Machine Bracket Design Using FEA

This component design project involved the creation of a suitable machine bracket which was to satisfy several constraints on load carrying capacity, cross-sectional area cutouts, standoff dimensions, material strength and allowable deflections.  Students developed their designs using the graphical user interface within the MATLAB PDE toolbox.  Stress and deflection analysis was then conducted using the toolbox's finite element package.  Von Mises stress contours of two designs are shown.