car? A final design should
include wiring, in order to evaluate potential problems.
Are the most sensitive components of the car shielded adequately from elements and
temperatures?
Are the driver ergonomics such that control operations are all adequate, for drivers of
varying heights/weights? (or perhaps just your height/weight)?
Is the fuel cell compartment adequately designed to prevent fire from igniting fuel after
a mechanical failure or accident-related impact?
Are the metallic and non-metallic materials used (especially in the engine bay),
capable of withstanding the expected engine tempatures?
Are all the appropriate critical components safety wired?
Are all holes and cuts in metal properly designed so as to minimize crack
propagation?
Is the driver safe from head banging protrusions?
This is just small example of the questions you will be able to answer, given a good study of
engineering principles. You will be able to answer many more, assuming you spend a
considerable amount of time getting aquainted with the knowledge.
Part Requirements
For the scratch builder, probably one of the most time-consuming aspects of race car design is
determining the correct part and finding a good, reliable source for it. For the builder of an
existing class car, the job is somewhat simpler as other racers in that class can recommend
parts and sources.
Either way, the job of determining part requirements is pretty much the same. The first step is to
list the parts required for your car which demand space, carry a weight penalty, or are
absolutely required (either by rules or personal design). This covers pretty much everything in
the car!
Keeping a list of parts along with the potential sources and models that fit the application, you
can build up a series of choices, from which you can optimize for the best package.
Click here to see the parts checklist . It is limited to the larger, common items, and in your
research you will probably come across things which are not on this list.
Depending on your goals or vision for the car, you will pick potential models of parts which
conform to that vision. ie. If you are building for low cost, potential models will be geared toward
low cost. If a particular part is not available, then fabrication may be the only alternative. It
certainly costs more than a mass produced part, but the results are very in tune with your
needs.
Also, you will probably encounter a situation in where in order to gain the advantages of a
particular part, you must use the rest of the parts from the same manufacturer or donor car (up
to a point). For instance, to use a particular bolt pattern wheel, you must have a hub that
matches, suitable disc rotors, proper spindle, and suitable bearings. All these parts work in an
assembly, and in the end require you to take the perfect part with the less than perfect, unless
each part is optimized already.
The end result of all the research and communicating, will be a short list of parts that, when
used in the right combination with others, will produce superior results. Prior to design, you will
need to determine which part combos work in this superior way.
Balancing Requirements
In the end, all this design work culminates into a final design which balances all priorities in a
neat fashion. In fact, looking back at your choices, you can gain a sense of pride in knowing that
your brain has given each one it's due attention.
So how do you balance requirements? A matrix is a good tool. By rating several parts or their
interactions, one can decide if a part is useful over a broader range of criteria.
Consider wheels. Here is a matrix defining the criteria:
Does it suit the

Is the required tread of Brake disc cooling
Wheel brand MNO hub wheel nut
tire available? by design?
pattern?
Xyz, Inc. 15 x 7 No Yes Yes
Abc, Inc. 15 x 7 Yes Yes No
Simple as it is, it shows that right off the bat, the Xyz wheel is not going to work with the
preferred MNO hub. However, maybe another hub would work too, a further criteria. However,
disregarding this fact, it is apparent that the disc rotor would be better cooled with the Xyz
wheel. This is a compromise and an integral part of balancing requirements.
The designer would at this point have the choice of either scrapping both wheel models, and
finding more sources and examples, or settling for the Abc wheel.
It is important to keep safety at heart as well. Performance is best had in a car that can handle
the lumps should something go wrong. Drivers will want to get back in if they don't have to be
extracted. If cost is a limitation, then performance will have to suffer to offer the lower cost.
Balancing Your Time

As a final word for this section, you should make building your race car an enjoyable
experience. Sacrificing relationships and relaxation time, over the long haul required to build a
car, is not healthy. Pace yourself, and enjoy life, and if deadlines really beckon, then push,
push, push!
Good luck!
Tips: Aerodynamics
The following tips and information focus on how to optimize aerodynamics. Depending on class
rules, these suggestions may or may not be valid. Always check your regulations.
General Aerodynamics Principles
• Drag
• Lift/Downforce
• Drag Coefficient
• Frontal Area
Aerodynamic Devices
• Scoops/Positive pressure intakes

