Plastic Fender Bellows Mounting for Thermal Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle fenders made of plastic materials experience significant thermal deformation during heat treatment processes due to differences in thermal expansion coefficients with steel materials, leading to damage and increased manufacturing costs from separate sliding fixtures required to cope with this deformation.
Innovation Solution
A plastic fender with a bellows-shaped mounting portion integrally formed with a fastening aperture, allowing for thermal expansion and contraction, reducing the need for separate mounting structures and enabling movement to prevent damage from thermal deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If heat treatment is performed on the vehicle body, then painting quality and color matching are improved, but the plastic fender is damaged due to thermal deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting portion is segmented into a fixed section (fastening aperture) and a movable section (bellows-shaped portion), allowing the fender to be divided into stable and flexible zones that can independently respond to thermal stress
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows-shaped portion transforms the static mounting structure into a dynamic one that can expand and contract during heat treatment, enabling the fender to adapt to thermal deformation through controlled movement rather than rigid fixation
2Reliability
If a separate sliding fixture is used to fix the plastic fender, then thermal deformation damage is prevented, but manufacturing costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting portion is merged with the fender body as an integral structure, combining the fender and mounting features into a single component that eliminates the need for separate sliding fixtures while maintaining thermal deformation protection
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows-shaped mounting portion provides self-accommodation to thermal deformation through its inherent expandable structure, eliminating the need for external compensation mechanisms or separate fixing devices
3Reliability
If a separate sliding fixture is used to cope with thermal deformation, then fender damage is prevented, but manufacturing time and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows-shaped mounting portion is pre-formed during fender manufacturing to inherently accommodate thermal expansion, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps or additional fixtures during installation and heat treatment processes
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 effectively reduces material and manufacturing costs, enhances fuel efficiency by minimizing weight, and mitigates environmental pollution by reducing carbon dioxide emissions through improved fuel efficiency, while preventing damage from thermal deformation.
Implementation Method 1
a greater thermal deformation occurs in the plastic material than in the steel material
Data Source
AI summary
A plastic fender is provided for coping with thermal deformation. Additionally, an apparatus is provided which makes an effect of allowing the plastic fender to move to cope with thermal deformation, by integrally forming a bellows shape with a mounting portion of the plastic fender. The plastic fender includes a hood line portion, a bumper line portion, and a door line portion. Additionally, mounting portions are formed along an edge of each of the hood line portion, the bumper line portion, and the door line portion, respectively. The plastic fender includes a bellows-shaped portion that is formed on the mounting portions and is moveable to cope with the thermal deformation.