The Lehigh Formula SAE Team is an undergraduate engineering club comprising 30+ students with interests in motorsports and related industries. Each year, the team designs, manufactures, and races a custom single-seat racecar in the SAE collegiate design competition. Participation in this project educates students on applying engineering principles, making business decisions, and establishing professional supplier relationships.
Formula SAE is an international student engineering competition where university teams design, build, and race a small-scale, formula-style prototype vehicle. The competition evaluates students not only on track speed but also on their ability to balance engineering design, cost efficiency, and manufacturability, making professional CNC machining support a critical part of Formula SAE success.
For the Lehigh Formula SAE Team, front uprights are mission-critical components that directly affect suspension alignment, steering precision, and overall on-track reliability. Designed for a high-performance, single-seat racecar, these uprights must withstand intense mechanical loads while maintaining tight tolerances and absolute assembly accuracy.
However, the challenge for Lehigh goes beyond pure physics. The Formula SAE circuit requires students to conceive, design, and fabricate a formula-style car within an 8-12 month development cycle. Teams aren’t just judged on speed; they are evaluated on engineering rigor, manufacturability, and cost-efficiency. This makes supplier selection a make-or-break decision—a balancing act between technical prowess, rapid lead times, and budget constraints.
When vetting potential partners for a manufacturing, Lehigh needed more than just a shop that could cut metal. They required a partner with a proven automotive pedigree, a deep understanding of the unique pressures of FSAE, and the agility to deliver race-ready components on a tight timeline.
For Formula SAE teams and automotive innovators, choosing the right CNC machining partner can determine whether a design passes inspection or fails on the track.
Our engineers provided initial DFM feedback to optimize tool paths for the custom aluminum machining of these front uprights, ensuring maximum strength-to-weight ratio. Based on this, 3ERP implemented an advanced 5-axis CNC machining solution with an optimized machining strategy.
Watch how 3ERP machines Formula SAE front uprights from solid 7075-T6 aluminum using advanced 5-axis CNC machining.
Creating a perfectly flat reference surface for subsequent operations.
Rapidly removing bulk material from the 7075-T6 billet to form the basic shape.
Utilizing the trunnion table’s tilting capability to achieve optimal cutting angles for high-precision bores.
Ensuring smooth, scratch-free internal walls with efficient coolant evacuation.