• NACA Ducts
• Spoilers
• Wings
Aerodynamics Design Tips

General Aerodynamic Principals
Drag
A simple definition of aerodynamics is the study of the flow of air around and through a vehicle,
primarily if it is in motion. To understand this flow, you can visualize a car moving through the
air. As we all know, it takes some energy to move the car through the air, and this energy is
used to overcome a force called Drag.
Drag, in vehicle aerodynamics, is comprised primarily of two forces. Frontal pressure is caused
by the air attempting to flow around the front of the car. As millions of air molecules approach
the front grill of the car, they begin to compress, and in doing so raise the air pressure in front of
the car. At the same time, the air molecules travelling along the sides of the car are at
atmospheric pressure, a lower pressure compared to the molecules at the front of the car.
Just like an air tank, if the valve to the lower pressure atmosphere outside the tank is opened,
the air molecules will naturally flow to the lower pressure area, eventually equalizing the
pressure inside and outside the tank. The same rules apply to cars. The compressed molecules
of air naturally seek a way out of the high pressure zone in front of the car, and they find it
around the sides, top and bottom of the car. See the diagram below.
Rear vacuum (a non-technical term, but very descriptive) is caused by the "hole" left in the air
as the car passes through it. To visualize this, imagine a bus driving down a road. The blocky
shape of the bus punches a big hole in the air, with the air rushing around the body, as
mentioned above. At speeds above a crawl, the space directly behind the bus is "empty" or like
a vacuum. This empty area is a result of the air molecules not being able to fill the hole as
quickly as the bus can make it. The air molecules attempt to fill in to this area, but the bus is
always one step ahead, and as a result, a continuous vacuum sucks in the opposite direction of
the bus. This inability to fill the hole left by the bus is technically called Flow detachment. See
the diagram below.
Flow detachment applies only to the "rear vacuum" portion of the drag equation, and it is really
about giving the air molecules time to follow the contours of a car's bodywork, and to fill the hole
left by the vehicle, it's tires, it's suspension and protrusions (ie. mirrors, roll bars). If you have
witnessed the Le Mans race cars, you will have seen how the tails of these cars tend to extend
well back of the rear wheels, and narrow when viewed from the side or top. This extra bodywork
allows the air molecules to converge back into the vaccum smoothly along the body into the
hole left by the car's cockpit, and front area, instead of having to suddenly fill a large empty
space.
The reason keeping flow attachment is so important is that the force created by the vacuum far
exceeds that created by frontal pressure, and this can be attributed to the Turbulence created
by the detachment.
Turbulence generally affects the "rear vacuum" portion of the drag equation, but if we look at a
protrusion from the race car such as a mirror, we see a compounding effect. For instance, the
air flow detaches from the flat side of the mirror, which of course faces toward the back of the
car. The turbulence created by this detachment can then affect the air flow to parts of the car
which lie behind the mirror. Intake ducts, for instance, function best when the air entering them
flows smoothly. Therefore, the entire length of the car really needs to be optimized (within
reason) to provide the least amount of turbulence at high speed. See diagram below (Light
green indicates a vacuum-type area behind mirror):
Lift (or Downforce)

One term very often heard in race car circles is Downforce. Downforce is the same as the lift
experienced by airplane wings, only it acts to press down, instead of lifting up. Every object
travelling through air creates either a lifting or downforce situation. Race cars, of course use
things like inverted wings to force the car down onto the track, increasing traction. The average
street car however tends to create lift. This is because the car body shape itself generates a low
pressure area above itself.
How does a car generate this low pressure area? According to Bernoulli, the man who defined
the basic rules of fluid dynamics, for a given volume of air, the higher the speed the air
molecules are travelling, the lower the pressure becomes. Likewise, for a given volume of air,
the lower the speed of the air molecules, the higher the pressure becomes. This of course only
applies to air in motion across a still body, or to a vehicle in motion, moving through still air.
When we discussed Frontal Pressure, above, we said that the air pressure was high as the air
rammed into the front grill of the car. What is really happening is that the air slows down as it
approaches the front of the car, and as a result more molecules are packed into a smaller
space. Once the air Stagnates at the point in front of the car, it seeks a lower pressure area,
such as the sides, top and bottom of the car.
Now, as the air flows over the hood of the car, it's loses pressure, but when it reaches the
windscreen, it again comes up against a barrier, and briefly reaches a higher pressure. The
lower pressure area above the hood of the car creates a small lifting force that acts upon the
area of the hood (Sort of like trying to suck the hood off the car). The higher pressure area in
front of the windscreen creates a small (or not so small) downforce. This is akin to pressing
down on the windshield.
Where most road cars get into trouble is the fact that there is a large surface area on top of the
car's roof. As the higher pressure air in front of the wind screen travels over the windscreen, it
accellerates, causing the pressure to drop. This lower pressure literally lifts on the car's roof as
the air passes over it. Worse still, once the air makes it's way to the rear window, the notch
created by the window dropping down to the trunk leaves a vacuum, or low pressure space that
the air is not able to fill properly. The flow is said to detach and the resulting lower pressure
creates lift that then acts upon the surface area of the trunk. This can be seen in old 1950's
racing sedans, where the driver would feel the car becoming "light" in the rear when travelling at
high speeds. See the diagram below.
Not to be forgotten, the underside of the car is also responsible for creating lift or downforce. If a
car's front end is lower than the rear end, then the widening gap between the underside and the
road creates a vacuum, or low pressure area, and therefore "suction" that equates to
downforce. The lower front of the car effectively restricts the air flow under the car. See the
diagram below.
So, as you can see, the airflow over a car is filled with high and low pressure areas, the sum of
which indicate that the car body either naturally creates lift or downforce.
Drag Coefficient
The shape of a car, as the aerodynamic theory above suggests, is largely responsible for how
much drag the car has. Ideally, the car body should:
• Have a small grill, to minimize frontal pressure.

