Introducing the Academy Autoparts™ Atlas:
The Latest and Greatest in Transportation Technology
Featuring twelve high-strength crossbeams and several strapping positions, Atlas promises to bear the weight of the sky wherever you may go.
Notable features include…
All price estimates given by McMaster-Carr tubing. Note due to lack of titanium tubing all titanium dimensions 1” by 72”.
Cost Analysis II:
Our engineers employed two distinct methods to estimate the cost to produce each Academy Autoparts™ Atlas.
The first method involved determining the price-pound ratio of each material, which was then multiplied by the weight of the rack to return a rough estimate of the material cost of the device.
The second method involved using a third-party manufacturing firm (in this case, McMaster-Carr) to put a quote on tubing prices for each metal (see table, right).
Comparing costs, our engineers have determined that the most effective material for the Academy Autoparts™ Atlas is steel. Steel survives the 600 ft-lb load constraint while also remaining significantly more cost efficient than titanium.
Our engineers also added a third support beam in the center of the rack to improve strength. With it, Atlas will never falter.
Material Breakdown
Under our constraints, the Atlas has to be made out of either aluminum, titanium, or steel.
Our job was to find which of these materials was the strongest and most cost efficient.
We first tested strength– undergoing a nonlinear static stress of 600 ft-lbs, the aluminum design experienced a minimum safety factor of 1.113, disqualifying it from consideration.
Steel and Titanium withheld a safety factor of above three throughout all simulation steps, thus allowing them to be considered for cost efficiency.
Cost Analysis I:
To find a rough estimate of the material cost for the Atlas, we multiply the weight of the Atlas by the price-per-pound cost of each metal.
Aluminum: 17.723lb * $1.015
Titanium: 28.759lb * $5.5
Steel: 50.6lb * $0.25
From this estimate, we determined steel to be the cheapest option. Note that this does not account for man-hours or machining costs.