Thales Mudguards, Toolboxes, and Fuel Tank – Advanced Design for All-Terrain Vehicles
The challenge
Military and all-terrain vehicles require durable, lightweight, and space-efficient components that can withstand extreme conditions while maintaining maximum functionality. Traditional metal-based designs add unnecessary weight and cost, limiting vehicle efficiency and manoeuvrability.
A next-generation solution was needed that would:
- Provide strong, impact-resistant mudguards and toolboxes for rugged terrain.
- Optimise fuel tank storage using complex shapes to maximise capacity within constrained vehicle layouts.
- Reduce overall vehicle weight to enhance performance and fuel efficiency.
- Improve cost-efficiency while maintaining durability and longevity.
- Ensure product repeatability, allowing for scalable and efficient production.
The solution
Through a collaborative design effort with Thales, we developed advanced plastic-based solutions that:
- Utilise high-strength, impact-resistant materials to withstand harsh environments and heavy-duty use.
- Maximise fuel tank capacity with innovative shapes and space-saving geometries for better storage efficiency.
- Reduce vehicle weight compared to traditional metal alternatives, enhancing mobility and performance.
- Improve cost-effectiveness by offering a corrosion-resistant, lightweight, durable, long-lasting alternative.
- Ensure product repeatability through a manufacturing-friendly design, making it suitable for high-volume production.
- Incorporate structural design techniques that add strength through curves and radius, ensuring the product remains rugged and strong even under extreme conditions.
- Enable large-scale manufacturability by optimising design for efficient rotational moulding, reducing complexity and production costs.
Works Undertaken
Design collaboration
Partnering with Thales to redefine and reconfigure the requirements, ensuring that plastic is not only viable but superior to traditional materials in this context.
Mould pattern development
Creating precise mould patterns that align with the components’ specific design and functionality needs.
Mould production
Producing high-quality moulds that would serve as the foundation for manufacturing durable plastic parts.
Prototyping
Rigorous prototyping to test and refine the designs, ensuring they met all required durability, efficiency, and weight criteria.
Off-tool samples
Delivering initial samples directly from the production tooling for real-world testing, guaranteeing that all components were up to spec before scaling production.
The result
Lightweight and durable plastic components for mudguards, toolboxes and fuel tanks Lightweight and durable plastic components for mudguards, toolboxes and fuel tanks enhanced vehicle performance, cost-efficiency, and manoeuvrability.
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