Windshield Wiper Joint Rod Flat End Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of conventional articulated rods for windshield wiper devices is costly and inefficient due to complex machining processes and long cycle times, particularly when forming spherical shells within plastic injection molds.
Innovation Solution
The articulated rod is manufactured by fixing separately prefabricated spherical shells to planar end sections of a tubular connecting rod made of cost-effective metal material, allowing for a simplified and cost-efficient production process with adaptable designs and fastening elements for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional machining processes are used to produce articulated rods with spherical shells, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but production cost increases and cycle time extends
Solution Approach 1:
The articulated rod is divided into separate components: a tubular rod body and spherical shells. The spherical shells are pre-formed separately and then attached to the rod body, eliminating the need for complex in-mold inserting processes. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using simpler, more efficient processes while maintaining overall manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The spherical shells are pre-formed and prepared separately before being attached to the tubular rod body. This preliminary preparation of components enables parallel manufacturing processes and eliminates sequential bottlenecks, significantly reducing cycle time while maintaining the precision required for proper assembly and function.
2Strength
If complex machining processes are used for long articulated rods, then structural integrity is maintained, but production cost and cycle time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The articulated rod uses a composite construction combining a tubular metal rod body with spherical shells (which may be made of different materials such as plastic or metal). This composite approach maintains structural integrity through the strength of the tubular construction while allowing each component to be manufactured using processes optimized for its specific material properties, simplifying overall manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the articulated rod into a tubular body and separate spherical shells, each component can be manufactured using simpler, more cost-effective processes. The tubular construction inherently provides structural integrity, while the separate spherical shells eliminate the need for complex in-mold inserting operations, thus improving ease of manufacture without compromising strength.
3Productivity
If separately prefabricated spherical shells are fixed to tubular connecting rod, then production cost and cycle time are reduced, but assembly complexity must be managed
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical shells are designed with self-aligning features and attachment mechanisms that enable straightforward connection to the tubular rod body. The segmentation into separate components is accompanied by simple joining methods (such as press-fitting, snapping, or basic fastening) that reduce assembly complexity despite the multi-component construction, thereby maintaining high production efficiency.
4Ease of manufacture
If tubular metal material is used for connecting rod, then cost-effectiveness and rigidity are improved, but manufacturing flexibility must be optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular metal connecting rod is used as a standardized, cost-effective component that can be produced efficiently through common metal forming processes. By segmenting the overall articulated rod design into this standard tubular component and separate spherical shells, design flexibility is maintained because the spherical shells and their attachment points can be varied to create different configurations while using the same economical tubular rod basis.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4
AI summary
Joint rod (1), in particular for a windscreen wiping device (2) of a motor vehicle, wherein the joint rod (1) is of substantially tubular configuration, characterized in that end sections (1a, 1b) of the joint rod (1) are of substantially flat configuration, wherein at least one end section (1a, 1b) of the joint rod (1) has at least one through hole, wherein a ball socket (3) is fixed or can be fixed in the through hole.