Elastically Deformable Alignment Members for Automotive Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Matable components in automotive vehicles often experience significant positional variation due to manufacturing variances, leading to misalignment, noise, and a perception of poor quality, as oversized holes and undersized bosses result in undesirably large alignment variations and relative motion between components.
Innovation Solution
An elastically averaged alignment system is introduced, where deformable alignment members and apertures facilitate precise alignment by elastically deforming to an averaged configuration upon insertion, providing an interference fit and minimizing manufacturing positional variance, allowing for repeatable assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If oversized holes and undersized bosses are used for alignment, then manufacturing tolerance is accommodated, but alignment precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment member is made of an elastically deformable material, changing the physical parameter of rigidity to flexibility. This allows the alignment member to deform elastically during insertion and achieve a precise interference fit with the alignment aperture, thereby improving alignment precision while still accommodating manufacturing tolerances through the elastic deformation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment member is constructed from an elastically deformable material that can flex and deform during the insertion process. This flexible structure allows the member to adapt to variations in aperture dimensions while maintaining precise alignment, resolving the contradiction between tolerance accommodation and alignment precision
2Ease of operation
If clearance between alignment features is increased, then ease of assembly is improved, but relative motion and noise increase
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment member transitions from a rigid structure to an elastically deformable one, changing the material parameter to enable controlled deformation. This allows the member to be inserted with minimal clearance for ease of assembly, then deform to eliminate gaps and prevent relative motion, thereby reducing noise while maintaining assembly ease
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic deformability of the alignment member converts what would normally be a harmful feature (flexibility) into a beneficial one. The deformation capability that might suggest instability is instead used to actively eliminate clearance and prevent relative motion, transforming the potential harm of flexibility into the benefit of precise, noise-free alignment
3Manufacturing precision
If interference fit is used for precise alignment, then alignment precision is improved, but assembly difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment member's elastic deformability changes the mechanical parameter of rigidity, allowing the member to be inserted with minimal force despite the interference fit requirements. The material deforms elastically during insertion and then maintains the precise interference fit, achieving both alignment precision and ease of assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment member transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic elastic structure that can deform during insertion and then stabilize in its final position. This dynamic behavior allows the member to adapt to the interference fit conditions, making assembly easier while maintaining precise alignment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves precise alignment and reduced relative motion between components, enhancing the functional and aesthetic quality of assemblies by minimizing positional variance and noise issues.
Implementation Method 1
The first and second alignment members are an elastically deformable material such that when the first and second alignment members are inserted into the alignment aperture, the first and second alignment members elastically deform to an elastically averaged final configuration
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, an elastically averaged alignment system is provided. The system includes a first component having a first alignment member and a second alignment member extending outwardly away from each other, and a second component having an inner wall defining an alignment aperture, the inner wall having a first wall and an opposite second wall. The first and second alignment members are an elastically deformable material such that when the first and second alignment members are inserted into the alignment aperture, the first and second alignment members elastically deform to an elastically averaged final configuration to facilitate aligning the first component with the second component in a desired orientation.