3D-Printed Gearbox Drift Tool With Lattice Impact Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Heavy-duty vehicle maintenance tools, particularly those used for gearbox maintenance, are cumbersome and prone to causing damage due to the high forces required and the risk of incorrect handling.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight, one-piece thermoplastic maintenance tool with a cylindrical shape and a reinforcing lattice structure at the rear end, designed for additive manufacturing, which reduces weight and enhances impact resistance, thereby minimizing the risk of damage during maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a steel drift tool is used for heavy-duty vehicle gearbox maintenance, then the tool has sufficient strength to withstand high percussive forces, but the tool becomes very heavy (1.5-2 kg) causing operator strain and handling difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from steel to thermoplastic polymer, fundamentally altering the weight-to-strength ratio. The thermoplastic material achieves sufficient impact resistance while reducing tool weight by up to 85%, directly resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure combining a thermoplastic polymer body with an integrated reinforcing lattice structure. This composite approach provides the necessary strength and impact resistance equivalent to steel while maintaining the lightweight advantage of polymer materials.
2Force
If a steel drift tool is used for mounting or removing components, then the tool can apply necessary percussive forces, but the tool may damage the seat or surrounding areas if handled incorrectly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material hardness parameter from hard steel to softer thermoplastic polymer. This allows the tool to transmit necessary percussive forces while the lower hardness prevents damage to the gearbox seat and surrounding components, even during incorrect handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of high percussive forces into a benefit by using a material that absorbs and dissipates impact energy more safely. The thermoplastic material's inherent damping characteristics convert the harmful sharp impacts into safer, more distributed forces that protect the gearbox components.
3Weight of moving object
If a one-piece thermoplastic tool with lattice structure is used, then the tool achieves lightweight design with reduced weight, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex requiring additive manufacturing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the tool body and reinforcing lattice structure into a single integrated component manufactured in one piece. This eliminates the need for separate manufacturing and assembly of multiple parts, making the complex lattice structure feasible through additive manufacturing while achieving lightweight design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the lattice structure locally where reinforcement is needed within the thermoplastic tool body. This localized reinforcement approach provides necessary strength in specific areas while maintaining overall lightweight design, and the additive manufacturing process makes this complex local geometry manufacturable.
Data Source
AI summary
A heavy-duty vehicle maintenance tool applicable to mount or remove a component from a gearbox has a cylindrical shape with a predetermined extension along a central axis. The tool further including a cylindrical wall enclosing an inner cylindrical cavity and connecting an open first end and a closed second end. The tool has a first end arranged to be placed in contact with a corresponding surface on a component to be mounted and a second end arranged to be subjected to an external force in order to mount or remove the component. The second end includes an internal reinforcing lattice structure within the cavity. The tool is a lightweight, one-piece thermoplastic component and is produced using an additive manufacturing process.