Composite Winch Mount Bumper - Senior Design Project - Page 3

4Rocker · 04-14-2008, 09:44 AM

If you look at the beginning of the thread, there is a CAD drawing that shows the entire bumper. This is just the main structural support section.

AndYota · 04-14-2008, 10:20 AM

I'm impressed with the whole project, and sts2usnss had a good point with the weight/fuel economy comment. I know I've put at least an extra 120# of steel on my truck with the new front/rear bumpers and Winch, not to mention the unsuspended weight of 32s over the factory tires. Rock on 4Rocker, I love this project.

Andy

4Rocker · 04-22-2008, 03:32 PM

Time for a long overdue update!

A week ago my team performed some tensile testing of our support structure. This was done using an Instron type tensile testing machine. The part loaded up to just under 6,000lb of loading before the test fixture we made sheared the carbon. For the final part, an aluminum plate insert will be used to distribute the load and prevent the winch from tearing through under high loads. Other than the front face shear, there was no other damage to the part.

Part mounted in the test fixture:

Close up view of where the carbon sheared:

The mounting tabs that had previously been viewed as potentially problematic held up fine, so construction of a final part will continue very soon!

4Rocker · 04-22-2008, 03:59 PM

Well, due to the limited amount of time left in the semester, we will be unable to complete the shell portion of the bumper project.

On the bright side, something had to be done to make this look like a bumper, so out came the bender and welder. I picked up some 1.5" tubing and bent and welded up some wings for the bumper. This is the progress made as of this afternoon. Some tabs still need to be welded on to mount turn signals to.

Pics:

I hope to have a new center section completed by the end of the week, then all that is left to do is trim the part, drill mounting holes, and mount and wire the winch!

It is nice to have the end in sight!

4Rocker · 04-23-2008, 07:39 AM

My team is laying up what will hopefully be the final part this afternoon. I hope to have more pics and an update soon!

GT88Yota · 05-01-2008, 11:02 AM

any updates?

4Rocker · 05-02-2008, 08:16 AM

A few, actually!

My team laid up 2 more center parts, however neither of them turned out due to a vacuum problem with the autoclave that we discovered a bit too late. Because each part uses so much material, we ran out of carbon prepreg and so were unable to get a totally finished production part.

So, for our final part to be graded we had to use the testing part that was shown in the pictures above. The problem with this was that the front face was broken from the tensile testing. However, I fabricated a steel plate to fit between the winch and the composite part to redistribute the loading to the outer part of the front face. This seemed to work well after a bit of real-world testing.

The XRC-8 that was donated by Smittybilt has been great so far, and was very easy to install.

I hope to have some pictures of the final setup and some action shots uploaded soon, but today is graduation so I will be busy with family stuff for awhile!

4Rocker · 05-02-2008, 08:33 AM

I had time to upload a few pics!

The last picture is at our football field for the demonstration day. The truck was in position to pull a football sled with most of the class on it. The demo was successful and nothing broke!

4Rocker · 05-10-2008, 08:31 AM

Well I guess it is time for a concluding post to this project. The bumper has held up well to some road abuse as well as light winching, and can be considered a success. I ended up achieving an A in the class, so it was definitely worth the time put into the project.

It has been a tough but fun 4 years of engineering, but I am glad to have graduated. It has been a busy few weeks getting ready to move halfway across the country to WV, arranging housing......oh yeah, and buying a new FJ Cruiser

The wait until Mon or Tues is going to seem like forever!

Whitey13 · 05-10-2008, 09:31 AM

Congrats man, that's always an exciting time. So who are you going to be working for?

wormhole · 05-10-2008, 09:52 AM

Congrats, on graduating. That was an interesting project.

Ron Helmuth · 05-11-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Rocker

Good news! I received an email from Smittybilt today saying that they are willing to donate an XRC8 winch to the project! A BIG thanks to them for helping our team!

Today I made progress on machining the air plug. I will get some pictures of it up later today.

In other good news I was just accpted to University of Colorado Boulder for their MS/ME program in Aerospace Engineering, so all in all it is a pretty good day so far!

this is awesome what you have achieved- thanks for posting up this great success with us. Outstanding photos all along the way.