• Have minimal ground clearance below the grill, to minimize air flow under
the car.
• Have a steeply raked windshield to avoid pressure build up in front.
• Have a "Fastback" style rear window and deck, to permit the air flow to
stay attached.
• Have a converging "Tail" to keep the air flow attached.
• Have a slightly raked underside, to create low pressure under the car, in
concert with the fact that the minimal ground clearance mentioned above
allows even less air flow under the car.
If it sounds like we've just described a sports car, you're right. In truth though, to be
ideal, a car body would be shaped like a tear drop, as even the best sports cars
experience some flow detachment. However, tear drop shapes are not condusive to the
area where a car operates, and that is close to the ground. Airplanes don't have this
limitation, and therefore teardrop shapes work.
What all these "ideal" attributes stack up to is called the Drag coefficient (Cd). The
best road cars today manage a Cd of about 0.28. Formula 1 cars, with their wings and
open wheels (a massive drag component) manage a minimum of about 0.75.
If we consider that a flat plate has a Cd of about 1.0, an F1 car really seems inefficient,
but what an F1 car lacks in aerodynamic drag efficiency, it makes up for in downforce
and horsepower.
Frontal Area
Drag coefficient, by itself is only useful in determining how "Slippery" a vehicle is. To understand
the full picture, we need to take into account the frontal area of the vehicle. One of those new
aerodynamic semi-trailer trucks may have a relatively low Cd, but when looked at directly from
the front of the truck, you realize just how big the Frontal Area really is.
It is by combining the Cd with the Frontal area that we arrive at the actual drag induced by the
vehicle.
Aerodynamic Devices
Scoops
Scoops, or positive pressure intakes, are useful when high volume air flow is desireable and
almost every type of race car makes use of these devices. They work on the principle that the
air flow compresses inside an "air box", when subjected to a constant flow of air. The air box
has an opening that permits an adequate volume of air to enter, and the expanding air box itself
slows the air flow to increase the pressure inside the box. See the diagram below:
NACA Ducts
NACA ducts are useful when air needs to be drawn into an area which isn't exposed to the
direct air flow the scoop has access to. Quite often you will see NACA ducts along the sides of a
car. The NACA duct takes advantage of the Boundary layer, a layer of slow moving air that
"clings" to the bodywork of the car, especially where the bodywork flattens, or does not
accellerate or decellerate the air flow. Areas like the roof and side body panels are good
examples. The longer the roof or body panels, the thicker the layer becomes (a source of drag
that grows as the layer thickens too).
Anyway, the NACA duct scavenges this slower moving area by means of a specially shaped
intake. The intake shape, shown below, drops in toward the inside of the bodywork, and this
draws the slow moving air into the opening at the end of the NACA duct. Vorticies are also
generated by the "walls" of the duct shape, aiding in the scavenging. The shape and depth
change of the duct are critical for proper operation.
Typical uses for NACA ducts include engine air intakes and cooling.
Spoilers
Spoilers are used primarily on sedan-type race cars. They act like barriers to air flow, in order to
build up higher air pressure in front of the spoiler. This is useful, because as mentioned
previously, a sedan car tends to become "Light" in the rear end as the low pressure area above
the trunk lifts the rear end of the car. See the diagram below:
Front air dams are also a form of spoiler, only their purpose is to restrict the air flow from going
under the car.
Wings
Probably the most popular form of aerodynamic aid is the wing. Wings perform very efficiently,
generating lots of downforce for a small penalty in drag. Spoiler are not nearly as efficient, but
because of their practicality and simplicity, spoilers are used a lot on sedans.
The wing works by differentiating pressure on the top and bottom surface of the wing. As
mentioned previously, the higher the speed of a given volume of air, the lower the pressure of
that air, and vice-versa. What a wing does is make the air passing under it travel a larger
distance than the air passing over it (in race car applications). Because air molecules
approaching the leading edge of the wing are forced to separate, some going over the top of the
wing, and some going under the bottom, they are forced to travel differing distances in order to
"Meet up" again at the trailing edge of the wing. This is part of Bernoulli's theory.
What happens is that the lower pressure area under the wing allows the higher pressure area
above the wing to "push" down on the wing, and hence the car it's mounted to. See the diagram
below:
Wings, by their design require that there be no obstruction between the bottom of the wing and
the road surface, for them to be most effective. So mounting a wing above a trunk lid limits the
effectiveness.
Aerodynamic Design Tips
• Cover Open wheels. Open wheels create a great deal of drag

