Design of the interior door panels in a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro

Abstract

A client approached the university to aid in the design of the interior door panels on their reimagined version of a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. Detailed within this report is a completed design for both the driver and passenger side door panels, as well as the results of static load testing. The final deliverable product to the client was a CAD file containing the design, which would then be manufactured using 3D printing. The client had specific design requirements - that the interior design should mirror the exterior theme of the vehicle and should not be something that is available on the mass market. To gain an understanding of the market, prior art research was conducted on original and remodelled 1969 Camaro interiors. The results of this research showed that the most aesthetically pleasing designs were simple, clean and had curved surfaces rather than straight edges. This helped to give an impression of a fast, menacing vehicle which the client desired. Due to the manufacturing process of 3D printing, dimensional accuracy was important. To facilitate this necessity, the interior was 3D scanned using a Faro Arm before being processed into a CAD file. The processing required three main stages – noise reduction, creation of surfaces and shapes and assembly of individual components into one main file. Using this completed CAD file, a traced model of the interior of the vehicle was used as a blank block upon which the designs could be created. There were three iterations of the door panel produced, with client feedback being the main source of change between each of the designs. They wished for the door panels to be objects that were sleek and slim, looked good and did not detract from the attraction of the interior dashboard and console. To meet this request, a focus was put on flow – to allow there to be a seamless continuation from the dashboard to the door panels. The panel was kept simplistic by only including necessary features, such as a door lever, electronic window buttons as well as an arm rest - which was a functional feature as well as the main aesthetic feature. On completion of design, static load testing was conducted through the use of Finite Element Modelling (FEM). Through client input, the material of choice was narrowed down to fiberglass as it was cost effective to produce, did not require a special 3D printer and was easy to add a design to. The method of attachment was chosen to be an industrial strength glue, which had been used for purposes similar to this. For FEM analysis, the panel was modelled as fixed on the back panel, as the glue would be applied to the perimeter before being secured to the frame of the car.In the analysis, two loading cases were identified – a point load and a uniformly distributed load across the length of the arm rest. These were found to be the most likely scenarios of forces being applied, usually when the driver would enter or exit the vehicle. For the simulation, a driver mass of 120kg was used with an applied safety factor of 1.5 for the simulation. The results of the simulations showed that the areas of maximum stress concentration for both loading cases were through the centre section of the arm rest, which was provided with the most support in the design phase. The design created in this report will be provided to the client as it has fulfilled the outlined requirements.