Case Study: Central Connecticut State University builds a durable rover axle and composite suspension with Mastercam

Central Connecticut State University - Customer Case Study

Central Connecticut State University's student engineering team participated in NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge, where they needed to design and build a robust, human-powered rover capable of handling a harsh obstacle course. Their challenge was to overcome previous mechanical failures, particularly with a multi-piece axle that had sheared during a past competition. They utilized Mastercam Design software to aid in this complex engineering project.

With Mastercam, the students designed a new, more durable one-piece steel axle, using features like Edit Spline and Sprocket to refine the geometry and ensure a proper fit. Mastercam's streamlined CAD engine simplified the modeling of this complex part. The vendor, CNC Software, Inc., also provided direct support by generating the G-code and machining the axle. The resulting rover was far more reliable, and the team successfully created the first composite leaf-suspension system in the challenge's history.

Central Connecticut State University

Tristian Sudac

Engineering Student and Project Leader