and air flow turbulence, similar to the diagram of the mirror above.
Full covering bodywork is probably the best solution, if legal by
regulations, but if partial bodywork is permitted, placing a
converging fairing behind the wheel provides maximum benefit.
• Minimize Frontal Area. It's no coincidence that Formula 1 cars
are very narrow. It is usually much easier to reduce FA (frontal
area) than the Cd (Drag coefficient), and top speed and
accelleration will be that much better.
• Converge Bodywork Slowly. Bodywork which quickly converges
or is simply truncated, forces the air flow into turbulence, and
generates a great deal of drag. As mentioned above, it also can
affect aerodynamic devices and bodywork further behind on the
car body.
• Use Spoilers. Spoilers are widely used on sedan type cars such
as NASCAR stock cars. These aerodynamic aids produce
downforce by creating a "dam" at the rear lip of the trunk. This
dam works in a similar fashion to the windshield, only it creates
higher pressure in the area above the trunk.
• Use Wings. Wings are the inverted version of what you find on
aircraft. They work very efficiently, and in less aggressive forms
generate more downforce than drag, so they are loved in many
racing circles. Wings are not generally seen in concert with
spoilers, as they both occupy similar locations, and defeat each
other's purpose.
• Use Front Air Dams. Air dams at the front of the car restrict the
flow of air reaching the underside of the car. This creates a lower
pressure area under the car, effectively providing downforce.
• Use Aerodynamics to Assist Car Operation. Using car
bodywork to direct airflow into sidepods, for instance, permits
more efficient (ie. smaller FA) sidepods. Quite often, with some
for-thought, you can gain an advantage over a competitor by
these small dual purpose techniques.
Another useful technique is to use the natural high and low pressure areas created by
the bodywork to perform functions. For instance, Mercedes, back in the 1950s placed
radiator outlets in the low pressure zone behind the driver. The air inlet pressure which
fed the radiator became less critical, as the low pressure outlet area literally sucked air
through the radiator.
A useful high pressure area is in front of the car, and to make full use of this area, the
nose of the car is often slanted downward. This allows the higher air pressure to push
down on the nose of the car, increasing grip. It also has the advantage of permitting
greater driver visibility.
• Keep Protrusions Away From The Bodywork. The smooth
airflow achieved by proper bodywork design can be messed up
quite easily if a protrusion such as a mirror is too close to it. Many
people will design very aerodynamic mounts for the mirror, but will
fail to place the mirror itself far enough from the bodywork.
• Rake the chassis. The chassis, as mentioned in the
aerodynamics theory section above, is capable of being slightly
lower to the ground in the front than in the rear. The lower "Nose"
of the car reduces the volume of air able to pass under the car,
and the higher "Tail" of the car creates a vacuum effect which
lowers the air pressure.
• Cover Exposed Wishbones. Exposed wishbones (on open wheel
cars) are usually made from circular steel tube, to save cost.
However, these circular tubes generate turbulence. It would be
much better to use oval tubing, or a tube fairing that creates an
oval shape over top of the round tubing. See diagram below:
Tips: Chassis
The following tips and information focus on how to optimize a race car chassis, specifically the
spaceframe-type chassis. Depending on class rules, these suggestions may or may not be
valid. Always check your regulations.
General Spaceframe Chassis Principles
Chassis Design Tips
General Spaceframe Chassis Principals
Spaceframes
The spaceframe chassis is about as old as the motorsport scene. It's construction consists of
steel or aluminum tubes placed in a triangulated format, to support the loads from suspension,
engine, driver and aerodynamics.
Spaceframes are popular today in amateur motorsport because of their simplicity. Most
everyone who has access to a level workshop, a saw, measuring tools, and a welder of some
kind can build one.
There are also some inherent advantages to using spaceframes at the amateur level of
motorsport as well. Spaceframes, unlike the monocoque chassis used in modern Formula 1 or
CART, are easily repaired and inspected for damage.
So how does triangulation work? The diagram below shows a box, with a top, bottom and two
sides, but the box is missing the front and back. The box when pushed, collapses easily
because there is no support in the front or back.
Of course, race cars need to be supported in order to operate properly, and so we triangulate
the box by bracing it diagonally. This effectively adds the front and back which were missing,
only instead of using panels, we use tubes to form the brace. See below:
The triangulated box above imparts strength by stressing the green diagonal in Tension.
Tension is the force trying to pull at both ends of the diagonal. Another force is called
Compression. Compression tries to push at both ends of the diagonal (Shown above in the
horizontal yellow tube). In a given size and diameter tube or diagonal, compression will always
cause the tube to buckle long before the same force would cause the tube to pull apart in
tension. As an experiment, try pulling on the ends of a pop can, one end in each hand. Then, try
crushing the can by pushing on both ends. The crushing is much easier, or at least humanly
possible, compared to pulling the can apart.
Spaceframes are really all about tubes held together in compression and tension using 3D
pyramid-style structures, and diagonally braced tube boxes. A true spaceframe is capable of
holding it's shape, even if the joints between the tubes were hinges. In practice, a true
spaceframe is not practical, and so many designers "cheat" by using stronger materials to
support the open portions of the structure, such as the cockpit opening.
In contrast to spaceframes, the monocoque chassis uses panels, just like the sides of the box
pictured above. Instead of small tubes forming the shape of a box, an entire panel provides the
strength for a given side.
A common shape for 1960s cars of monocoque construction was the "cigar". The cylindrical
shape helped impart something called Tortional rigidity. Tortional rigidity is the amount of twist
in the chassis accompanying suspension movement. See the diagram below.
Tortional rigidity applies to spaceframes too, but because a spaceframe isn't made from
continuous sheet metal or composite panels, the structure is used to approximate the same
result as the difficult to twist "cigar car".
Another reason tortional rigidity is mentioned here is that it greatly affects the suspension
performance. The suspension itself is designed to allow the wheels/tires to follow the road's
bumps and dips. If the chassis twists when a tire hits a bump, it acts like part of the suspension,
meaning that tuning the suspension is difficult or impossible. Ideally, the chassis should be ultra-
rigid, and the suspension compliant.
It is important to ensure that the entire chassis supports the loads expected, and does so with
very little flex.
Chassis Design Tips
• Design the chassis after the suspension One of the biggest mistake
novices make is to design the chassis before the suspension. It is much
easier to design a tentative suspension according to the rules and good
geometry, and then build the chassis to conform to suspension mounting
points and springs/damper mounts. See our Design Approaches section
for more information.
• Consider the load paths. A chassis is not about "absorbing" energy, but
rather about support. When considering placement of tubes, visualize the
"load paths". Load paths are defined as the forces resulting from
accellerating and decellerating, in the longtitudinal and lateral directions
which follow the tubing from member to member. The first forces which
come to mind are suspension mounts, but things like the battery and
driver place stresses on the spaceframe structure.
• Maximize CG placement and vehicle balance. Center of gravity affects
the race car like a pendulum. The ideal place for the CG is absolutely
between the front and rear wheels and the left and right wheels. Placing
the CG fore or aft or left or right of this point means that weight transfers
unevenly depending on which way the car is turning, and whether it is
accellerating or decellerating. The further from this ideal point, the more
one end of the car acts like a pendulum, and the more difficult it is to
optimize handling. The CG is also height dependant. Placing an engine
higher off the ground raises the CG, and forces larger amounts of weight
to transfer when cornering, accellerating, or decellerating. The goal of
vehicle design is to keep all four wheels planted if possible, to maximize
grip, so placing all parts in the car at their lowest possible location will
help lower the CG. Of course, in terms of spaceframe design, you have
to leave space for each of the parts.
• Layout the tube members for easy access and maintenance.
Maintaining a race car comes after construction. Placing tubes across
openings is a natural way of ensuring a rigid chassis. However, in
practical terms, you may be making it difficult or impossible to reach the
mainenance demanding components. A good chassis design will allow
quick and easy access to all components, and will not hamper removal or
replacement of any part.
• Check out cars which are competitive in your class. Cars which are
competitive are usually built well, and with appropriate materials and
methods. Observe these cars at the track and in the pits, and you can
infer a great deal about what makes them winners.
• Optimize the tubing shape for the job. Square tubing, which is known
for it's ease of cutting and joining is better in situations where bending
forces occur. However, round tubing is generally stronger in all other
cases, albeit at a penalty in the complexity of construction.
• Optimize the tubing size and gauge for the job. Tubing which is used
in tension, can be of a lighter gauge than that used in compression.
Keeping this in mind can save considerable weight, although it requires
additional joining work and variety of tubing.
Tips: Suspension
The following tips and information focus on how to optimize a race car suspension. Because of
the numerous types of suspension, we suggest you read some excellent books that cover this
topic in much more detail. Depending on class rules, these suggestions may or may not be
valid. Always check your regulations.
General Suspension Design Principles
Suspension Design Tips
General Suspension Design Principals
Unsprung Weight
Unsprung weight is a measurement of the weight of everything outboard of the wishbones or
suspension links, plus 1/2 of the weight of the wishbones or links and spring/shock. It has a
great effect on handling. The diagram below demonstrates why unsprung weight is so
important:
The more weight outboard of the car, the more force bumps exert on the suspension (and
ultimately the chassis). This force must be dealt with using springs, dampers and anti-roll bars
(described below), and the more force, the more difficult it is to keep the tire planted on the
road. This is especially true of lighter weight cars. In the example above, if the car weighs 1000
lbs, a 2G bump would result in a vertical force of 10% of the car's weight. This will at the very
least reduce the grip of the car, because the weight of the car is what keeps the tire planted,
and pushing a car up into the air with that much force will inevitably reduce the weight on the
tire, and hence grip.
Tires
As the first point of contact with the road, the tires work in conjunction with the suspension
geometry and weight transfer dynamics to provide grip. Many different types of tires exist, but
provided you are building for a specific class, you can easily select a particularly good or
popular tire.
The grip provided by a tire is linked to the coefficient of friction (Cf) of the rubber compound and
to the tire's construction (Radial/bias). This coefficient indicates the lateral grip the tire is
capable of providing for a given weight being placed on it. Racing slicks are very high Cf tires, in
the range of 1.0 or more. Street radials, on the other hand, rarely even approach 1.0. So what is
in a number? If you were to place 500 lbs weight onto each of four tires with a Cf of 1.0, you
could expect 2000 lbs (actually a little less) of lateral grip. Without aerodynamic aids to add to
vehicle weight, the car would almost achieve a 1G turn.
Wheels
Of course, the wheel is what the tire mounts on. Wheels also come in a myriad of widths, sizes
and materials.
The primary types of wheels used in racing are alloy and steel.
Alloy wheels can be constructed to very minimal weights, as alloying materials such as
aluminum and magnesium can be used. They are also generally much more expensive than
their steel counterparts, but they also lack the dent resistance of steel wheels. An alloy wheel,
when struck by a curb will sometimes shatter, and possibly worse, crack (only later to fly apart!).
Nonetheless, for most motorsports series, alloys are the choice.
Steel wheels can also be constructed to amazingly low weights. Their cost is quite a bit less
than the alloys, due mostly to lower cost construction. Steel wheels are deformable when struck,
and will usually allow air to leak out of the tire, as opposed to shattering. NASCAR, and the
general stock car scene use steel wheels due to the extreme forces encountered by 2 ton cars.
Uprights (Wishbone suspension)/Knuckles

