Mesa Overland
Composite body camper design development
Type : Interior camper component design, exterior metal components.
Method : Sheet Metal, CNC (bamboo plywood, composites)
Scale : 2 standardized models, 6 customized builds
Skills used: Fusion 360 - Asset development and management, parametric components and standards, sheet metal, toolpaths, drawings
Other Skills: Inventory tracking, leading client design meetings, marketing materials
Overview
Mesa Overland is a small custom expedition vehicle builder in Delta, CO. They use a truck body and a composite panel shell to make a very awesome adventure rig. They create the composite shell by taking a lightweight and very durable composite panel and assemble it between specially designed aluminum extrusions to create a fully sealed shell. Basically if your grandpa’s truck camper was taken into the space age.
The shell is half of it, they also take the truck and completely overhaul the frame and suspension so it’s best designed to handle the added weight of the camper. They add additional features to the truck like lights, bumpers, storage boxes, ladders, gear mounts, alternator charging and anything else to make it the most capable for offroad adventure.
To have a truck with custom superlight shell is a feat in it’s own, but my favorite problem to conquer is taking this interior shell and turning it into the most functional living situation it can possibly be. If you have experience you know, this is not an easy task or feat. There are so many different variables and problems that arise at every addition and subtraction you make. It can be like building an entire house every time you build a single camper.
Where I come in, I have experience in building camper vehicles and streamlining this process to be as efficient as possible.
Previous methods
Before I was brought on, the design had been mostly in Shaper3D in one off components, then manually flattened out and CNC cut. This method works, but is very time consuming. Components were not cleanly broken down and separated in a way that allows repetition. Being a small operation, the owner was originally doing all of this and absolutely drowning in the work load.
After understanding the problem, here’s what I needed to do:
Immediately transition to Fusion 360. Create a library of parts and system to operate
Need to have renderings and drawings available to clients to communicate build specifications and confirm details
Need to have a library of wood, metal and composite component models that are more editable and adjustable to be functionally used across multiple builds
Need to create a system for flattening wooden components into 48” × 96” bamboo sheets production files for CNC cutting.
CNC toolpaths and cut files for CNC
Sheet metal flat DXF files and detailed drawings for assembly by outside vendors
Assembly files and build details for the shop floor, 3D model access for detailed viewing
Main functions
I was able to own this new role at Mesa and helped guide the development of their CAD system. A slim team meant I had many hats to wear, some days it was leading design discussions with the client walking through the drawings and renderings I created, other days I was programming toolpaths and remotely working with the shop floor. Here’s some of what I did:
Design CNC components
Galleys, benches, closets, upper cabinetry that were specific to each build and could offer variations for the client. Around 10 different component made up each build, all unique to their own model, floor plan and build.
Rendering and drawings
Client facing renderings and drawings to communicate and confirm build details. If you would like to see a sample deliverable PDF, click here.
Create library of existing parts
Create designs of windows, fridges, sinks, faucets, and other components that exist in the marketplace, for manufacturing to accurate dimensions and rendering. 50+ parts were reverse engineered to help support our builds.
Sheet Metal Components
External components (tire carriers, mole panels, storage boxes) and internal components (shower assemblies, boxes, accessories) were created. They are made to flatten and easy to read by the manufacturer with specific welding call outs as needed.
Manufacturing
Use plugins in Fusion to flatten 3D parts into DXF files that can be taken into Vectric, then programmed these toolpaths to be cut. Then provided detailed assembly documentation for the shop floor
Systems design
How the camper is going to work- water, electrical, heating/cooling systems. Make sure everything is accounted for and allowances for all parts are cut into the cabinetry.
