3D-Printed Openwork Dashboard Structure for Lighter Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity and weight of traditional dashboard assemblies, composed of multiple molded polymer or composite components joined together, make them difficult to assemble and heavy to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece openwork structural element for a motor vehicle dashboard body produced by three-dimensional printing, featuring internal passages for a crossmember and steering column fastening support, with a network of material that minimizes weight while maintaining mechanical integrity, and a crossmember with a bent tube and fastening elements for simplified installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a dashboard body is composed of a large number of elements joined together, then the structural integrity and functionality are ensured, but the assembly complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple dashboard components into a single integrated dashboard body that combines the dashboard structure, crossmember, and fastening elements into one monolithic piece. This is achieved through additive manufacturing processes that enable complex geometries to be produced as a single component, eliminating the need for separate parts and assembly operations while maintaining structural integrity through optimized lattice structures and integrated fastening features.
2Ease of manufacture
If a dashboard body is composed of multiple molded components joined together, then the manufacturing flexibility and material selection are improved, but the assembly time and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple manufactured components into a single additively manufactured dashboard body, eliminating sequential assembly operations. The integrated design allows all structural elements, passages, and fastening features to be produced in one manufacturing process, significantly reducing assembly time while maintaining manufacturing flexibility through digital design and additive fabrication capabilities.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional molded polymer components are used, then the ease of manufacturing individual components is improved, but the overall assembly weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs lattice structures and open-cell foam materials within the dashboard body to reduce weight while maintaining structural integrity. These porous or cellular structures provide strength-to-weight optimization by distributing loads through the three-dimensional framework while using less material than solid constructions, thereby reducing overall dashboard weight without compromising mechanical properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The integration of multiple components into a single additively manufactured part eliminates the weight of fasteners, joints, and redundant structural elements required in traditional assembled constructions. The monolithic design with internal passages and integrated fastening features removes the need for separate components and connection hardware, resulting in significant weight reduction.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components are joined together to form the dashboard body, then the adaptability and functionality are improved, but the number of fastenings and assembly steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functional elements including structural support, crossmember attachment, and fastening mechanisms into a single dashboard body. The additive manufacturing process enables internal passages and integrated fastening features to be incorporated directly into the monolithic structure, eliminating the need for separate fasteners and assembly steps while maintaining functional adaptability through design flexibility.
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 reduces the number of components and fastenings, resulting in a lighter and easier-to-assemble dashboard with reduced weight and improved mounting efficiency, while allowing for the integration of additional functions like storage enclosures and aeraulic ducts.
Implementation Method 1
a one-piece openwork structural element for a motor vehicle dashboard body produced by three-dimensional printing
Data Source
AI summary
A structural element forms a motor vehicle dashboard body that is intended to be installed in a transverse installation position inside a vehicle passenger compartment. The structural element has a one-piece openwork structure produced by three-dimensional printing. The openwork structure defines: a first internal passage that passes all the way through the structural element and extends transversely when the structural element is in the installation position. The first passage is shaped so as to receive a crossmember that is in particular bent with a constant radius of curvature and having at least two fastening elements that are intended to be fastened to the crossmember. A second internal passage connects the first passage to a face of the structural element that is directed toward the rear of the vehicle when the structural element is in the installation position. The second passage has at least one fastening element that is intended to fasten a steering column fastening support.