The visible complexity of the wheel carrier, shown here on the driver’s side, gives an idea of the scope of the development and the coordination required between all parties involved.
While positioning the wheels under the outer bodywork was still relatively straightforward in the initial design phase, the impact on all connected components became apparent as the chassis concept was refined in greater detail. The limiting constraints of the connected components in turn had an impact on the requirements for the wheel carriers themselves. The specification of the preferred use of established carry-over parts from the automotive industry helped to narrow down the decision matrix: the tire determined the possible rims, the rims determined the wheel bearing, the wheel bearing determined the speed sensor and the connection of the drive shaft. All of the overlapping space requirements of the components moving relative to each other in turn limited the installation space that had to be kept free in the center of the wheel carrier.
The kinematic concept then defined the connection of the longitudinal and transverse links and also the axle tube attached on both sides. The weights and moments determined the bearings. The rim and the movement range of the suspension strut in turn limited the installation space available outside the wheel carrier center for absorbing the expected loads. A simulation program fed with the installation space determined in this way and the conservatively assumed load profile then provided valuable information for the topology-optimized design of the wheel carrier. Finally, the limiting boundary conditions resulting from the decision to use a production-ready sand casting process and the resulting possible mold releases were taken into account.
The wheel carriers are after trial casting, casting first samples and subsequent X-ray analysis currently in the machining post-processing and are expected in Rosenthal in the next weeks for the initial setup . About the arrival of the additional chassis- and other -parts will be reported by us a31> here in the news or also live during our regular Saturday presentations in Rosenthal. We look forward to seeing you!