The upright or knuckle attaches the wheel, brake rotor, hub, brake caliper and steering arm to
the car (of course, the wishbones and control arm(s) do the final attachment to the chassis)
The upright or knuckle determines the king-pin inclination, and the final camber, caster, and toe
settings of the wheel and tire. These various factors are demonstrated in the diagram below.
Kingpin Inclination determines steering feel to a great extent. In the front view above, the red
line on the right represents the center line of the tire/wheel. The kingpin inclination is several
degrees, the angle between the center line and the line running through the upright or knuckle.
The kingpin inclination determines steering effort, and feedback.
Scrub radius is the distance from the centerline of the tire/wheel to where the kingpin line
intersects with the road surface. The larger the distance, the more effort is required to turn the
wheel, as the wheel has to "scrub" slightly to turn around the kingpin axis.
Camber is the angle between vertical (perpendicular to a flat road surface) and the "lean" of the
tire/wheel. In the diagram above, negative camber of about 2 or 3 degrees is shown. Negative
camber is often used to offset the normally positive change in camber as the wheel moves up.
The concept of camber is simply to keep the tire contact patch as large as possible through the
complete range of suspension motion.
Toe-In/Out is a slight steering angle that is preset into the suspension. Toe-in has the tires
pointing slightly toward the center of the car's front. Toe-out has the cars pointing slightly away
from the car. In the diagram above, there is zero toe-in/out. Toe-in/out is used to offset the
natural change in toe position caused by braking and accelleration.
Caster is the angle from vertical of the upright/knuckle, when viewing the wheel/tire from the
side. This angle is used to create a gyroscopic effect on steering. This is easily demonstrated by
turning the steering wheel in the car and then letting go of the wheel (Do this in an empty
parking lot!). The caster causes the steering to correct itself back to straight ahead, instead of
turning, without the need for driver input.
As you can well imagine, all these factors work together to produce a varying contact patch and
steering feel in the car. Software exists for designing suspensions, and a computer makes it
easy to see changes and how they affect the contact patch of the tire.
Like the wheel and tire, weight here plays an important part as well.
Wishbones/Control Arms
Wishbones and control arms connect the previously mentioned upright or knuckle to the car
chassis. The wishbones or control arms (depending on suspension type) affect the previously
mentioned factors as well. Camber, castor, and toe are all affected to some degree.
Essentially the wishbones connect to the chassis with rod-ends or spherical bearings, allowing
the wishbones to pivot up and down with the wheel's movement and triangulating the
suspension to prevent the wheel from moving fore or aft of it's designated position. Outboard, at
the upright or knuckle, there are two ball joints, one for each wishbone. See the diagram below
for a better visual representation:
The toe link, shown in blue above, is attached to the steering rack at the front of the car, and to
the chassis at the rear. Toe adjustments are made by varying the length of this link.
Suspension Design Tips
• Use aerodynamic wishbones on open wheel cars. Open wheel cars,

