Skills Used: SOLIDWORKS, 3D Printing, Prototyping, Mechanical Design
Project Dates: 2021
Additional Documentation Available: Yes, physical product and CAD models
Project Description:
I was installing air lockers on my FJ40 and needed an on-board air compressor to make them work. In addition, it is nice to be able to inflate tires and run air tools off the same system. Traditional electric on-board air compressors are very slow to charge a tank – they don’t flow a lot of volume. To get around this, I wanted to use an “A6” style compressor for on board air, and a secondary A/C compressor for the actual A/C system. The A6 compressor has its oil reservoir which makes it well suited to be used as an air compressor instead of an A/C compressor, and it is the compressor that was stock on these engines from the factory. To be able to keep A/C, I would need to fit a second compressor, and would have to design and fabricate the mounts to do it.
After a lot of thought and measurements, I designed a mock-up of the engine and chosen secondary compressor in CAD. I then 3D Printed the parts to see how they would fit in the real world.
Project Results:
Although the parts did generally fit as intended, I was unable to complete the project as I found the A/C compressor would hit the vehicle frame in the chosen location, as well as making fitting a lower radiator hose extremely challenging, and no other location was feasible. There just isn’t enough additional room under the hood. One other possibility I will explore in the future is a PTO driven compressor, but for now I settled on using a commercially available electric air compressor.
