Tolerance Compensator With Flexible Tree Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tolerance compensators are limited in attaching to components with variations in material thickness, surface geometry, and hole location, particularly those made from casting processes like magnesium, leading to misalignment and assembly challenges.
Innovation Solution
A tolerance compensator design featuring a base with a cavity, flange portions, and tree fasteners with flexible ribs that can be adjusted to accommodate variations in component dimensions, allowing for axial alignment and secure attachment of self-threading fasteners to components with irregularities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional tolerance compensators with standard fastening arrangements (tangs, J-clips) are used, then attachment to sheet metal components is achieved, but attachment to cast components with varying material thickness, surface geometry, and hole location is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The tree fastener incorporates flexible ribs that can dynamically adjust their configuration during insertion. The ribs bend and flex to navigate around obstacles such as burrs, misaligned holes, and varying surface geometries in cast components, enabling reliable attachment across diverse component types while maintaining secure fastening
Solution Approach 2:
The fastener design changes the physical parameters of the attachment interface by using multiple flexible ribs with varying degrees of flexibility. These ribs can locally deform to accommodate variations in material thickness and surface geometry, allowing the same fastener design to reliably attach to both sheet metal and cast components with different tolerances
2Ease of manufacture
If self-threading fasteners are used with components having dimensional variations, then fastening is achieved, but misalignment and assembly challenges occur due to hole location variations
Solution Approach 1:
The tree fastener's flexible ribs provide dynamic adjustment capability during assembly. When inserting through holes with location variations, the ribs can flex and adapt to the actual hole positions, compensating for manufacturing tolerances and enabling easy assembly without requiring high precision hole location
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible ribs act as thin film elements that can bend and conform to varying hole locations. This flexibility allows the fastener to accommodate hole position variations in cast components while maintaining secure attachment, simplifying the assembly process
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a tolerance compensator for joining materials that are spaced apart from one another. The tolerance compensator includes a base, a compensation member, a first flange portion, a first tree fastener, a second flange portion, and a second tree fastener. The compensation member is slidably engaged with the base and disposed at least partially within a cavity defined by the base. The first flange portion and the second flange portion are coupled to the base and extend radially outwardly from the base. The first tree fastener extends away from the first flange portion. The second tree fastener extends away from the second flange portion. Each of the first tree fastener and the second tree fastener include a body and a plurality of ribs extending outwardly therefrom.