round wishbone tubes will create turbulence and drag. The prefered
tubing is oval, which in profile allows the airflow to diverge and converge
nicely without turbulence.
• Use at least a little scrub radius. Some books suggest eliminating the
scrub radius. In race cars this can be a problem, as much of the feel
about the car's handling can be lost. The scrub radius allows the driver to
feel when the tires lose traction, without being "too far gone" to recover.
• Use strong, high quality rod ends and other fasteners. Fasteners and
rod ends can be expensive, but one of the last places you want to save
money is on the suspension. These parts are often lamented by
amateurs because the parts they use break too often. When selecting
rod ends, bear in mind the angle, mounting and location of rod ends has
an impact on their longevity.
• Protect the driver from the suspension. Broken chassis mounts can
be deadly or at least crippling. Using aluminum plates along the sides of
the chassis will prevent broken wishbones from perforating the driver's
legs.
• Radial vs. Bias ply tires and Camber. Radial tires are more tolerant of
static negative camber, or camber that is built into the suspension. If the
suspension's range of motion is substantial (more than 2 or 3 inches of
bump travel, and 2 or 3 inches of dip), then using more negative camber
to compensate for the positive change introduced by the suspension
helps. Radial tires will work better with this situation.
• Minimize Unsprung weight. Unsprung weight, or the weight comprised
by tire, wheel and suspension affects how well the tire follows the bumps
and dips in the road surface. Using lighter wheels, tires, uprights,
wishbones or control arms, and other parts will reduce the weight. The
weight of these suspension parts by itself is not so critical as the ratio
between the car's sprung weight (chassis, driver, engine, etc) and the
unsprung weight. The lower the unsprung weight in relation to the sprung
weight, the easier it will be to control the tire/wheel via the springs,
dampers (shocks) and anti-roll bars.
Tips: Safety & Ergonomics
The following tips and information focus on how to optimize race car safety and ergonomics.
Depending on class rules, these suggestions may or may not be valid. Always check your
regulations.
General Safety/Ergonomics Design Principles
Safety/Ergonomics Design Tips
General Safety/Ergonomics Design Principals
Safety
Safety in a race car is the art of protecting the human occupant, at whatever cost to the car.
Designing the car to be damaged minimally while hindering driver safety is definitely the wrong
approach.
So how do we protect the driver? Well first we need to consider the basic physiological weak
points of the human body.
The diagram above shows that pretty much any part of the body exposed to the chassis of the
race car is at risk. Injuries occur because the body sustains impacts beyond the G (gravities)
level that it can sustain.
The brain is particularly succeptible to injury, because it is really just a soft tissue mass stored
inside a very solid bone container, the skull. The key to avoiding injury in the brain is to avoid
instantaneous decelleration of the skull. That is, when the skull strikes something hard, it
decellerates instantaneously. The brain inside unfortunately keeps on moving, causing head
trauma.
Neck and spinal injuries also present a serious threat to life and career. These "Connector" type
elements in our body are flexible and stretchable, to a point, and can sustain tremendous G
loads before breaking. However, depending on angle of impact, they can break rather easily.
Other bone injuries (breakages) are not as life-threatening or career ending, but still are to be
prevented. The bones in our arms, legs and spine are designed to be stressed in tension and
compression along their length. In the case of impacts they are often stressed in shear or
bending, and therefore snap relatively easily.
Safety In Engineering
Safety in race cars consists of optimizing the chassis and bodywork to provide maximum
support for normal driving situations, and maximum protection and energy absorption in crash
situations.
First, the driver needs to be supported, so movement under normal driving is very limited. This
means a seat with lateral head support, a head rest, and good lower and upper body lateral
support. Most racing seats provide these three elements.
Secondly, the car's chassis needs to hold the seat and driver in place, in all situations, driving
and crashing. This is of course accomplished with a chassis mount for the seat, and a 5 or 6
point harness.
Thirdly, measures must be taken to prevent intrusion into or the crushing of the driver's limbs
and extremities. On formula cars, the problem of suspension wishbones breaking and piercing
the driver's legs is solved by anti-intrusion panels that prevent pieces of the car from intruding
into the driver's cockpit. As well, the cockpit "Safety cell" needs to be very strong. The "Safety
cell" is the last piece of material between danger and the driver, and so should be well
constructed, and not prone to collapsing onto the driver.
Finally, the car needs to absorb the energy via structures that are crushable. As stated
previously, the human body does not like to be decellerated from 80 or 100 km/h to 0 instantly.
Therefore, we need to find a way that "quickly" decellerates the body. The only possibilities on a
race car are the structures which surround the driver's safety cell. Designing these structures to
collapse in an impact ensures that G levels are reduced because the car is literally decellerating
over a small distance, instead of ZERO distance.
Below is a diagram:
Ergonomics
Ergonomics, or the study of human-machine interfacing, is important to race cars because the
ultimate control of the car belongs to the driver. Poorly placed controls mean the driver must
lose concentration on the race, and instead focus on the cockpit.
The ergonomics of a race car cockpit consist of several elements:
• The driver's line of sight - Visibility is of prime importance. The goal in

