Honeycomb Air Guide for Engine Cooling Cost Reduction

Solution Overview

Problem

The existing air guides for motor vehicle engines are costly to produce due to the need for expensive manufacturing techniques for both standardized and non-standardized parts.

Innovation Solution

An air guide design featuring a substantially rectangular frame structure with a convergent section produced from cut and folded sheets of plastic material, where the standardized frame is molded and the model-specific convergent section is assembled from simple sheets, reducing production costs by reserving expensive molding techniques for common parts and using inexpensive cutting and bending for less standardized components.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If expensive molding techniques are used for both standardized and non-standardized parts, then manufacturing precision and structural integrity are improved, but production costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing precisionVSAvoidproduction costs

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The air guide is divided into two distinct parts: a standardized frame structure and a model-specific convergent section. The frame, which requires high precision and structural integrity, is manufactured using expensive molding techniques. The convergent section, which varies by model but has lower precision requirements, is manufactured using inexpensive cutting and bending of sheet material. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured with the most appropriate technique for its specific requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different manufacturing qualities are applied to different parts of the air guide based on their specific functional requirements. The frame structure receives high-quality molded construction for structural support, while the convergent section uses lower-quality sheet metal fabrication suitable for its shaping and sealing functions. This local differentiation of quality matches manufacturing effort to actual need.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Strength

If expensive molding techniques are used for all parts, then structural integrity is improved, but production costs and investment in specific tools increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural integrityVSAvoidproduction costs

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The air guide is divided into two distinct parts: a standardized frame structure and a model-specific convergent section. The frame, which requires high precision and structural integrity, is manufactured using expensive molding techniques. The convergent section, which varies by model but has lower precision requirements, is manufactured using inexpensive cutting and bending of sheet material. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured with the most appropriate technique for its specific requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The convergent section is manufactured as a separate, replaceable component using inexpensive sheet material that can be cut and bent. This allows for cost-effective production of model-specific variations without investing in expensive molds, while the permanent structural frame retains its molded construction for strength.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Productivity

If standardized molding is used for all components, then manufacturing efficiency is improved, but adaptability to different vehicle models decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing efficiencyVSAvoidadaptability to different models

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The air guide is divided into two distinct parts: a standardized frame structure and a model-specific convergent section. The frame, which requires high precision and structural integrity, is manufactured using expensive molding techniques. The convergent section, which varies by model but has lower precision requirements, is manufactured using inexpensive cutting and bending of sheet material. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured with the most appropriate technique for its specific requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The frame structure is designed as a universal standardized component that can be used across multiple vehicle models, achieving economies of scale through standardized molding. The convergent section serves as the adaptive element that is customized for each specific model through simple sheet fabrication, allowing the overall system to be both efficient and adaptable.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP2897828B1Modular air guide made partially from a honeycomb material for a system for cooling a motor vehicle engine

Publication Date: 2016.08.24 RENAULT SA

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Figure 3~10

AI summary

This air guide (10), which is intended to be arranged in front of a cooling system provided in a vehicle engine compartment, and behind at least a ventilation grille of a front face of the vehicle, is in the form of a substantially rectangular frame structure (11) comprising, at the front of said frame structure, at least one diffuser (12- 15) attached to said frame structure (11); the diffuser (12-15) is made from walls (12, 13, 14 and 15) formed by cutting/bending a sheet of honeycomb material.