Angled Guide Plate with Variable Thickness for Rail Fastening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current plastic angled guide plates for rail fastening systems are not optimally designed for their material properties, leading to high material usage, costly manufacturing, and long cycle times due to inappropriate design and construction.
Innovation Solution
The angled guide plate features a basic body with a supporting region thicker than a guide region, designed for mechanical decoupling, electrical insulation, and frictional engagement, made from a composite material like polyamide 6 with glass fibers, optimizing material usage and manufacturing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If angled guide plates are made with uniform thickness throughout, then manufacturing is simpler, but material usage is excessive and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate features varying thickness across different regions: the supporting region has greater thickness to withstand mechanical loads, while the guide region has reduced thickness. This local differentiation optimizes material usage by providing structural strength only where needed, rather than uniform thickness throughout the entire component.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide plate is divided into distinct functional regions (supporting region and guide region) with different thickness characteristics. This segmentation allows each region to be optimized independently for its specific function, reducing overall material consumption while maintaining performance.
2Strength
If angled guide plates are made with thicker walls for strength, then mechanical properties improve, but manufacturing cycle times increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate implements local thickness variation where the supporting region has increased thickness for mechanical strength and load-bearing capacity, while the guide region has reduced thickness. This localized approach maintains necessary strength properties only in critical areas, thereby reducing overall material volume and manufacturing cycle time.
3Quantity of substance
If angled guide plates use optimized thickness distribution, then material usage decreases, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate features localized thickness optimization with the supporting region maintaining greater thickness for structural integrity while the guide region has reduced thickness. This targeted approach minimizes material usage in non-critical areas while preserving strength where required, balancing material reduction with manageable manufacturing precision requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces material usage by 10-30%, decreases production costs, and enhances manufacturing quality by minimizing wall thickness and aligning with material properties, allowing for flexible and efficient force transmission.
Implementation Method 1
the main functions of the angled guide plate are the mechanical decoupling of the horizontal wheel force between the rail and the (railway) sleeper, the electrical insulation between the rail and the (railway) sleeper as well as the fastening and the guiding of the rail in track direction by frictional engagement
Implementation Method 2
the main functions of the angled guide plate are the mechanical decoupling of the horizontal wheel force between the rail and the (railway) sleeper, the electrical insulation between the rail and the (railway) sleeper
Data Source
AI summary
An angled guide plate, in particular for rail fastening systems, includes a basic body that has an upper side and an underside, wherein the underside is designed for arranging on a further element, in particular a railway sleeper, whereas the upper side describes an opposite plane substantially transversely to the railway sleeper and wherein the angled guide plate consists of a guide region and a supporting region, wherein the guide region and the supporting region extend substantially parallel and adjacent to one another in a direction transverse to a track direction, and wherein the upper side and the underside are spaced apart from one another so that a thickness of the supporting region, as measured substantially perpendicularly to the underside, is larger, at least in part, than a thickness of the guide region.