Design of a BMW M5 Seat Shaker Mount according to the integrated product development approach

This thesis presents the design, optimisation, and experimental validation of a seat shaker mount for a BMW M5, developed to support Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) testing and driver-experience applications. The project followed a complete product development workflow, integrating Computer-Aided Design (CAD) in 3DEXPERIENCE, Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis, optimisation, additive manufacturing, and experimental evaluation. The functional requirements of the mount were defined by the need to ensure rigid, durable, and efficient vibration transmission between the tactile shaker and the seat structure, while simultaneously reducing weight and accommodating material and manufacturing constraints. FEM simulations provided insight into stress distributions, modal behaviour, and resonance characteristics, serving as the foundation for optimisation. The mount was manufactured using the additive manufacturing processes FDM with carbon-fibre reinforced PA12 (Nylon 12CF), enabling a comparison of structural performance, weight reduction, and surface finish quality. Post-processing operations such as support removal, thermal treatment, and surface finishing were employed to enhance dimensional accuracy and mechanical stability. The final prototypes were then tested experimentally. Particular attention was given to the influence of mounting strategies and shaker placement, which were shown to be critical for effective energy transfer and occupant perception. The results demonstrate that additively manufactured, optimised mounts can meet the imposed functional and structural requirements. The integration of digital engineering tools within the 3DEXPERIENCE PLM platform further enabled seamless data management across design, simulation, and manufacturing stages. The findings underline the potential of advanced design–manufacture workflows to deliver lightweight, high-performance components for the automotive sector, while also highlighting challenges related to material anisotropy, post-processing demands, and experimental validation.