Faucet Rough-in Assembly Weight Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional free-standing faucet rough-in assemblies made from copper-based metals are costly and prone to instability due to their weight and small contact area with the floor, leading to wobbliness during use.
Innovation Solution
A rough-in assembly design featuring a mounting base secured to laminated wood with a connection tube set and nuts, eliminating the need for cast copper-based bases, providing a stable and cost-effective installation by distributing weight over a larger surface area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a cast copper-based base is used for the rough-in assembly, then the passageways for water flow are achieved, but the production cost increases and the weight causes instability
Solution Approach 1:
The base is divided into multiple components: a base body, a mounting plate, and adjustable support legs. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured separately using simpler, lower-cost processes while maintaining the overall functionality of water flow passageways and structural support.
Solution Approach 2:
The support legs incorporate adjustable height mechanisms that allow modification of the contact area and distribution of weight. By changing the geometric parameters of the support structure, the system achieves both cost reduction through simpler manufacturing and improved stability through adjustable weight distribution.
2Device complexity
If the base area is kept small, then the passageway structure is simplified, but the faucet becomes wobbly and unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting plate extends horizontally to provide a larger contact area with the floor, while the support legs provide vertical adjustment capability. This dimensional approach allows the base structure to remain relatively simple while achieving enhanced stability through increased surface area and adjustable height compensation.
Solution Approach 2:
The support legs incorporate adjustable height mechanisms that allow dynamic adaptation to floor irregularities. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the faucet to maintain stability on various surfaces without requiring an overly complex rigid base structure.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the total weight of the base is increased, then the faucet becomes more stable, but the production cost and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The base assembly uses composite construction combining a base body, mounting plate, and adjustable support legs made from cost-effective materials. This composite approach achieves the necessary stability without requiring a single heavy cast copper component, reducing both material cost and manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable support legs act as counterbalancing elements that distribute the weight of the faucet across multiple contact points on the floor. This weight distribution mechanism provides stability equivalent to a heavier single-point base but with reduced material usage and lower production cost.
Data Source
AI summary
A rough-in assembly for mounting a free-standing faucet on a floor is revealed. The rough-in assembly includes a mounting base, a connection tube set having cold-water and hot-water connection tubes, a fixing plate, and a plurality of nuts. The mounting base consists of a bottom plate fixed on a laminated wood, a tube-fixing portion positioned on the bottom plate and provided with two locking slots, and a plurality of bolts projecting from the bottom plate and inserted through a mounting hole on the floor. The cold-water and hot-water connection tubes are locked in the two locking slots of the tube-fixing portion. The fixing plate allows the bolts of the mounting base to pass therethrough. The nuts are threaded on the bolts for fastening the fixing plate on the floor. Thereby the free-standing faucet is secured on the floor firmly and production cost is dramatically reduced.