Learn Go-Kart Chassis Design & Analysis

Learn how to approach go-kart chassis engineering from requirements and vehicle packaging through CAD modelling, material selection, and structural impact analysis.

Designing a go-kart chassis is more than creating a 3D model.

A good chassis must consider driver packaging, geometry, structural strength, material properties, manufacturability, safety, stiffness, and performance.

This course takes you through a practical engineering workflow for designing and analysing a go-kart chassis. You will learn how engineers approach a vehicle design problem before opening CAD software, how design requirements are established, how driver ergonomics influence the vehicle package, and how material selection affects structural performance.

You will then move into hands-on chassis development using SolidWorks, including chassis modelling and material assignment, followed by engineering analysis concepts and impact analysis.

What You Will Learn

• Understand different types of go-kart chassis
• Identify the important parameters that influence chassis design
• Understand engineering requirements before starting CAD
• Learn the product development workflow used in engineering projects
• Understand product requirements and design decision-making
• Apply driver ergonomics and vehicle packaging principles
• Understand driver position, steering position, pedal placement and cockpit layout
• Understand how centre of gravity and driver position affect vehicle behaviour
• Design a go-kart chassis using SolidWorks
• Understand chassis geometry and structural layout
• Assign appropriate material properties to a chassis model
• Understand factor of safety and basic structural engineering concepts
• Compare engineering materials for chassis applications
• Understand AISI 1018 steel, IS 1161 steel tube and 4130 chromoly
• Understand the relationship between strength, stiffness and material selection
• Prepare a chassis for engineering simulation
• Understand front, side and rear impact analysis
• Interpret simulation results from an engineering perspective
• Connect CAD modelling, material selection and structural analysis into one workflow

The Engineering Workflow

You will progressively move through the engineering process:

Requirements → Benchmarking → Driver Ergonomics → Vehicle Packaging → Design Parameters → CAD Modelling → Material Selection → Factor of Safety → Simulation → Impact Analysis

This approach helps you understand not only how to model a chassis, but also why particular engineering decisions are made.

Practical Software Experience

The course includes practical work using SolidWorks for chassis design and engineering preparation.

The objective is not simply to teach software commands. The goal is to help you understand how CAD and engineering analysis fit into a real vehicle-development workflow.

Who Can Take This Course?

The course is designed for engineering students, automotive learners, motorsport enthusiasts, Formula Student and SAE participants, go-kart teams, CAD learners, and anyone interested in practical vehicle design.

You can start even if you are new to chassis design. The course introduces the relevant engineering concepts before progressing toward practical modelling and analysis.

What You Will Build

By the end of the course, you will have followed a complete engineering workflow for a go-kart chassis—from understanding the design requirements and driver package to creating the chassis model, assigning materials, and performing structural impact analysis.

This course is especially useful for students who want to connect engineering theory with an actual vehicle-development project.

Whether your goal is a college project, motorsport competition, engineering portfolio, CAD practice, or deeper understanding of automotive design, this course gives you a structured starting point for practical chassis engineering.