Hyperloop Pod Guidance System
Waterloo Hyperloop — Top Guidance
Led design and manufacturing of the Top Guidance System for the Waterloo Hyperloop Pod — 900 N load capacity under a 300 g mass budget.
Overview
Spearheaded development of the guidance system for Waterloo's Hyperloop pod, supporting 900 N vertical load while staying under a 300 g mass cap.
Objective
Designing for manufacturability using primarily aluminium plates was a key constraint. High shear forces on the carbon-fibre frame required a full bolt-pattern redesign. Early FEA showed unrealistic stress concentrations at mount holes due to rigid constraints — resolved through improved contact definitions and mesh refinement.
Approach
Topology-aware design in CAD to exploit aluminium plate stock. Iterative FEA with corrected boundary conditions to validate structural margins. DFM review at each revision to ensure the design could be built with available shop tooling.
Results
- —Cut mass from 500 g to 320 g while achieving a 2.5× safety factor
- —Passed full-load tests and cleared for installation in the final pod
Gallery
Specifications
Tools & Tech