TEAM MEMBERS
Umut Ergin
Our design serves as a simplified structure for understanding hard-top convertible mechanisms. It allows the links to be extended to cover the car and contracted to fit in the boot.
The earliest car with a folding hard roof dates back to the “1935 Peugeot 402 Eclipse Décapotable”. The first popular modern convertible car was the “1996 Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster”.
The first design has 18 links with longer and narrower dimensions. This slimness caused some problems. We used the first design as a prototype to lead us in more practical approach.
We increased the width, and decreased the length of the links. The second design has 12 links, shorter and wider in dimensions. We decided to use Plexiglas, for it is lightweight, cheap, and easy to manufacture necessary shapes with laser cutting.
The second production, which serves as a prototype, is assembled by using bolts and nuts. But the motion of the first design was not smooth and sustainable so we designed a new model, and decided to add bearings. The bearings have diameter of 13 mm and were glued to the holes.