Sheet Metal Camshaft Adjuster Locking Cover With Raised Collar
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Solution Overview
Problem
Camshaft adjusters face high production costs and weight due to the need for massive components to withstand large forces and oil pressures, limiting economical manufacturing while maintaining functional reliability.
Innovation Solution
A camshaft adjuster with a locking cover made of sheet metal featuring an axially raised collar that provides stability and rigidity, allowing for the use of low material thickness without compromising performance, and incorporating fastening elements for additional components, enabling cost-effective and lightweight construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking cover is made as a massive component to withstand large forces and oil pressures, then functional reliability is improved, but production costs and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The locking cover is divided into a base component and a separate collar component. The collar is inserted into the base, creating a segmented structure that provides the necessary structural strength to withstand forces and pressures while using less material overall, thereby reducing weight and production costs compared to a fully massive construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking cover combines different material forms - a sheet metal base with a collar component - to create a composite structure. This allows the design to achieve the required mechanical strength and reliability through the combined properties of the components rather than requiring the entire structure to be massively constructed from a single material.
2Strength
If a locking cover is made as a massive component to withstand large forces, then strength is improved, but production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the locking cover into a base and a collar, each component can be manufactured more economically using standard sheet metal forming processes. The collar provides the necessary structural reinforcement at critical locations without requiring the entire cover to be massively constructed, thereby reducing material costs and production expenses while maintaining required strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar component provides localized structural reinforcement at the periphery of the locking cover where strength is most needed to withstand forces and pressures. The base can be made with standard sheet metal thickness in the center area, optimizing material usage and production costs while maintaining overall strength through the strategically placed collar.
3Weight of stationary object
If sheet metal with low material thickness is used for the locking cover, then weight and production costs are reduced, but stability and rigidity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The collar inserted into the base creates a segmented structure that provides structural reinforcement. This segmentation allows the use of thinner sheet metal for the base while the collar component provides the necessary rigidity and stability at critical locations, preventing the entire structure from requiring heavy material thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar adds a three-dimensional structural element to the otherwise flat sheet metal base. This dimensional addition provides the necessary rigidity and stability without requiring increased material thickness across the entire surface, thereby maintaining weight reduction benefits while achieving the required structural stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A camshaft adjuster (2) having a locking cover (1) formed of sheet metal, wherein the locking cover (1) has a substantially disc-shaped base surface (3) and has a collar (7), which extends in an axial direction (5) and which runs at least partially around the base surface (3), for receiving a spring cover (31). As a result of the production of the locking cover (1) from sheet metal in combination with a turned-up collar (7), the locking cover (1) can be produced simply and cost-effectively and nevertheless offers adequately high strength despite the low material thickness.