Modular Tri-Component Screw for Material-Optimized Fastening
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing screw designs face challenges in achieving versatile and economical manufacturing while ensuring good performance and reliability, particularly in addressing conflicting material properties and accommodating various applications such as concrete-wood connections.
Innovation Solution
The screw is composed of at least three separate components: a tipward shank section, a screw thread helix, and a rearward shank section, which are non-monolithic and optimized for specific properties like edge-holding, stability, and corrosion resistance, allowing for modular configuration and manufacturing versatility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a monolithic screw design is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but material properties cannot be optimized for different functions
Solution Approach 1:
The screw is divided into multiple separate components: a tipward shank section, a rearward shank section, and a screw thread helix. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured from materials optimized for its specific function, while still enabling relatively simple manufacturing processes for each individual component.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses different materials for different parts of the screw. The tipward shank section can be made from a material optimized for penetration and edge-holding, the rearward shank section from a material optimized for corrosion resistance or strength, and the screw thread helix from a material optimized for thread cutting and engagement. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by allowing material property optimization without requiring a single complex monolithic manufacturing process.
2Manufacturing precision
If the screw thread helix material is optimized for high hardness to achieve good thread cutting properties, then thread cutting performance improves, but the tipward shank section needs high strength and ductility which may conflict with hard material properties
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the screw thread helix from the tipward shank section, the invention allows the helix to be made from a very hard material optimized for cutting threads in concrete and reinforcement bars, while the tipward shank section can be made from a material with high strength and ductility optimized for withstanding tensile loads and providing stability during installation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the screw are made from materials with properties locally optimized for their specific functions. The screw thread helix uses hard material for cutting, the tipward shank section uses strong and ductile material for load-bearing, and the rearward shank section uses material optimized for corrosion resistance or other specific requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If very long shank lengths and nonstandard head geometries are manufactured with traditional methods, then manufacturing complexity increases, but modular design allows versatility without complex tooling modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The screw is segmented into standardized tipward shank sections with screw thread helixes and interchangeable rearward shank sections with different head geometries. This allows the production of screws with varying lengths and head configurations by simply changing the rearward shank section component, without requiring modifications to the tooling for manufacturing the standardized tipward shank section.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a universal platform where a single standardized tipward shank section design can be combined with multiple different rearward shank section variants to produce screws suitable for different applications, shank lengths, and head geometries. This multi-functionality approach allows one tooling setup to produce multiple screw variants.
Data Source
AI summary
A screw includes a tipward shank section, a screw thread helix, and a rearward shank section. The screw thread helix is disposed on the tipward shank section, protrudes from the tipward shank section, and winds around the tipward shank section. The rearward shank section has a coupler where a tensile load is introducible into the screw by the coupler. The tipward shank section and the screw thread helix are non-monolithic with respect to one another. The tipward shank section and the rearward shank section are non-monolithic with respect to one another.