The AER26 motor shield is a redesign of the previous year's enclosure, rebuilt to reduce bulk in the rear of the car while keeping full coverage of the powertrain. All design was done in SolidWorks Sheet Metal.
This shield is a critical safety structure that encases the high-voltage motor and its primary drive components, separating them from the driver and the rest of the chassis while adhering to FSAE rules.
Optimized geometry to create the smallest possible enclosure while maintaining required clearance. This minimized packaging volume and contributed to overall lower vehicle mass.
Designed new custom mounting brackets to securely fix the shield and motor to the improved geometry of the AER26 car.
1.0mm 6061-T6 Aluminum, the lightest compliant material available that meets FSAE safety requirements while prioritizing low mass.
Two-piece bolted clamp design that wraps around the motor assembly and fastens securely to the chassis via custom brackets, providing full 360° component coverage.
Minimizing the shield's outer diameter to reduce bulk in the rear of the car while maintaining clearance between the motor and the shield.
Iteratively refined the CAD model to shrink the diameter while maintaining adequate clearance, achieving roughly a 50% reduction in envelope size over the previous design.
The AER26 chassis changed from the previous year, so the existing shield and its mounts no longer fit the updated frame.
Designed custom mounting brackets matched to the new tube positions, securely locating both the shield and motor on the AER26 frame.
