One-Piece Metal Frame for Enclosure Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enclosures for electronic components made from flexible materials like plastic are prone to deformation due to environmental factors and physical contact, leading to compromised seals and potential catastrophic failure from external elements.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece structural frame made from metal, designed to provide structural support and protect against deformation, featuring a semi-rigid configuration with cutouts and channels for efficient installation and manufacturing, reducing material usage and weight while enhancing protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If enclosures are made from flexible materials like plastic, then ease of manufacture and cost are improved, but structural strength and resistance to deformation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure combines plastic material with a metal frame structure to create a composite construction. The plastic provides ease of manufacture and sealing, while the metal frame adds structural strength and deformation resistance, resolving the contradiction between manufacturability and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure is divided into separate components: a plastic housing and a metal frame. The frame can be inserted into or attached to the plastic housing, allowing each component to be manufactured separately using optimal materials and processes, then assembled into a unified structure with both ease of manufacture and structural strength.
2Ease of manufacture
If enclosures are made from flexible materials like plastic, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability and protection against deformation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The hybrid plastic-metal construction provides both the manufacturing advantages of plastic and the reliability of metal structure. The frame prevents deformation that could compromise seals or protect electronic components, ensuring reliability while maintaining ease of manufacture through separate component production.
Solution Approach 2:
By separating the enclosure into a plastic housing and metal frame, the design allows the plastic to be easily manufactured and molded, while the metal frame independently provides the reliability and deformation protection needed, with the two segments working together in the final assembly.
3Strength
If a one-piece structural frame is used, then structural strength and protection are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame integrates multiple structural functions into a single one-piece component, combining support, sealing, and protective functions. While the frame itself is complex, this merging reduces the total number of parts compared to using multiple separate structural elements, simplifying the overall assembly process.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame design incorporates specific geometric parameters and configurations optimized for structural strength while maintaining manufacturability. The one-piece construction uses controlled material distribution and cross-sectional variations to achieve high strength-to-weight ratio and structural integrity without requiring excessive complexity.
4Reliability
If a one-piece structural frame is used, then reliability and seal integrity are improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The one-piece frame integrates all sealing surfaces and structural support functions in a single manufactured component. This merging ensures consistent geometry and uniform material properties throughout, improving seal integrity by eliminating potential failure points at joints or connections between multiple parts, while the single-piece manufacturing process maintains controlled precision requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A one-piece structural frame for use with an enclosure, such as an enclosure that houses one or more electronic components is described. The one-piece structural frame includes cutouts that enable the frame to be deformed into a shape conforming to an enclosure to provide additional structural support for the enclosure. The techniques described herein provide a lighter, less expensive method for creating an enclosure frame and for ease in manufacturing the frame and an enclosure that includes the frames.