Sliding Tool Rack Hanger With Metal Shaft for Lower Material Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tool racks require hangers of different sizes and materials to accommodate hand tools of varying sizes, leading to increased production costs and material usage due to the need for injection molding of hangers with varying lengths and diameters to ensure strength.
Innovation Solution
A tool rack design featuring multiple hangers of the same size, with a metal hanging shaft and an injection-molded hanging body, where the hanging shaft is securely connected to the hanging body using a connecting mount with engaging tabs, allowing for adjustable positioning along a slide rail to accommodate tools of different sizes while maintaining structural strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If hangers are made by injection molding with different lengths and diameters to accommodate tools of different sizes, then the strength is sufficient to hold the tools, but the material usage and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger is divided into two separate components: a plastic hanging body made by injection molding and a metal hanging shaft. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the plastic body provides structural support while the metal shaft provides the necessary strength without requiring excessive material in the plastic component.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger combines two different materials - plastic (injection molded hanging body) and metal (hanging shaft). This composite approach leverages the advantages of both materials: the plastic provides cost-effective molding and the metal provides superior strength-to-weight ratio, eliminating the need for large-diameter plastic hangers.
2Strength
If hangers are made by injection molding with different lengths and diameters to accommodate tools of different sizes, then the strength is sufficient to hold the tools, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger is divided into two separate components: a plastic hanging body made by injection molding and a metal hanging shaft. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the plastic body provides structural support while the metal shaft provides the necessary strength without requiring excessive material in the plastic component.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger combines two different materials - plastic (injection molded hanging body) and metal (hanging shaft). This composite approach leverages the advantages of both materials: the plastic provides cost-effective molding and the metal provides superior strength-to-weight ratio, eliminating the need for large-diameter plastic hangers.
3Loss of substance
If multiple hangers of the same size are used, then the material usage and manufacturing cost are reduced, but the strength may be insufficient to hold larger tools
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger combines two different materials - plastic (injection molded hanging body) and metal (hanging shaft). This composite approach leverages the advantages of both materials: the plastic provides cost-effective molding and the metal provides superior strength-to-weight ratio, eliminating the need for large-diameter plastic hangers.
Solution Approach 2:
The strength of the hanger is adjusted by changing the parameters of the metal shaft (such as diameter and length) rather than changing the entire hanger size. This allows standardized plastic bodies to be used while accommodating different tool sizes through variable metal shaft specifications.
4Adaptability or versatility
If hangers of different sizes are used to accommodate tools of different sizes, then the adaptability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger is divided into two separate components: a plastic hanging body made by injection molding and a metal hanging shaft. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the plastic body provides structural support while the metal shaft provides the necessary strength without requiring excessive material in the plastic component.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized plastic hanging body can serve multiple functions and accommodate different tool sizes through the interchangeable metal shafts. This universal design reduces the variety of plastic components needed while maintaining adaptability to different tool requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A tool rack has a slide rack and multiple hangers. The slide rack has a baseboard and an elongated rail protruding from the baseboard. The multiple hangers are slidably mounted on the rail of the slide rack, and each has a hanging body and a hanging shaft. The hanging body is made by injection molding and slidably connected to the rail of the slide rack and has a protruding side and a connecting mount. The connecting mount protrudes from the protruding side of the hanging body and has an inserting hole formed in the connecting mount. The hanging shaft is metal and has an inserting end and a bent end. The inserting end is mounted in the inserting hole and surrounded by the connecting mount. The bent end is opposite to the inserting end and is bent upward for hanging a hand tool.