Composite Shaft With Hollow Core Insert For Fluid Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shaft designs face challenges in minimizing mass and inertia while incorporating fluid conduits, which increases material and machining costs due to the need for maintaining material in the center of the shaft.
Innovation Solution
A composite shaft design featuring a hollow shaft body with a core insert made of a lower density material, such as a polymer, that includes fluid conduits and is fixed to the shaft body using a pin, allowing for reduced mass and fabrication costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If material is left in the center of the shaft to provide fluid conduits, then fluid routing capability is improved, but mass and machining costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is divided into two separate components: a hollow shaft body and a separate core insert. The core insert contains the fluid conduits and is inserted into the hollow shaft body, allowing fluid routing capability while maintaining the lightweight hollow structure. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by separating the structural function (shaft body) from the fluid routing function (core insert).
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft uses a composite construction combining the shaft body material and core insert material. The core insert can be made of a different material optimized for fluid conduit formation, while the shaft body material is optimized for structural strength. This composite approach allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, achieving both lightweight design and fluid routing capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If material is left in the center of the shaft to provide fluid conduits, then fluid routing capability is improved, but machining costs and labor increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the shaft into a shaft body and a separate core insert, the fluid conduits can be formed in the core insert using more cost-effective methods such as molding or casting, rather than expensive machining operations on a solid shaft. This reduces machining costs while maintaining fluid routing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The core insert with fluid conduits is prepared in advance as a separate component. The conduits can be formed during the manufacturing of the core insert itself, before assembly into the final shaft. This preliminary formation of conduits reduces the need for expensive post-assembly machining operations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If material is left in the center of the shaft to provide fluid conduits, then fluid routing capability is improved, but inertia increases
Solution Approach 1:
The segmentation of the shaft into a hollow body and a separate core insert allows the core insert to be made from lower-density materials. This reduces the overall mass and inertia of the shaft while still providing the necessary fluid routing capability through the core insert's conduits.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the density parameter of the central material by using a core insert made of lower-density material compared to traditional solid shaft construction. This parameter change reduces the overall mass and inertia of the shaft while maintaining fluid routing capability through the insert's conduit system.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides an improved shaft design. The design includes an elongated annular shaft body, having an outer surface and defining a hollow cavity, and a core insert disposed in the hollow cavity. The shaft body has one or more radial flow ports that align with at least one fluid conduit in the insert. A pin couples the insert to the shaft body to prevent rotation of the insert relative to the shaft body. The shaft and the insert can be of different materials, for example, such that the density of the insert is less than that of the shaft body.