An AM-oriented vehicle chassis’ A-Pillar Design Approach

Design and production of highly demanding structural systems, such as the chassis, still rely on conventional forming and welding approaches, both because of their proven performance and the economies of scale achieved. Nevertheless, manufacturing of several chassis’ segments is also expected to soon gradually switch towards AM, for increased design freedom and optimized performance. This paper proposes an alternative design approach for the A-pillar, a typical passenger car chassis segment; a design suitable in form for AM and equally capable in terms of its dynamic behavior, without undermining the chassis’ safety. Prior A-pillar designs along with already published innovative AM-suited design approaches are reviewed. Moreover, these serve as a starting point for an inverse design towards the intended new AM-suited A-pillar alternative. Emphasis is given in the dynamic characteristics of the new structure, through proper modal analysis performed. Finally, the presented research concludes with a scaled-down assessment and verification prototype of the new design, planned to be built via FDM 3D Printing. The prototype is expected to demonstrate primary, as well as secondary/latent benefits from the use of AM in A-pillars, such as the increased diagonal visibility for drivers and passengers, arising from the redesigned, mesh-like form of the segment.