Wire Harness Mold Half-Shell Assembly for Complex Geometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing molds for wiring harnesses are inefficient and costly, often requiring complex machining processes and excessive material usage, which limits the ability to create molds with intricate geometries and increases production costs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of thin-walled half-shells made from standard profiles, which are divided and connected to form the mold, allowing for cost-effective and automated production of molds with complex geometries, and can be easily adapted to the desired shape of the wiring harness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional complex machining processes are used to produce molds, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but manufacturing costs and production time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into two separate half-shells that are manufactured independently from standard profiles and then joined together. This segmentation allows each half-shell to be produced using cost-effective standard profiles rather than requiring complex custom machining of the entire mold, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining the precision needed for intricate mold geometries.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of starting with a solid block of material and machining it into the desired mold shape (traditional approach), the invention inverts the process by assembling the mold from pre-formed hollow standard profiles. This inversion transforms a subtractive manufacturing process (machining) into an additive assembly process, significantly reducing both cost and production time while achieving the required precision.
2Strength
If thick-walled materials are used for mold construction, then structural strength is improved, but material usage and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is constructed using thin-walled hollow standard profiles instead of thick-walled solid materials. These hollow profiles provide the necessary structural strength for mold operation while using significantly less material. The hollow structure maintains adequate strength-to-weight ratio, reducing material consumption and manufacturing costs without compromising the mold's structural integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If standard profiles are used instead of custom-machined components, then manufacturing cost and automation potential increase, but adaptability to complex geometries decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a deformable element that can be elastically deformed during the molding process to accommodate complex mold geometries. This dynamic adaptation allows the rigid standard profiles to flex and conform to the required intricate shapes, thereby maintaining geometric adaptability while still using cost-effective standard components. The deformable element acts as a buffer that enables the system to bridge the gap between standardized construction and custom geometry requirements.
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 reduces material usage and manufacturing costs, enables the production of lightweight molds with intricate geometries, and simplifies the production process, allowing for efficient and cost-effective manufacturing of molds for wiring harnesses.
Implementation Method 1
The first hollow body can be joined to the second hollow body particularly easily and cost-effectively, in particular by means of a material bond, to form a raw mold
Implementation Method 2
the first hollow body and/or the first half-shell is deformed, in particular bent, in particular cold-formed
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing a mold and a mold for producing a cable harness, wherein a first hollow body (195) extending along a first extension line (55) is provided from a thin-walled second material, wherein the first hollow body (195) is divided, in particular halved, into a first half-shell (40) along the first extension line (55), wherein the first half-shell (40) internally delimits a first mold space section (80) of a mold space (85) of the mold (10) for producing the cable harness (15).