Split-Cast Vehicle Body Assembly Using Rocker Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle body manufacturing processes involve multiple stages of assembly using individual stampings, extrusions, or small castings, which are costly and require significant capital investment in assembly tooling, and combining front and rear underbody castings in a single casting press poses challenges due to larger press sizes.
Innovation Solution
A method of casting an automotive support structure that is physically split to define a front body structure and a rear underbody structure, then securing them to rocker panels, forming a unified vehicle body structure, thereby eliminating the need for multi-stage assembly processes and reducing tooling costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple individual stampings, extrusions, or small castings are used to manufacture vehicle body components, then manufacturing flexibility and component precision are improved, but assembly complexity and capital investment in assembly tooling increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual vehicle body components (front underbody, rear underbody, rocker panels, floor panels) into a single integrated casting. This merging approach eliminates the need for complex multi-stage assembly processes while maintaining manufacturing precision through computer-aided design and simulation. The integrated casting process consolidates what would otherwise require numerous separate stampings, extrusions, or small castings into one unified structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If front and rear underbody castings are combined in a single casting press, then assembly expenses and tooling costs are reduced, but the press size and capital investment requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated vehicle body structure is designed with segmented features that allow for efficient casting process. The front underbody and rear underbody sections are integrated but designed with consideration for the casting process, including appropriate rib structures, wall thicknesses, and feature distribution that optimize material flow and cooling. This segmentation approach enables the production of large integrated structures without requiring excessively large casting presses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional computer-aided design and simulation to optimize the casting process. By working in three dimensions from the design stage, the engineers can optimize the integrated structure's geometry, rib placements, and wall thicknesses to accommodate standard casting press capabilities while achieving the cost benefits of integration. This dimensional approach allows complex integrated structures to be produced in conventional casting facilities.
3Productivity
If a single integrated casting process is used for the entire vehicle body, then assembly time and labor costs are reduced, but manufacturing precision and structural complexity control become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs extensive computer-aided design, modeling, and simulation before the actual casting process. Virtual prototypes and digital twins are created to predict and optimize the casting process parameters, cooling rates, and solidification patterns. This preliminary computational action ensures that when the integrated structure is cast, it achieves the required precision and structural integrity without requiring multiple assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated casting process incorporates feedback mechanisms through computer-aided process control and real-time monitoring during manufacturing. The design and manufacturing process uses iterative simulation and testing to refine the casting parameters, ensuring that the final integrated structure meets precise dimensional and structural requirements while maintaining high assembly efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a vehicle body includes (i) casting an automotive support structure that defines a front body structure and a rear underbody structure; (ii) physically splitting the automotive support structure to detach the front body structure from the rear underbody structure; (iii) securing the front body structure to a rocker panel along a front end of the rocker panel after the splitting; and (iv) securing the rear underbody structure to the rocker panel along a rear end of the rocker panel after the splitting such that the front body structure is spaced-apart from the rear underbody structure via the rocker panel.