Chain Saw Guide Bar Assembly for Faster Lightweight Manufacturing

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Solution Overview

Problem

The manufacturing process of chain saw guide bars is lengthy and costly due to the need for forming multiple recesses and grinding resin surfaces, which increases the time and cost.

Innovation Solution

A chain saw guide bar design featuring elongated holes and pre-formed attachment members made of lightweight materials, such as resin, which are easily fitted and joined using methods like welding or adhesive, reducing the number of manufacturing steps and time.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Weight of moving object

If multiple recesses are formed by cutting and resin filling, then weight reduction is achieved, but manufacturing time and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguide bar weightVSAvoidmanufacturing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Weight of moving objectVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The guide bar body is designed with recesses and protrusions pre-formed during metal plate processing. The attachment members are pre-formed with matching protrusions and recesses before assembly. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming post-assembly cutting and resin filling operations, reducing manufacturing time while maintaining weight reduction benefits.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The guide bar is divided into a metal plate body and separate attachment members. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized and pre-formed independently, enabling simpler manufacturing processes for each part while achieving the overall weight reduction goal through material selection and structural design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Weight of moving object

If multiple recesses are formed by cutting and resin filling, then weight reduction is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguide bar weightVSAvoidmanufacturing cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Weight of moving objectVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

All complex geometries including recesses and protrusions are pre-formed during the metal plate processing and attachment member fabrication stages. This eliminates the need for costly post-assembly resin filling and grinding operations, significantly reducing manufacturing cost while preserving the weight reduction achieved through the designed structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Manufacturing precision

If resin surfaces are ground after curing, then surface flushness is achieved, but manufacturing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurface flushnessVSAvoidmanufacturing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The attachment members are pre-formed with protrusions that have precise dimensions and surface finishes. When assembled to the guide bar body, these pre-formed protrusions automatically achieve the required surface flushness without requiring subsequent grinding operations, thereby eliminating time-consuming post-processing while maintaining manufacturing precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3263299B1Guide bar of chain saw
Publication Date: 2025.12.17 SUEHIRO SEIKO
  • EP3263299B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3263299B1 patent drawingFigure 2(A)~2(E)
  • EP3263299B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A guide bar of a chain saw according to the present invention includes: an elongated plate-shaped guide bar body (1) that supports a saw chain on its peripheral edge portion; a plurality of elongated holes (2a, 2b) formed through the guide bar body (1) and positioned at both sides of a region that has a predetermined width and includes a central axis line CL extending in a longitudinal direction of the guide bar body (1), such that the region is positioned between the elongated holes (2a, 2b), which are elongated in the longitudinal direction; and a plurality of attachment members (3), each of which is pre-formed in such a shape as to seal up a corresponding one of the elongated holes (2a, 2b) and attached to the corresponding elongated hole (2a, 2b).