4Rocker · 05-11-2008, 04:23 PM

I was hired by ATK, a large aerospace/defense contractor as a composite material processing engineer. I am very excited about the opportunity to work with them!

The next few weeks are going to be pretty interesting as I await the arrival of my FJ Cruiser, pack it up, and head out to MD to find housing before starting the new job!

Ron Helmuth · 05-12-2008, 06:54 AM

Congrats hope that goes well for you.

5 speed on the FJ? just curious

Toyota has auto trannied me away from future Runners....

4Rocker · 05-12-2008, 07:29 AM

Yep, the 6spd manual is what transitioned me away from the 4Runners as well. I just like the control and challenge the manual gives on and off road.

The FJ that is being brought in is a 6spd Sandstorm with the offroad package. I was also able to negotiate in some rock rails and a set of BFG ATs for what I thought was a good deal. The wait is just killing me! I will miss the 84 though because it is the first and only vehicle Ive ever really had and I have put so much time and effort into it. Dont worry, I'm not selling it, just storing it at my parents until I have room for it out east...then as money allows, it will get a lift and tires and continue its life as a hardcore trail truck.

Jeenyus04 · 07-02-2008, 09:27 PM

Looks good! So lets see some pics of the new FJ.

04-14-2008, 09:44 AM	#51 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	If you look at the beginning of the thread, there is a CAD drawing that shows the entire bumper. This is just the main structural support section. __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

04-14-2008, 10:20 AM	#52 (permalink)
AndYota Contributing Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Albuquerque, NM; Former NW Montana boy. Posts: 490	I'm impressed with the whole project, and sts2usnss had a good point with the weight/fuel economy comment. I know I've put at least an extra 120# of steel on my truck with the new front/rear bumpers and Winch, not to mention the unsuspended weight of 32s over the factory tires. Rock on 4Rocker, I love this project. Andy __________________ ------------------------------------------------ Driveway occupants: 1994 4Runner SR5 V6, 186,000 and going strong. 2007 WRX Wagon, the baby. 1988 Grand Wagoneer, the new patient. ------------------------------------------------

04-22-2008, 03:32 PM	#53 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	Time for a long overdue update! A week ago my team performed some tensile testing of our support structure. This was done using an Instron type tensile testing machine. The part loaded up to just under 6,000lb of loading before the test fixture we made sheared the carbon. For the final part, an aluminum plate insert will be used to distribute the load and prevent the winch from tearing through under high loads. Other than the front face shear, there was no other damage to the part. Part mounted in the test fixture: Close up view of where the carbon sheared: The mounting tabs that had previously been viewed as potentially problematic held up fine, so construction of a final part will continue very soon! __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

04-22-2008, 03:59 PM	#54 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	Well, due to the limited amount of time left in the semester, we will be unable to complete the shell portion of the bumper project. On the bright side, something had to be done to make this look like a bumper, so out came the bender and welder. I picked up some 1.5" tubing and bent and welded up some wings for the bumper. This is the progress made as of this afternoon. Some tabs still need to be welded on to mount turn signals to. Pics: I hope to have a new center section completed by the end of the week, then all that is left to do is trim the part, drill mounting holes, and mount and wire the winch! It is nice to have the end in sight! __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

04-23-2008, 07:39 AM	#55 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	My team is laying up what will hopefully be the final part this afternoon. I hope to have more pics and an update soon! __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

05-01-2008, 11:02 AM	#56 (permalink)
GT88Yota Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: ATL Posts: 87	any updates?

05-02-2008, 08:16 AM	#57 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	A few, actually! My team laid up 2 more center parts, however neither of them turned out due to a vacuum problem with the autoclave that we discovered a bit too late. Because each part uses so much material, we ran out of carbon prepreg and so were unable to get a totally finished production part. So, for our final part to be graded we had to use the testing part that was shown in the pictures above. The problem with this was that the front face was broken from the tensile testing. However, I fabricated a steel plate to fit between the winch and the composite part to redistribute the loading to the outer part of the front face. This seemed to work well after a bit of real-world testing. The XRC-8 that was donated by Smittybilt has been great so far, and was very easy to install. I hope to have some pictures of the final setup and some action shots uploaded soon, but today is graduation so I will be busy with family stuff for awhile! __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