design is to ensure enough of the race track in front is visible, and
enough of the action to left and right is visible, through peripheral vision.
Of course, the driver also needs to see behind to watch for his/her
competition. The mirrors should act as an extension of the visible field.
• The steering wheel - The steering wheel is a tool of leverage. If a
steering wheel is too far from the driver, the driver's arms will straighten,
and ultimately limit the range of motion easily provided. If it doesn't stop
the driver from driving properly, this situation will cause fatigue. If a
steering wheel is too close, it will also limit the range of motion and
perhaps cause interference with other cockpit controls or supports. The
proper distance is largely a matter of comfort and clearance, and usually
means the arms are bent at the elbows when driving straight, yet still
comfortable when turning the wheel.
• The gauges - The gauges act as vital signs for the car, and as such
should be as close to the driver's normal line of sight when looking
forward. Forcing the driver to look down at gauges removes
concentration from the race. In Formula 1 (a particularly good example),
the RPM is displayed with a series of LEDs (Light emitting diodes) that
light as the redline is approached. This light sits almost at the very top of
the cockpit, in line with the line of sight, allowing the driver to change
gears without ever needing to look down.
A technique frequently used in racing is to rotate the gauges so that all needles or
indicators are pointed to the directly vertical position when operating normally. The
driver does not need to conciously scan the gauges, but can instead use his/her
peripheral vision to determine the state of the car.
• The Pedals - The pedals, like the steering wheel are a leverage item.
The driver's legs will tire if not given a position of leverage. Likewise, the
driver's legs may tire anyway, due to an inappropriate leverage fulcrum in
the actual pedal system. Assuming the pedals and levels are well
designed, we can focus on the driver's legs. To be most effective the
driver's legs should be bent slightly when the pedals are fully engaged,
and should be bent somewhat more when the pedals are not engaged.
The calf portion of the leg should probably not be at less than 120
degrees angle in relation to the thigh when the pedals are disengaged.
See below:
• Other Controls - Positioning of controls such as the gear shift, kill

switch, and adjustment knobs should be carefully considered. It does no
good if shifting is hampered by the steering wheel, or if the kill switch is
buried away from rescue crew access.
Safety/Ergonomics Design Tips
• Use energy absorbing materials in the collapsable crash structure -

In lower cost racing cars, most of the car is usually built from mild steel.
Using that same mild steel in areas such as wishbones means that
impacts will bend the material long before it breaks the material, meaning
energy absorption takes place over a longer period.
• For light weight, use a stressed skin over a lightweight core
material - crushable zones such as the nose cone on a formula car can
be made from balsa, honeycomb or high density styrofoam covered with
a stressed skin of composites.
• Triangulate the driver "safety cell" to prevent collapse - The safety
cell can be designed in such a way that a catastrophic impact which
collapses the safety cell, will make the safety cell expand away from the
driver, instead of collapsing it onto the driver. In the case of a frontal
impact, this would mean the sides of the cockpit would expand outward,
upward and downward, instead of inward.
• Use a clear windscreen or bodywork to increase vision - using lexan
or other non-shattering clear material can help increase visibility without
compromising the function of the bodywork. In some cases, the driver
can be lowered for better CG (center of gravity), and the normally
opaque bodywork replaced with clear lexan, to aid in re-establishing the
vision field.
• Keep the fuel cell and battery away from the driver and danger.
Keeping dangerous items away from the driver is sometimes very
difficult. In order to reduce the weight balance change over a race,
designers will frequently put the fuel cell at the CG, so that no matter how
empty or full it is, it does not cause a front/rear or side-to-side weight
bias. However, most drivers don't like to sit next to fuel. Use secured,
sealed firewalls between the fuel cell and driver compartment, and
further, use the safety cell to protect the fuel cell from outside intrusions.
• Don't scrimp on safety. Use only top quality certified suppliers of safety
equipment. The cost is perhaps high, but consider how much you value
your life. Fuel cells (Sanctioning body certified), seat belts (5 or 6 point
sanctioning body certified only!), and driver safety wear (Nomex, 2 or
more layers minimum! -- anything less is like wearing nothing).
Alvaro Garcia

