Plastic Guide Rail Injection Moulding for Vehicle Roof Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing aluminum roof guide rails for open roof constructions fail to achieve optimal shape and stability, leading to manufacturing difficulties and noise issues in applications like vehicle roofs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the initial manufacturing of guide rails with spaced guide faces and a connecting web, using a living hinge to facilitate folding into a 'folded open' position, followed by stabilization with fastening means, allowing for easier production and assembly, and potentially eliminating the need for anodizing and milling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If aluminum extrusion process is used to manufacture guide rail, then manufacturing process is simple, but optimal shape cannot be achieved and stability is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from aluminum to plastic, enabling the use of injection-moulding technology. This parameter change allows the guide rail to achieve complex three-dimensional shapes with high precision that cannot be obtained through aluminum extrusion, while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through automated injection-moulding processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates guide faces directly into the plastic body during the injection-moulding process as preliminary action. This eliminates the need for subsequent milling operations required for aluminum guide rails, achieving both manufacturing simplicity and shape precision simultaneously. The guide faces are formed with exact dimensions and surface quality directly in the moulding stage.
2Ease of manufacture
If aluminum guide rail is manufactured, then manufacturing process is straightforward, but anodizing and milling steps are required increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into the plastic material itself. The plastic body integrates structural support, guide face surfaces, and noise damping functions into a single component manufactured in one injection-moulding process. This eliminates the need for separate anodizing and milling operations, reducing device complexity while maintaining manufacturing ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The injection-moulding process creates a direct copy of the desired final guide rail geometry including guide faces, mounting features, and internal structures in a single step. This eliminates the need for progressive machining operations required for aluminum, reducing post-processing complexity while maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Weight of moving object
If aluminum guide rail is used, then material is lightweight, but noise production increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses plastic as a composite material that combines lightweight properties with inherent noise damping characteristics. The plastic material absorbs vibrations and reduces noise generation during operation, while maintaining low weight comparable to aluminum. This resolves the contradiction by selecting a material that simultaneously provides lightness and noise reduction without requiring additional damping components.
4Ease of operation
If guide rail is manufactured in final position, then assembly is direct, but manufacturing complicated shapes becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the three-dimensional capabilities of injection-moulding to manufacture complex spatial geometries that cannot be achieved through linear extrusion processes. The plastic guide rail can incorporate multi-axis features, internal cavities, and varied cross-sections directly in the moulding process, making complex shape manufacturing easier while maintaining direct assembly capability through integrated mounting features.
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
This method simplifies the manufacturing process, enhances stability, reduces noise, and allows for more complex shapes, enabling a stiffer and quieter guide rail that can be easily integrated with external components.
Implementation Method 1
the connecting web is folded around the living hinge for moving the guide faces towards the intended final position
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention provides a method for the production of a guide rail of the type comprising at least two spaced apart guide faces (1, 2) which at corresponding sides are connected through a connecting web (3). A first step comprises manufacturing the guide rail in -a configuration in which the guide faces, compared to their intended final position, are spaced apart further through an imaginary rotation around a part of the connecting web; a next step comprises moving the guide faces towards the intended final position. Further a guide rail is provided.