Composite Rod End Loop Structure for High Load Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plastic rod ends offer significant weight savings but lack the strength to transmit high mechanical loads, limiting their application in aerospace and aviation where lightweight yet strong components are critical.
Innovation Solution
A rod end design featuring a bearing partially or fully enclosed by a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic, which extends in the form of a loop around the bearing and into a threaded stem, utilizing continuous-fiber reinforced thermoplastics with a high fiber volume fraction to enhance mechanical load capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If rod ends are made of plastic to achieve weight savings, then weight is reduced, but strength and load transmission capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining plastic with continuous fibers (such as glass fibers, carbon fibers, or aramid fibers) to create a fiber-reinforced plastic component. This composite structure provides both the weight advantages of plastic and the strength of fibers, resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and strength maintenance. The continuous fibers run through the plastic matrix to provide load-bearing capacity while keeping the overall weight low.
2Ease of manufacture
If short-fiber reinforced plastics are used, then manufacturing is easier, but load transmission capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies continuous-fiber reinforced plastics instead of short-fiber reinforced plastics. Continuous fibers provide superior load transmission capability compared to short fibers, while still being manufacturable through processes like injection molding or resin transfer molding. The continuous fiber structure allows loads to be distributed along the fiber length, significantly improving mechanical strength and load-bearing capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fiber configuration parameter from discontinuous (short fibers) to continuous fibers. This parameter change fundamentally improves the mechanical properties and load transmission capability of the plastic component. The continuous fiber arrangement allows for better stress distribution and higher strength-to-weight ratio, directly addressing the load transmission limitation of short-fiber plastics.
3Strength
If fiber-reinforced plastics are used to increase strength, then load transmission capability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates continuous fiber reinforcement directly into the plastic component design, creating a unified fiber-reinforced plastic structure. This approach combines multiple functions (structural support, load transmission, and manufacturing) into a single integrated component, reducing overall system complexity despite the advanced material properties. The fiber reinforcement is incorporated during the molding process rather than requiring separate assembly steps.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention achieves a high mechanical load capacity of a rod end by means of a component loop that passes around a bearing, where the component may be made of continuous-fiber reinforced composite material with thermoplastic matrix and where the continuous-fiber reinforced composite material with thermoplastic matrix may extend into a threaded stem of the rod end, and the component made of continuous-fiber reinforced composite material with thermoplastic matrix may be enclosed by short-fiber reinforced, long-fiber reinforced, or unreinforced thermoplastic. The threaded stem can be implemented with an external or an internal thread.