Topology-Optimized Front Wing Mount

Move the wing mounts without carrying last year’s mass forward.

The 2026 frame required wider mounting-hole spacing than the previous car. The redesign needed to fit the new hard points while remaining light, stiff, and practical to manufacture.

I treated the new packaging constraint as an opportunity to re-evaluate the load path instead of simply stretching the existing bracket.

Use optimization to find the load path, then rebuild it for manufacturing.

I created the initial geometry and load cases, established the wing and frame mounting constraints, and used SolidWorks topology optimization to identify low-value material.

The optimized mesh was not treated as a finished part. I rebuilt the result as controlled CAD geometry, preserved clear load paths, and kept the profile compatible with waterjet manufacturing.

• Added a temporary 0.5-inch connection between wing holes to represent the installed boundary condition during analysis.
• Compared the previous and final designs using the same vertical load case.
• Checked the rebuilt geometry for realistic radii, access, and manufacturability.

A smaller displacement with five grams removed.

The final mount reduced mass from 72 g to 67 g. Under 150 lbf of vertical load, peak displacement fell from 0.72 mm to 0.34 mm—about 2.12 times the original stiffness.

The project demonstrated that simulation could improve both structural performance and packaging when paired with a manufacturable rebuild.