Bracket Assembly Actuator Arm Tetrahedral Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bracket assemblies for vehicle brakes are prone to mechanical stress and structural deflection, requiring thick, costly manufacturing tools and numerous welds, which leads to increased air consumption during braking.
Innovation Solution
A bracket assembly design featuring an actuator mounting arm with inboard and outboard members, forming a tetrahedral structure with the camshaft tube, which reduces deflection and allows for easier manufacturing by eliminating the need for heavy tooling and additional welds, while providing improved stiffness and stress distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the mounting arm is made thick to withstand mechanical stress, then the strength is improved, but the ease of manufacture deteriorates due to heavy tooling requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting arm is divided into multiple segments or components that can be manufactured separately using lighter tooling and then assembled together. This segmentation allows each part to be produced with standard equipment while the assembled structure achieves the required strength through geometric configuration and connection design.
2Strength
If a gusset is added to reinforce the mounting arm, then the strength is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional welds
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing function previously requiring separate gusset components is merged into the integral design of the mounting arm structure itself. The arm's geometry incorporates stiffening features directly in its construction, eliminating the need for additional gusset plates and their associated welds, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining strength.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the mounting arm is made thick to reduce deflection, then the rigidity is improved, but the air consumption increases during braking
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly thickening the entire mounting arm, local quality principles are applied by strategically positioning thickness variations and stiffening features only where structurally necessary. This optimized distribution of material provides adequate rigidity to minimize deflection and associated air consumption while avoiding excess mass throughout the entire component.
Data Source
AI summary
A bracket assembly for a brake assembly and a brake actuator includes a tube configured to receive a camshaft of the brake assembly. A brake spider mounting flange and actuator mounting arm are disposed proximate opposite ends of the tube and configured for coupling to a brake spider and the actuator. The arm has inboard and outboard members—each with a body having one end affixed to the tube and an actuator mounting flange extending from another end of the body. The mounting flanges define aligned bores configured to receive a fastener of the actuator. A centerline of a gusset joining the body and flange of the inboard member is angled relative to at least one of a plane containing a longitudinal axis of the tube and a plane containing a load path line joining the center points of a tube bore and pushrod notch formed in the inboard member.