Design and Fabrication

Apart from my other responsibilities, I was the design and manufacturing lead for the TXW13 Chassis. The chassis was manufactured entirely in-house by myself and several other classmates. After the CAD design was finalized, full-scale tube drawings and bending templates were produced to precisely translate the digital geometry into physical components. Each tube was cut to length and carefully bent to shape using a manual tubing bender, with attention to maintaining consistent bend radii and minimizing material distortion. Critical joints of were dry-fitted and clamped in place on a level build table to ensure dimensional accuracy and proper alignment of suspension mounting tabs and roll cage elements before any welding began.

Another major improvement was eliminating the issue encountered the previous year, when the engine was locked into the frame after assembly, due to an error in the design that required an extra member on each side of the rear, making removal impossible. To prevent this, the new chassis was designed with wider access points around the engine area. This forward-thinking approach significantly reduces downtime during maintenance and testing, while also improving safety by ensuring that critical powertrain components remain accessible.

A custom engine mount was designed to enhance serviceability and drivetrain adjustability. The engine is mounted on a tube with slots that allows it to be moved slightly away from the transfer case, creating a simple method for adjusting belt tension. Once the proper belt tension is achieved, a locking bolt secures the engine in place, ensuring consistent operation under load. This design eliminates the need for shimming or prying the engine into position, which had been both time-consuming and unreliable in past designs at the competition. The mount’s adjustability has proven invaluable during drivetrain setup and testing, allowing precise alignment to minimize belt wear and power losses.

All of these design decisions were guided closely by the competition rulebook to ensure full compliance with safety and dimensional requirements. The frame was modeled and validated using finite element analysis (FEA) to verify its ability to withstand the high stresses encountered during off-road racing. The simulations demonstrated ample safety factors under expected load conditions, confirming that the chassis offers both the durability and rigidity required for demanding terrain.