SAE Small Vehicle Lifts

The SAE (Society for Automotive Engineers) vehicle teams at Cal Poly need an easy way to access the undersides of their vehicles to facilitate maintenance and servicing. The purpose of this project was to provide a solution that could lift the vehicles effectively and safely from above so that the underside of the vehicles can be accessed, as well as elevating the vehicles to an ergonomic working height. Design specifications were determined based off each vehicle’s requirements in addition to what the team intends to do with their suspended vehicle. After several concept iterations, the team decided to purchase an engine hoist and replace the hydraulic cylinder with a fixed tube and construct a custom transmission thereby turning the engine hoist into a crane mechanism that can be operated easily without concerns of reliability. The team constructed a total of three lifts, each with different specifications, for the Baja, Formula, and F2000 cars. Material testing was done to verify that the unknown material of the purchased lifts was strong enough to support the loading, as well as final load testing by lifting a vehicle to its designed height