Universal Drive Housing With Modular Bearings for Load Adaptation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing costs of transmissions are increased due to the need for different gearbox housing designs to accommodate various input shaft bearing types, which are adapted to specific customer loads, leading to higher production expenses for small series production.
Innovation Solution
A gearbox series with identical support structures and housings, but different bearing designs for each gearbox, allowing for customer-specific load adaptations while benefiting from economies of scale, particularly using identical cast parts and non-identical input shafts with varying geometries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different housing designs are used for each bearing type to meet customer-specific load requirements, then adaptability to customer requirements is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission system is segmented into modular components: a standardized housing with support structure and interchangeable bearing assemblies. This allows the housing to remain uniform while bearing types vary to meet different customer load requirements, reducing housing manufacturing cost while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing and support structure are designed as universal components that can accommodate multiple bearing types through standardized mounting interfaces. This multi-functionality allows a single housing design to serve various customer-specific load cases by simply changing the bearing assembly, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining versatility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple housing designs are produced for different bearing configurations, then bearing adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the housing (standardized) from the bearing assemblies (variable). This segmentation allows bearing design variety to meet different load requirements while the housing remains simple and uniform, reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure acts as an intermediary between the standardized housing and the variable bearing assemblies. It provides a universal mounting interface that accommodates different bearing types without requiring different housing designs, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining adaptability.
3Ease of manufacture
If standardized support structures are used across the transmission series, then ease of manufacture is improved, but adaptability to different bearing types may be limited
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is designed with universal mounting features and standardized interfaces that can accommodate multiple bearing types. This multi-functionality allows a single standardized support structure to work with different bearing configurations, maintaining both ease of manufacture and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure incorporates adjustable or configurable elements that can be adapted to different bearing types without changing the overall standardized design. This dynamic adaptability allows the same support structure to accommodate various bearing configurations while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a transmission design series comprising a first transmission (101) and a second transmission (201); wherein said first transmission (101) and second transmission (201) each have an input shaft (103, 203), a housing (105, 205), a support structure (107, 207) secured in the housing, and at least two bearings (109a, 109b, 209a, 209b) used to rotatably mount the input shaft (103, 203) in the support structure (107, 207); and wherein the at least two bearings (109a, 109b) of the first transmission (101) are of identical design and the at least two bearings (209a, 209b) of the second transmission (201) are of identical design. The design of the at least two bearings (109a, 109b) of the first transmission (101) differs from the design of the at least two bearings (209a, 209b) of the second transmission (201); and the support structures (107, 207) are identical in design.