Partnering with ECAM Formula Student Team to Support Race Car

About ECAM Formula Student Team

Formula Student is an international engineering competition that challenges university teams to independently design, manufacture, and test race cars, with a level of technical complexity comparable to professional motorsport programs.

For the ECAM Formula Student Team, one of the key challenges in developing their latest vehicle was creating a wheel hub system that combined lightweight design with the strength and reliability required to withstand demanding racing conditions.

During the initial RFQ stage, the team shared their key technical requirements with WayKen:

“These components are critical for our vehicle’s performance, as they interface directly between the uprights, brake rotors, and rims. We require high-precision CNC turning and milling, with a specific focus on tight tolerances for the bearing seats and splines to ensure optimal reliability.”

The project involved 2 types of wheel hubs designed to endure high dynamic loads while delivering outstanding stability and handling performance.

Machining Requirements Behind the Design

As critical interfaces between the suspension, braking system, and wheels, the manufacturing accuracy of the wheel hubs directly affects vehicle handling, durability, and overall performance.

Several technical requirements stood out during production:

• Multiple critical features requiring ISO Grade 7 tolerances;
• Tight fit requirements for bearing seats and spline interfaces;
• Internal cavity surface finish requirements of Ra 0.8 μm;
• High concentricity requirements between rotating functional features.

DFM Optimization for Performance, Cost, and Manufacturability

During the design review process, WayKen’s engineering team identified a concentricity requirement of 0.005 mm on one critical feature.
While such precision was technically achievable, maintaining this tolerance would significantly increase machining complexity, requiring tighter process control and additional manufacturing operations, ultimately driving up production costs.

After evaluating the component’s functional requirements, assembly conditions, and operating environment, we concluded that this level of precision was unnecessarily restrictive for the intended application.

The engineering team therefore proposed relaxing the concentricity requirement from 0.005 mm to 0.05 mm.

This adjustment had no impact on assembly performance or operational reliability while allowing the feature to be manufactured efficiently using conventional precision turning processes.

For a Formula Student team, this optimization reduced manufacturing cost without compromising performance, achieving an ideal balance between functionality and manufacturability.

Precision Machining Strategies for High-Performance Wheel Hubs

During production, Wayken developed a carefully planned machining strategy.

The shaft features and bearing seats with the highest concentricity requirements were first completed through precision turning to establish accurate datums for all critical rotating surfaces.

Subsequent milling operations were then performed to create the splines, weight-reduction cavities, and other complex geometries.

This process strategy not only ensured the accuracy of critical functional features but also improved overall manufacturing efficiency and process stability.

Tight Tolerance Control

Several critical bores required IT7 tolerances, particularly the bearing seats and other functional interfaces.

WayKen adopted a machining strategy involving rough machining allowance, semi-finishing for stress stabilization, and final precision boring to effectively control bore dimensions and roundness.

All critical bores underwent both in-process inspections and final dimensional verification to ensure reliable bearing fits and stable operation under high dynamic loads.

Fine Surface Quality

The internal cavities required a surface roughness of Ra 0.8 μm.

To achieve this finish, we utilized small-diameter cutting tools with reduced feed rates and prioritized continuous tool paths to minimize tool marks and surface irregularities.

Tool overhang was carefully controlled, fixture rigidity was optimized, and cutting parameters were fine-tuned to suppress chatter commonly associated with deep cavity machining.

These measures resulted in a uniform and stable surface finish, meeting the long-term durability and reliability requirements of the components.

Accurate Concentricity Control

To maintain the geometric relationship between critical rotating features, we prioritized the precision turning of bearing seats and shaft features, using these surfaces as reference datums for subsequent milling operations.

This strategy minimized positioning errors introduced during secondary setups and ensured concentricity and positional accuracy between the bearing seats, splines, and flange mounting surfaces.

Project Outcome and Feedback

Following the successful completion of the project, the ECAM Formula Student Team shared their feedback: “WayKen’s engineering team provided great support and delivered high-quality, well-performing components that match our requirements.”

Through in-depth DFM analysis, high-precision CNC machining, and close technical communication, we helped the ECAM Formula Student Team achieve an ideal balance between performance, manufacturability, and cost.

As Formula Student competitions continue to push the boundaries of engineering innovation, WayKen remains committed to supporting the next generation of engineers and innovators by transforming ambitious designs into competition-ready components.