Mechanical Analysis & Design for Armored Vehicle Manufacturer

The Client and Challenge

Due to limited engineering/design capacity and fluctuating project requirements, our client, a manufacturer of high-quality armored cars, trucks and SWAT vehicles, required an outsourced solution to complete mechanical design and analysis to support the development of an armored vehicle.

The Actalent Solution

Actalent received CAD data from the customer for armor packages and OEM vehicle data. We reviewed the previous model armor package and completed a 3D overlay on the new vehicle model in SolidWorks to conduct an interference study.

We identified areas of interferences and non-compliance with DOS armored vehicle specification provided by the client. We then reported our findings and made recommendations on design changes. We then:

• Developed a complete project plan with milestones for resolving design issues.
• Identified and included all necessary customer stakeholders to ensure collaboration.
• Determined optimal design workflow to efficiently execute design work and resolve issues, aiding in ability to deliver a completed design on time.
• Implemented design changes using a formal design process, ensuring all DOS specifications and design requirements were met.

The project was executed in three phases:

• Conceptual design: Using knowledge gained from the interference study and an understanding of requirements, we generated concepts and determined how the implementation of the design would be expressed. This included presenting sketches/models to our client to demonstrate how the design resolved identified issues.
• Detailed design: Once the conceptual design was approved by project stakeholders, Actalent created a detailed design using customer modeling standards, templates and material lists. Actalent ensured manufacturability of the design using DFMA principles and included all ancillary parts that made up the design to accurately update the BOM. We worked with the customer to make sure we used its parts suppliers when updating parts lists/BOMs.
• Final delivery: Once the detailed design was approved and frozen by the customer, 2D drawings and detailing was completed by Actalent. All 2D drawings were done using standard customer templates and guidelines. The 2D drawings contained critical dimensions and materials used in the assembly. Detailed drawings were created for individual partners that required processing and BOMs were updated/created. Offshore support was used where possible to maximize speed to completion and cost efficiency.

Throughout project execution, we hosted weekly status meetings and milestone reviews to keep the project on track and ensure alignment with customer needs.

• Weekly reports included progress to schedule, technical concerns and planned activities for the upcoming weeks
• Preliminary design review included draft concepts/models/drawings, suggested BOMs, technical questions, preliminary discussion on design validation and project schedule adherence
• Critical design review included final models and drawings, final BOMs and design validation data
• Actalent validated the design using hand calculations, standards and appropriate analysis software

The Results

Actalent delivered the following at the completion of this project:

• Complete and detailed 3D CAD of the vehicle armor system
• Assurance that part files were manufacturable via the customer’s process
• 2D sub-assembly/installation drawings and 2D part level drawings
• Flat pattern view, front, side and top with overall dimensions
• Updated BOMs

All outputs were delivered on time and meeting the client’s quality standards. Due to the quality of our work, we have developed a consistent relationship that enables the client to effectively resolve short-term capacity issues, seamlessly extend its engineering enterprise and deliver surge business.