Steering Wheel Spacer Alignment for Wood-Metal Bonding
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing methods for steering wheels with attached wooden members often face misalignment issues between the wooden and metal components until the adhesive is fully cured, leading to potential structural integrity problems.
Innovation Solution
The use of spacer members with a coefficient of elasticity similar to or lower than the adhesive, positioned between the wooden and metal components, ensures precise alignment and suppresses reaction forces during the curing process, preventing misalignment and ensuring stable bonding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If elastic adhesive is applied to bond the wooden member to the metal core, then the wooden member and metal core are bonded together, but misalignment occurs between the wooden member and metal core during the curing period
Solution Approach 1:
Spacer members are introduced as intermediary elements between the wooden member and metal core. These spacers serve dual functions: maintaining precise alignment during adhesive curing and providing a mechanical foundation for adhesive application. The spacer members are positioned at specific locations (corner portions and apex portions) to ensure accurate positioning without interfering with the bonding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer members are attached to the metal core in advance, before the adhesive is applied. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the wooden member is subsequently bonded to the metal core, the alignment is already established and maintained throughout the adhesive curing period, preventing misalignment issues.
2Ease of operation
If the spacer members have high elasticity, then they provide good positioning during assembly, but they generate excessive reaction force when load acts on the adhesive and spacers
Solution Approach 1:
The coefficient of elasticity of the spacer members is specifically controlled to be the same as or lower than that of the cured adhesive. This parameter optimization allows the spacers to provide sufficient positioning ease during assembly while limiting the reaction force they generate under load, ensuring both operational ease and structural integrity.
3Manufacturing precision
If spacer members are disposed at multiple points between the wooden member and metal core, then alignment precision is improved, but the complexity of the manufacturing process increases
Solution Approach 1:
Spacer members are strategically positioned at specific critical locations (corner portions and apex portions of the metal core) rather than uniformly distributed. This localized placement provides sufficient alignment precision at the most critical positioning points while minimizing the overall number of spacers needed, thus reducing manufacturing complexity.
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 approach effectively prevents misalignment and suppresses reaction forces, ensuring a stable and secure bond between the wooden and metal components until the adhesive is fully cured, enhancing the structural integrity and assembly precision of the steering wheel.
Implementation Method 1
the coefficient of elasticity of the spacer members is set to be the same as, or lower than, the coefficient of elasticity of the adhesive
Data Source
AI summary
A steering wheel and steering wheel manufacturing method are provided in which misalignment of the relative position of the wood member and the metal core can be prevented or suppressed in the period until the elastic adhesive is cured.A wood member and a rim metal core portion are bonded by an elastic adhesive being present between the wood member and the rim metal core portion. Spacer members are disposed between the wood member and the rim metal core portion so as to position the wood member relative to the rim metal core portion. Consequently, misalignment of the relative position of the wood member and the rim metal core portion is suppressed by the spacer members during the period until the elastic adhesive is cured.