GILLIG BUS STRUCTURAL FEA

PROBLEM. Bus subsystems were seeing fatigue failures on driveshafts and high‑pressure air manifolds, and certain bracket designs weren't tracking against the live S‑N data the team relied on for sign‑off. Production was also surfacing line issues that needed root‑causing back through the design.

APPROACH. Built NX master models for the structures team and ran structural and fatigue FEA on bus subsystems in HyperMesh, validating brackets to live S‑N targets. Redesigned the failing driveshafts and high‑pressure air manifolds; led supplier reviews to address fatigue and improve manufacturability. On the production side, partnered with the line to root‑cause issues and rolled the findings into DFM/DFA changes. Authored the GD&T'd manufacturing drawings, test plans, and cost models, and presented the recommendations to the VP of Engineering.

OUTCOME. DFM/DFA improvements projected to save $0.6M+ over three years. Failing driveshafts and air‑manifold designs replaced. FEA bracket validation tightened against measured S‑N performance. Senior leadership sign‑off on the redesign package.