05-02-2008, 08:33 AM	#58 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	I had time to upload a few pics! The last picture is at our football field for the demonstration day. The truck was in position to pull a football sled with most of the class on it. The demo was successful and nothing broke! __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

05-10-2008, 08:31 AM	#59 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	Well I guess it is time for a concluding post to this project. The bumper has held up well to some road abuse as well as light winching, and can be considered a success. I ended up achieving an A in the class, so it was definitely worth the time put into the project. It has been a tough but fun 4 years of engineering, but I am glad to have graduated. It has been a busy few weeks getting ready to move halfway across the country to WV, arranging housing......oh yeah, and buying a new FJ Cruiser The wait until Mon or Tues is going to seem like forever! __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

05-10-2008, 09:31 AM	#60 (permalink)
Whitey13 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: MA Posts: 952	Congrats man, that's always an exciting time. So who are you going to be working for?

05-10-2008, 09:52 AM	#61 (permalink)
wormhole Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Missouri/Arkansas/Idaho/Utah/Yuma, Arizona Posts: 1,059	Congrats, on graduating. That was an interesting project. __________________ Toy4runner; 1996 Toyota 4runner, auto, 4x4, Bud Built front skid, Stubb Welding Sliders, SS #3, hella 500's and elocked rear axle Just call me "T"

05-11-2008, 04:23 PM	#63 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	I was hired by ATK, a large aerospace/defense contractor as a composite material processing engineer. I am very excited about the opportunity to work with them! The next few weeks are going to be pretty interesting as I await the arrival of my FJ Cruiser, pack it up, and head out to MD to find housing before starting the new job! __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

05-12-2008, 06:54 AM	#64 (permalink)
Ron Helmuth Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Denver metro area-COLO. Posts: 400	Congrats hope that goes well for you. 5 speed on the FJ? just curious Toyota has auto trannied me away from future Runners.... __________________ 99 4Runner SR5 4wd 3.4/5 spd Factory Rear Locker/Rear Diff Breather Extension LT265/75/16 Nitto Terra Gs- AR767s Old Man Emu springs- 881 fronts/891 rears Old Man Emu shocks- N91s fronts/ N86 rears All Pro Off Road sliders/ARB "Taco" bumper Redline Tuning hood struts -prop rod now useless! TrueFlow Air Filter fed by airbox deckplate mod Rear wing custom painted in body color (white056)

05-12-2008, 07:29 AM	#65 (permalink)
4Rocker Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 376	Yep, the 6spd manual is what transitioned me away from the 4Runners as well. I just like the control and challenge the manual gives on and off road. The FJ that is being brought in is a 6spd Sandstorm with the offroad package. I was also able to negotiate in some rock rails and a set of BFG ATs for what I thought was a good deal. The wait is just killing me! I will miss the 84 though because it is the first and only vehicle Ive ever really had and I have put so much time and effort into it. Dont worry, I'm not selling it, just storing it at my parents until I have room for it out east...then as money allows, it will get a lift and tires and continue its life as a hardcore trail truck. __________________ 84 4Runner SR5 22R, 5spd, 31" BFG ATs,custom bumpers 08 FJ Cruiser Sandstorm, 6MT, All-Terrain Package, Rock Rails, BFG A/Ts

07-02-2008, 09:27 PM	#66 (permalink)
Jeenyus04 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: washington Posts: 147	Looks good! So lets see some pics of the new FJ. __________________ 85 reg cab s/b, rebuilt 22r, .040 over bore, engnbldr's crawler cam, no cat w/ flo-pro (was on it). tg 5 inch lift. 35 baja claws bright green paint, sliders, custom front bumper, miller rear locker --project-- 02 dodge extended cab s/b, black sport, 24 vavle cummins, 35's, 4 inch exhaust, edge ez Last edited by Jeenyus04 : 07-02-2008 at 09:34 PM.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Bumper winch mount. other stuff	dlbrunner	Engine/Tranny/Parts	1	02-20-2008 02:27 PM
Gen1 Winch mount - Design help	AndyL	The Fab Shop	10	09-30-2007 05:29 PM
Front tube bumper with multi mount winch	Robinhood150	The Fab Shop	34	04-26-2007 06:24 PM
Help a college senior Project: Revtek competitors?	futurerunner	95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners	1	02-22-2005 04:52 AM