Mechanical · Automotive (Chassis & Suspension)

Suspension System Design & Analysis

Intermediate 5 weeks 35-60 hours

Build a quarter-car suspension test rig with a spring/damper and an accelerometer. Drop-test it and measure the real response. Tune spring/damper and compare ride quality.

Major

Mechanical

Focus area

Automotive (Chassis & Suspension)

Total hours

35-60 hours

What you'll need

  • compression spring assortment kit
  • linear hydraulic damper shock absorber small
  • MPU6050 6-axis accelerometer gyroscope sensor module
  • Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
  • linear rail guide slide 500mm CNC
  • calibration weight set for testing
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Steps

  1. Build a quarter-car rig with the mass sliding on the linear rail over a spring and damper.
  2. Mount the accelerometer on the mass and wire it to the Arduino.
  3. Drop-test the rig from a fixed height and log acceleration.
  4. Try several spring and damper combinations.
  5. Calculate peak acceleration and settling time and compare ride quality.
  6. Chart the responses and document the best setup for your portfolio.

What to photograph for your portfolio

  • Quarter-car rig
  • drop-test response curves
  • damping comparison
  • tuning results

Resume bullet starters

Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.

  • Engineered a suspension system design & analysis using Suspension design, vehicle dynamics, accelerometer measurement

  • Applied tuning to implement, test, and validate the analysis end-to-end

Skills you'll show off

Suspension designvehicle dynamicsaccelerometer measurementtuning

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