Aerodynamic roof rack
These aerodynamic roof racks for cars were developed in the course Product and Manufacturing Design. The project aimed to develop roof racks with a specific target group in mind. The target group doesn’t usually remove the racks from the roof when they aren’t used. The result was a set of roof racks that have two modes, the load mode, and the aero mode. The load mode looks like traditional roof racks, perpendicular to the roof rails, see pictures below. When not loaded, the racks can be rotated 90 degrees into the aero mode, making the racks more aerodynamic and therefore decreasing the fuel consumption of the car.
Final concept
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Load mode
When in load mode, the roof racks are perpendicular to the car’s roof rails. Ready for loading.
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Aero mode
Rotate the racks 90 degrees into aero mode to make them more aerodynamic when nothing is loaded.
Early concepts
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Easy to load concept
Easy loading was the customer need that was in mind when developing this concept. The user would load the roof rack at a comfortable height and then push the fixture onto the roof of the car.
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Rotate concept
This concept led to the final design and addressed the need for aerodynamic roof racks. The fuel consumption would decrease for users who don’t take down the roof racks.
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Cleaning clamp concept
One customer need that was identified was the need for easy installation of the roof racks. The cleaning clamp concept allows the user to easily push the rack into place on the roof rail.
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Telescope concept
The telescope concept makes storage of the roof racks easy. They can be compressed to occupy less space. This would hopefully encourage the user to remove the racks from the roof when they aren’t used.