Whenever an improved design is proposed or
required, it is important to consider more than just the technical
aspects of the new design, e.g., strength, deformation, safety,
weight, cost. Nowadays it is essential to take into account several
factors regarding the total production cycle of the new or
improved product. Ideally every factor in the life cycle of the
product should be included, but there are always limitations. In
this work, in order to demonstrate the importance of other
factors besides the technical one, an automotive subassembly was
redesigned and evaluated. The system is a power slider assembly
which is currently installed in the rear of cabin trucks and
powers the rear window. The current design is bulky, expensive,
and takes a long time to install. The objective was to introduce a
new design for the power slider, which is more efficient in terms
of operation, assembly process, and cost. A CAD model was
created for the proposed design with inclusion of the new design
features. Free body diagrams represented forces acting on the
system, which were evaluated using finite element analysis
(FEA). Based upon the results of FEA, the design will see a
maximum stress of 33.9 MPa concentrated at the lower segment
of a new snap feature, which provides an acceptable safety
factor. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) showed
potential failures and their possible causes. A prototype and cycle
testing to recommended standards was performed, which
provided evidence that the proposed design is ready for
production. Benchmarking of proposed design versus the
current design was done and significant cost savings and other
benefits can be realized when all factors are taking into account.
Final recommendations are presented for future evaluations.
This collaboration industry-university has been a great
experience and a successful one.
Keywords—Power slider, management factors, design.
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