Developed a proof-of-concept application to accelerate suspension geometry iteration through real-time kinematic simulation and geometric constraint solving. The tool provides an interactive environment for analyzing and visualizing suspension behavior across the full range of wheel travel.
For this prototype, the focus is on bump steer analysis, but the underlying framework can be easily extended to incorporate additional kinematic metrics such as camber gain, roll center migration, and instant center tracking.
This module models a front double-wishbone suspension and computes camber and toe throughout the suspension's travel range. Given fixed chassis pivot points, the knuckle geometry is reconstructed at each iteration using three-sphere and circle intersection algorithms, with camber and toe derived from the knuckle plane normal vector.
An interactive visualization plots toe versus bump/droop, allowing parameter sweeps of tie-rod length and Z-offset to reveal bump-steer sensitivities. This enables clear visualization of design trade-offs and supports rapid iteration of linkage configurations.
Expanding upon the interactive module, this feature introduces an automated parameter optimization system to identify configurations that best approximate a user-defined kinematic target (e.g., a desired toe or camber curve) within the system's geometric constraints.
In the example below, a blue “desired” curve represents an unattainable target within the defined geometry. The solver optimizes tie-rod length and chassis Z-position—the only adjustable parameters—to achieve the closest feasible match.
The algorithm uses weighted error minimization, prioritizing bump motion with a 2:1 weighting over droop. These weights can be tuned to emphasize specific performance regions.
If extended to multiple kinematic metrics, the same weighting framework could be applied across multiple plots or objectives, enabling multi-variable optimization for comprehensive suspension tuning.
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