Integrated Stop Washer for Elastomeric Bearing Fastening
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in the automotive industry is to simplify the installation of fastening devices for cables and linings in the chassis region of motor vehicles, where access is limited and existing methods like welding or cutting threads often damage the surface protection and require additional post-processing, leading to weakened components and complex assembly steps.
Innovation Solution
A functionally integrated stop washer for elastomeric bearings is manufactured from a sheet metal blank with integrated features such as threads and anti-rotation protection, eliminating the need for separate attachment points and reducing assembly complexity by creating these features during the forming process, thus preserving the surface protection and simplifying fabrication and assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fastening devices are welded or cut into chassis components, then attachment points are created, but surface protection is damaged and additional post-processing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The stop washer is divided into functional zones: a base portion for mounting to the chassis and an integrated attachment point portion protruding from the base. This segmentation allows the attachment point to be formed separately during stamping without damaging the chassis surface protection, as the stop washer itself serves as the mounting carrier rather than modifying the chassis directly.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment point is pre-formed during the stamping process of the stop washer before the stop washer is installed on the chassis. The threaded hole and anti-rotation protrusions are created in advance as integral features of the stop washer, eliminating the need for post-installation drilling, welding, or thread-cutting operations that would damage the chassis surface protection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If additional mounting brackets are installed in the chassis region, then fastening capability is improved, but assembly complexity increases due to limited access
Solution Approach 1:
The stop washer combines multiple functions into a single component: it provides the path limiter function for the elastomeric bearing, serves as a mounting bracket for cables and linings through its integrated attachment point, and prevents rotation of the bearing. This merging eliminates the need for separate mounting brackets, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining fastening capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The stop washer is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously serves as a path limiter, a mounting carrier for additional fastening devices, and an anti-rotation element. This universality allows the same component to fulfill multiple roles, reducing the total number of parts and simplifying assembly procedures in the spatially constrained chassis region.
3Ease of manufacture
If welded-on holders or bolts are used, then attachment points are created, but the component is weakened and corrosion resistance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The stop washer is segmented into a base portion and an integrated attachment point portion, where the attachment point is formed as an integral feature during stamping. This segmentation allows the creation of threaded holes and anti-rotation protrusions without welding or cutting operations that would weaken the chassis structure, as all features are formed in the stop washer material itself.
Solution Approach 2:
All attachment features including threaded holes and anti-rotation protrusions are pre-formed during the stamping process before the stop washer is installed. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent welding, drilling, or thread-cutting operations that would compromise the structural integrity and corrosion resistance of the chassis components.
4Ease of manufacture
If surface protection is damaged during attachment point creation, then additional post-processing measures are required, but this increases fabrication complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment point is created in advance during the stamping process of the stop washer, before the stop washer is installed on the chassis. The threaded hole and anti-rotation protrusions are formed as integral features during the initial forming operation, eliminating the need for post-installation operations that would damage the chassis surface protection and require additional post-processing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The stop washer serves as an intermediary component between the chassis and the fastening devices. Instead of directly modifying the chassis to create attachment points, the stop washer provides its own integrated attachment features, mediating the connection and eliminating the need for operations that would damage the chassis surface protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A stop washer for an elastomeric bearing is manufactured as a single unit from a sheet metal blank and furnished with a surface protection. In addition to its function as a path limiter, it has at least one of the following functions by a structure integrated into the forming process of the sheet metal blank, namely the function of a thread and/or anti-rotation protection. Furthermore, an elastomeric bearing with such a stop washer and a subframe equipped therewith are conceivable.