Metal Support Member With Thin-Waisted Projections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing metal support members with projections on their outer surfaces, used to prevent wear and secure rotary members, often suffer from insufficient contact with the attached member and risk incomplete filling of grooves during casting, leading to a weak connection.
Innovation Solution
A metal support member with a semicircular cross-section, formed by a pair of split members, featuring a plurality of projections on its outer surface, including thin-waisted shapes, which are produced through centrifugal casting and attached via insert casting or integral molding, ensuring improved contact and preventing the member from being pulled out or turning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a plurality of grooves is provided in the inner surface of the outside member for forming projections during casting, then the support member can be securely attached to the outside member, but there is a risk that the grooves are not completely filled during casting, leading to a weak connection
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is designed with projections that already have thin-waisted shapes (recessed wholes) at their bases before casting. This preliminary design ensures that molten metal can easily flow into and fill the grooves during casting, eliminating the risk of incomplete filling while maintaining strong mechanical interlocking between the support member and outside member.
Solution Approach 2:
The projections are designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring thin-waisted shapes (recessed wholes) at specific locations rather than uniform thickness throughout. This local variation in geometry creates regions that are more susceptible to being filled by molten metal, ensuring reliable connection at critical interfaces while maintaining overall structural integrity.
2Reliability
If the support member is made thicker to ensure adequate contact with the outside member, then connection reliability improves, but the overall device size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly thickening the support member, the design incorporates thin-waisted shapes (recessed wholes) at specific locations of the projections. This creates localized regions of enhanced contact and mechanical interlocking with the outside member, achieving reliable connection only where needed rather than throughout the entire structure, thus minimizing unnecessary material and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact interface between the support member and outside member is segmented into multiple discrete projections rather than a continuous thick structure. Each projection with thin-waisted shapes provides localized contact points, distributing the connection function across multiple segments and allowing the support member to be thinner overall while maintaining adequate contact reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances contact between the support member and the attached member, preventing displacement and ensuring a secure connection while allowing for thinner designs, with optimal projection height and density to maintain precision and fill clearance effectively.
Implementation Method 1
The metal support member is preferably produced by centrifugal casting
Implementation Method 2
The metal support member is preferably attached by being insert cast in a member made of aluminum, aluminum alloy, magnesium, or magnesium alloy
Data Source
Figure 1A~2
Figure 3A~4
Figure 5A~6
AI summary
A support member with excellent contact with the member to which the support member (3) is attached, that is, a metal support member which supports a shaft (4) directly or through a bearing and which has a plurality of the projections (6) at its outer circumferential surface (5), wherein the plurality of the projections (6) are formed at the outer circumferential surface (5) as a whole at the time of casting of the support member (3) and wherein at least part of the projections (6) have thin-waisted shapes or a plastic support member which supports a shaft (4) directly or through a bearing and which has a plurality of the projections (6) at its outer circumferential surface (5), wherein the plurality of the projections (6) are formed at the outer circumferential surface (5) as a whole at the time of molding of the support member (3) and wherein at least part of the projections (6) have thin-waisted shapes.