Wing Nut Composite Structure for Multi-Directional Tolerance Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tolerance compensating fasteners have limitations in accommodating varying tolerances in multiple directions, leading to bulky and costly assemblies, and they often struggle to balance strength and flexibility, resulting in either breakage under high torque or inadequate compensation of manufacturing tolerances.
Innovation Solution
The proposed tolerance compensating fastener design incorporates a wing-nut with a rigid insert and a body component, fabricated through overmolding, which provides both strength to withstand higher torque and flexibility to adjust to wider tolerance variations in different directions, while being cost-effective.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional tolerance compensating fasteners are used to accommodate varying tolerances in multiple directions, then the fastener can adjust to misalignments, but the assembly becomes bulky and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener is divided into distinct functional segments: a rigid insert providing structural integrity and thread engagement, a flexible polymer body providing tolerance compensation, and a wingnut for manual adjustment. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its function, reducing overall complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastener combines rigid metal insert with flexible polymer material to create a composite structure. The rigid insert provides strength and precision for thread engagement, while the flexible polymer body accommodates misalignments and tolerances in multiple directions, achieving both adaptability and structural integrity without bulky assemblies.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the fastener is made more flexible to accommodate wider tolerance variations, then the adaptability improves, but the strength to withstand high torque decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener separates the flexibility function (polymer body) from the strength function (metal insert with threads). The polymer segment provides tolerance compensation through its flexible nature, while the metal insert segment maintains torque resistance through its rigid structure and thread engagement surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite construction combines flexible polymer material for the body with rigid metal for the insert. This allows the fastener to simultaneously exhibit flexibility for tolerance accommodation and sufficient strength for torque withstanding, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and strength.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple fasteners are used to compensate for tolerances in different directions, then the coverage of tolerance variations improves, but the quantity of components and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener is designed as a universal component that can compensate for tolerances in multiple directions simultaneously through its flexible polymer body. The wingnut mechanism allows adjustment in any direction, making a single fastener replace multiple specialized fasteners that would otherwise be needed for different alignment scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure enables a single fastener to provide both rigid thread engagement and flexible multi-directional adjustment, eliminating the need for multiple fasteners with different functions. The flexible polymer body allows the single fastener to accommodate misalignments in any direction while maintaining secure fastening.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples relate to a wing-nut (114) for a tolerance compensating fastener (100) cooperable with a threaded fastening element (116). The wing-nut (114) having a rigid insert (306) and a body component (300). The rigid insert (306) formed as a hollow cylindrical body and comprising a plurality of retention elements (308) and a plurality of threads (302) formed on an inner wall of the hollow cylindrical body. The body component (300) surrounding the rigid insert (306), the body component (300) having an opening, coaxial with a central longitudinal axis of the rigid insert (306), to create a through-hole with the hollow cylindrical body to receive the threaded fastening element (116). Each of the plurality of retention elements (308) is encapsulated by the body component (300) to be interlocked and fixed in the body component (300).