Variable Gauge Cradle for Automotive Load Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle cradles face inefficiencies due to uneven load distribution and stiffness requirements, leading to excessive material usage and weight, as current designs often require higher thickness in areas with lower loads to withstand higher loads elsewhere, resulting in wasted material and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A structural frame with variable thickness zones achieved by attaching patches of additional metal material to a base sheet, allowing for localized thickness adjustments to match specific load and stiffness requirements, thereby optimizing material distribution and reducing overall weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the cradle is designed with uniform thickness to withstand the highest load levels, then the cradle can withstand all loads, but the overall weight of the cradle increases and material is wasted in low-load areas
Solution Approach 1:
The cradle is designed with variable thickness where different regions have different thickness values matched to their specific load requirements. High-load areas have greater thickness for strength, while low-load areas have reduced thickness to minimize weight, eliminating the need for uniform thickness throughout the entire cradle structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the cradle is changed from a uniform value to a spatially varying value. By modifying the thickness parameter across different regions based on load analysis, the cradle achieves optimal strength-to-weight ratio, with thicker sections where loads are highest and thinner sections where loads are lower.
2Weight of moving object
If the cradle thickness is reduced in low-load areas, then material usage and weight are reduced, but the cradle may not withstand the highest load levels at high-load areas
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly reducing thickness, the invention applies local quality by reducing thickness only in specific low-load areas while maintaining or increasing thickness in high-load areas. This localized adjustment allows weight reduction without compromising the cradle's ability to withstand maximum loads where they are most critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The cradle is segmented into multiple regions with different thickness characteristics based on load distribution. By dividing the cradle into high-load zones and low-load zones with appropriately differentiated thickness values, the design achieves both weight reduction and sufficient load withstanding capability in each segment.
3Weight of moving object
If material is removed from reduced load areas, then weight is reduced, but the process is time consuming, difficult, and expensive with material becoming waste
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of starting with a thick uniform cradle and removing material, the invention uses preliminary action by forming the cradle with variable thickness from the beginning using additive manufacturing. This approach eliminates the need for subsequent material removal operations, reducing manufacturing steps, time, and cost while preventing material waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The traditional mechanical approach of subtracting material through machining or cutting is replaced with an additive manufacturing process. This substitution enables direct creation of the variable thickness geometry, eliminating complex manufacturing operations and associated costs while improving ease of manufacture.
Data Source
AI summary
A cradle for being used in automotive vehicles for supporting various automotive components includes a structure with variable thickness, defining a variable gauge cradle. The variable gauge cradle has a minimum thickness and maximum thickness, with various other thicknesses therebetween. The minimum thickness is less than an original thickness of a reference cradle in which the thickness is the same. The variable gauge cradle allows specific locations to be locally increased in thickness to achieve the desired stiffness at the areas requiring the increased stiffness, while leaving areas requiring a lower stiffness at a lesser thickness. The variable gauge cradle therefore may have a lower mass than the reference cradle. The thickness may be increased relative to the minimum thickness using patches that are bonded to a base layer or panel of the cradle. The patches may be distributed at different locations to create different thicknesses.