Following the previous welding jig project, I was tasked with developing a portable car stand that can be easily taken apart for easy transportation and compact storage. The design objectives that guided this design involved the necessary requirement of being able to support at least 500lbs, having the ability for the stand to come apart rather easily, and developing an efficient but cost-effective assembly to stay within the project's budget. Not only does the stand support our vehicle, but it also includes an integrated workbench on either side, rubber padding on the top faces of the support's crossbars, and locking caster wheels. With the integrated workbench, anyone working on the car can easily place tools and parts on the table surface below instead of having to constantly pause and turn to a nearby table to retrieve an item, improving work efficiency and productivity. The locking caster wheels allow the car to be easily moved around the shop and lock to provide a stable base when working on our vehicle, and the rubber padding prevent the car from receiving scuffs and scratches when interfacing with the stand. Because this stand was also designed with the intent of being used for many years to come, a safety ratio of 4:1 was achieved to prevent material fatigue and overall improve the reliability of the stand.
For this project, I utilized SolidWorks to design and create an engineering solution that improves our original basic A-stand solution for supporting the car. Engineering justifications for material selections and overall design were derived from FEA simulations, feedback from other team members, and meeting project constraints.
Tubes were cut to approximate length, and then milled to size within tolerance. All holes were precisely drilled using the manual mill. Sheet metal parts such as caster adapter plates and workbench adapter plates were also precisely manufactured on the manual mill. Tubes were mig welded together and sections where parts can come together and apart utilize threaded rivet nuts for fasteners to thread into.
