New cab design
New cab design
(OP)
Hypothetically – If a small team was to develop a truck Cab from scratch (med to high volumes).
What would be the main steps in the design program? As I am in the low volume industry I wouldn’t know.
I see it as this. Not quite necessarily in this order
Market research/benchmarking/establish a spec.
Basic concept renderings/models. Inside and out. Decide the look!
Create a overall basic surface model.
Package major components/Ergonomic analysis of crew.
Develop the Body in White.
Engineer design components/panels/cockpit etc.
Any feedback would be of help
Thanks - Kevin
What would be the main steps in the design program? As I am in the low volume industry I wouldn’t know.
I see it as this. Not quite necessarily in this order
Market research/benchmarking/establish a spec.
Basic concept renderings/models. Inside and out. Decide the look!
Create a overall basic surface model.
Package major components/Ergonomic analysis of crew.
Develop the Body in White.
Engineer design components/panels/cockpit etc.
Any feedback would be of help
Thanks - Kevin





RE: New cab design
Analysis will also need to be done. This won't necessarily be done by the manufacturer of the truck, alot of analysis is done by the suppliers (analysis of a seat, steering column, etc. would likely be done by the supplier of the component).
You also need to have test each component, both individually and as an installed system. This corner is being cut more and more by many of the major auto manufacturers, which is why their quality hasn't kept up with the advances and improvements in manufacturing over the years.
Reidh
RE: New cab design
There are /some/ capable Tier ones. But I don't know how to find them. The usual trick is when they are bidding for the business they'll send in senior VPs, and have a great project manager, and a bunch of senior engineers. Six months later the project manager will be a 27 year old, and the entire project staff will be contractors.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: New cab design
In case anyone was wondering why the Dakota was so much like the Explorer...
That company (Carron) however is no longer in business.
Purely from my NVH standpoint, I'd point out that there's a lot more to designing a cab than merely doing package and ergonomics studies. There's a lot of structure that, if gotten wrong, can create a noise and vibration nightmare.