Front Fender Leg Portions Hollow Cross Section Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Front fenders made of resin face challenges in maintaining rigidity due to long leg portions, leading to potential weight increase and design issues such as sink marks during molding, and difficulty in color coding, which affects their structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a pair of leg portions with hollow cross sections formed by separate fender bases and covers, enhancing rigidity without increasing thickness or adding ribs, and allowing for color coding, thus reducing weight and preventing sink marks during molding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the leg portions are made longer to cover the front wheel, then the coverage and protection are improved, but the rigidity decreases and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The front fender is divided into multiple components: a fender body, a pair of leg portions, and a pair of fender covers. The leg portions are further segmented into hollow structures with walls, allowing the long leg portions to maintain rigidity through the hollow cross-sectional geometry while keeping weight manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg portions are designed with hollow cross sections, transitioning from solid to hollow structures. This dimensional change in the cross-sectional geometry provides structural rigidity comparable to solid sections but with reduced material usage and weight, while maintaining the required length for wheel coverage.
2Strength
If the leg portions are thickened to increase rigidity, then the strength is improved, but the weight increases and sink marks occur during molding
Solution Approach 1:
The leg portions are segmented into hollow structures with walls, dividing the material distribution to achieve rigidity without requiring thick solid sections. This segmentation allows the material to be positioned optimally for structural performance while minimizing overall material usage and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
By transitioning from solid to hollow cross-sectional geometry, the leg portions achieve comparable rigidity to thick solid sections but with significantly reduced material volume and weight. The hollow structure distributes material to maximize structural efficiency while preventing sink marks during injection molding.
3Ease of manufacture
If the fender body and covers are molded as one piece, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but color coding and design flexibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The front fender is segmented into separate moldable components: the fender body and the fender covers. This segmentation enables each component to be molded independently with different materials and colors, providing design flexibility and color coding capability while maintaining relatively simple manufacturing processes for each individual component.
Data Source
AI summary
A front fender attached to a front fork of a straddle-type vehicle, the front fender includes a fender body covering an upper side of a front wheel supported by the front fork, a pair of fender bases extending from two side edges of the fender body to an axle, and a pair of fender covers attached to the pair offender bases. A pair of leg portions having hollow cross sections are constituted by the pair of fender bases and the pair of fender covers, and the fender body is supported by the pair of leg portions attached to the front fork.