Aston Martin had just designed the Virage convertible. However, the convertible top mechanism design was causing problems by 'locking' under certain circumstances, when it was raised. The challenge was to study the mechanism and determine a solution to the problem whilst minimizing the impact on the current design so that a modification could be introduced without redesign as this mechanism was already in production.
The mechanism was modelled using CAD and a kinematic analysis performed using the ADAMS software. A modification was identified to change the length of two bushings in the mechanism which would resolve the 'locking' issue.
This modification was a simple solution which could be easily made during the next service visit by the owners of the vehicle and could be implemented during production with no additional modification or effort.
Responsible for initial discussions with the customer, modelling the mechanism using CAD and ADAMS software, delivering the results to the customer and making a recommendation to resolve the issue.
