Building car carriers will be more efficient thanks to the hard work of a team of engineering students from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) W.S. Lee College of Engineering. The seniors worked with Charlotte-based Fontaine Modification over the last year to develop a device that will improve efficiency when removing seats from Freightliner MD 114SD and M2 trucks as they are converted for use as car carriers.

The project was part of the college’s Senior Design Program that brings together students and industrial partners to tackle real-world engineering projects over the students’ final two semesters. Each design group works to develop a solution and manufacture a prototype device aimed at factory deployment.

“Fontaine has participated in the Senior Design Program for several years, and it is always so interesting to see what the students come up with,” says Tyler Thomas, Fontaine Modification mechatronics engineer and one of the team advisors. “They approach challenges with a fresh perspective. This year’s team did a great job developing an effective design for us, and we’re looking forward to getting it into production.”

The team of UNCC seniors Hank Doan, Grayson Ledford, Dorian Pallas, Alex Phan and Benjamin Rizza developed and prototyped a device that quickly and easily removes seats from truck cabs after the truck roofs have been removed. The device then places the seats on the trucks’ frame rails while additional work is performed to prepare the vehicles for use as auto carriers. Using the device will make the seat-removal process more ergonomic and efficient for Fontaine Modification workers.

Now that the project is complete, Fontaine has taken the team’s final prototype and design documentation in-house to optimize it, and then will produce the equipment for use across its facilities that perform the car carrier modification.