DTU Self Driving

Car Project-
Mechanical
Aniket Acharya Anant Kumar Singh Yashaswi Raj Shruti Goel Rupangi Singh
Failures in Previous Year Vehicle

- Weak Drive Shaft and Motors

- Unstable Mast due to high cantilever effect
- Aesthetically not appealing
- No weather proofing
- Wheel radius was small
- Constricted space for electronics housings
- LiDAR was not stabilised
- One rear castor wheel was just sufficient but asymmetrical design must not be
considered
- Accessibility to inner components was difficult
- Welding on T-Slot Aluminium Extrusions
How Failure Points have been improved?

- To make driveshaft stronger EN-24 material have been used rather than mild steel.
Diameter of shaft was thickened and number of couplings were reduced to provide
structural rigidity.
- High powered E-Bike motors are being used to accommodate the weight of the
vehicle and produce high torque.
- Camera Mast have been immensely stabilised by reducing its unsupported height
and bolting it from three sides providing it a rigid fixed support.
- Unlike previous year this year the team has worked, keeping in mind the Aesthetic
viewpoint of the vehicle as priority. This is often ignored but it is important as this
creates an impression on the viewers.
- Weather proofing is given utmost importance unlike previous year, taking in
consideration the rainy weather of Rochester, Michigan.
- Wheel Radius have been increased so that the vehicle can maneuver easily on the
grassy rugged terrain due to increased curvature of the wheel.
- Previous year vehicle had very constricted space for electronics items and wires
hence this year two compartments have been fully dedicated to the electronics
department of the team with ample floor area.
- Unlike previous year, this year LiDAR has been stabilised using LiDAR Stabiliser.
- This year two castor wheel are being used to provide symmetry to the design and
for better maneuverability of the vehicle tackling the obstacles.
- Accessibility to inner components have been increased by giving large volume to
the compartments. Now the team can access without disturbing the wire routings
unlike previous year.
- Most blunderous decision taken previous year was of welding the chassis members
which were T-Slot Aluminium Extrusions. Such members are not meant for
welding and they are industrially meant for bolting. So, this year the team has
decide to go for bolting and has used T-bolts, T-nuts and nyloc to give perfect
rigidity and finish to the chassis.
 Other elements which have been looked upon

- TRANSPORTABILITY

The vehicle has been divided into 5 compartments and the whole vehicle has been bolted
which makes it so modular that the whole vehicle can be carried to U.S in our suitcases!

- RIGIDITY

Modularity and Rigidity do not go hand in hand. So both have been optimised precisely
and this year vehicle is structurally rigid.

- ASSEMBLY DOWNTIME

All 5 compartments can be just bolted and get transformed to vehicle within 30-45
minutes.
Innovations

- Modularity
- Front and rear Castor wheel for better maneuverability on slopes
- Wheel radius increased for ease of movement on rugged terrain
- Mast is rigidly supported with minimal unsupported height makes it highly stable
for camera visualisation.
- LiDAR stabilisation mechanism.
- Payload accessibility is highly increased
- Wire Routing done in a systematic manner.
- Access to Laptop made very user friendly
 Exploration of new technology

The team with attitude of hunger for

technological advancement has resulted in
exploration of ELECTRICAL ROUTING in
SolidWorks which has made the routing of
wire extremely precise and systematic and
has proved that the team has high standard
work methodology.
 Major Deadlines

After intense hard work and diligence of all the members of the team we have majorly fabricated
the vehicle. But still we want to pose ourselves some deadlines by which we presume our work
to be fully completed.

- DRIVETRAIN MANUFACTURING - 1st March 2020

- FULL CHASSIS FABRICATION (with Bodywork) - 15th March 2020

THIS MARKS THE END OF THE MECHANICAL DESIGN OF THE VEHICLE.

Other inter departmental works depending on other departmental needs (majorly Electronics)
will be fulfilled by the Mechanical Department as desired.
 Road to IGVC- Mechanical

- STUDY PHASE

All the team members have gone through extensive theoretical study which has laddened them
proper knowledge base before blindfoldedly working on the vehicle. Many topics of mechanical
engineering such as Mechanics of Solids, Mechanical Design, Production Technology and Finite
Element Method were covered. This phase also constituted invaluable guidance from our
experienced and knowledgeable team seniors.

- DESIGN PHASE

This phase included design of the prototype using CAD (Computer Aided Design) softwares using
the knowledge we gained in earlier phase. The medium used is SolidWorks for design of the
prototype and ANSYS for testing its static structural strength.
- MANUFACTURING PHASE

This phase includes the manufacturing processes that are to be imparted to fabricate the
vehicle. This includes extensive market research and knowledge about engineering
materials. The team adheres to precise manufacturing with minimal error and use of right
manufacturing techniques for production of desired parts of the vehicle.

- TESTING PHASE

Though the design of vehicle has been static structurally tested on ANSYS but physical
testing is needed in dynamic conditions and in real time environment.

VOILÀ THE VEHICLE IS READY AND UNBEATABLE