TF

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

TF

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

METODOLOGIA PARA EL DISEÑO DE SISTEMAS TECNICOS

MAURICIO TORO RESTREPO

El diseño de automóviles es uno de los campos más amplios y lucrativos del

las metodologías adecuadas e incluso las metodologías existentes son

bastante excluyentes y se centran en un solo tipo de vehiculo. Es por esto que

se quiere en el presente trabajo plasmar en papel los lineamientos para el

diseño al igual que información técnica que permita simplificar la tarea de

la investigación de mercadeo y viabilidad hasta las evaluaciones post

fabricación. Se mostrara la aplicación de las diferentes metodologías de diseño

aplicadas al caso particular del automóvil y se mostrara cuales son mas

importantes y porque. También se intentara mostrar que algunas veces es

conveniente realizar un proceso de diseño convencional para algunos sub-

componentes y que no es el objetivo de este trabajo convertir el diseño

automotriz en un proceso meramente mecánico del cual emergerán vehículos

estándar. Mas aun el objetivo de este trabajo es simplemente ampliar el

han entorpecido las labores de diseño en procesos anteriores. Existen

básicamente dos corrientes de diseño automotriz y las dos son igualmente

como interior y alrededor de esta se procede al diseño mecánico de los

componentes. La segunda parte del diseño mecánico y una vez se completa

este el diseñador sale a darle una forma agradable a el mismo, inclusive en

algunos casos la forma no la da el diseñador sino el ingeniero experto en

aerodinámica. Como se puede intuir de la primera metodología surgen

desempeño y/o rendimiento. En otras palabras en el diseño automotriz actual

ingeniería y los vehículos diseñados con objetivos estéticos o de diseño.

También se tiene la concepción según García 1 que el diseño automotriz es un

proceso lineal. Sin embargo en este documento se planteara un nuevo ángulo

de diseño, muy utilizado en la industria aeronáutica, que además de acortar el

diseñador mecánico o en su contraparte del diseñador industrial y simplemente

seguir una secuencia lógica en la cual ambos diseñadores toman decisiones

relacionadas con su especialidad.

Como se puede observar en la figura 1 el proceso de diseño se aleja un poco

secuenciales en un brazo paralelo que básicamente se convierten en tareas del

Ingeniero, y tareas del diseñador. Obviamente estos roles no indican de

ninguna manera la verdadera profesión e incluso en algunos casos el oficio

(por ejemplo el trabajo de un ingeniero aerodinámico en la carrocería externa)

casos “excepcionales”. Cada paso de la metodología planteada exige una serie

de documentos que deben ser presentados para garantizar la debida

realización d dicho proceso de diseño.

Una vez se conoce el diagrama de flujo se puede comenzar a explicar cada

en lo que a documentación se refiere de cada uno de estos pasos. También

antes de comenzar se considera importante hacer un énfasis en lo que el uso

de una metodología de este tipo significa en un proceso de ingeniería. Hay que

importantes que se llaman tiempo y dinero. Es increíble pero cierto, cuando un

cliente solicita un servicio de ingeniería lo único que pregunta es ¿cuanto se

demora?, ¿cuanto me vale?, ¿cuanta plata me ahorra implementarlo? etc. En

una metodología de gestión de proyectos será posible estimar de una manera

mas precisa desde el comienzo del proyecto.

La primera tarea que se debe tener en cuenta antes de comenzar un trabajo de

diseño es la conformación del equipo de trabajo, esta se puede hacer de

ejemplo, los especialistas en diseño mecánico y mecanismos serán los

encargados de la suspensión, así como el especialista en ergonomía y teoría

no es ideal, algunas veces los equipos de trabajo se forman por “dedocracia” y

jerarquías y posiciones que se deben llenar en un equipo de diseño

independiente del producto y estas son:

democracia. Además es la persona encargada de verificar el estatus de la

gestión del proyecto y más importante aun es el encargado de ser la imagen

puesto lo ocupa la persona con más experiencia y reconocimiento del equipo

El tesorero del proyecto como su nombre lo indica es el encargado de las

dinero se toma un determinado componente y que tanto esto se acerca o aleja

del presupuesto inicial asignado al proyecto.

El encargado de la documentación deberá almacenar y ordenar todos los

ingenieros participantes en el proyecto, las órdenes de trabajo, los planos de

taller, de ensamble y hasta las facturas de compra del material. Estos

documentos facilitaran la tarea de hallar un error en el diseño y serán útiles