30.11.

2016 ImprovingSnapfitDesign(Part3)ProspectorKnowledgeCenter

ImprovingSnapfitDesign(Part3)
PostedonFebruary19,2007byGuestAuthor

ByChulLee,BASF

Thisisthe3rdarticleinaseriesof5articlesbyBASFEngineeringPlasticson
SnapFitdesign.Thehopeistoassistdesignengineersachievebetterresults
usingimprovedprinciplesandproceduresforsnapfitdesign,application,
processingandfabrication.

PART3:IMPROVINGSNAPFITDESIGN:IMPROVEDCANTILEVERDESIGN
andGUIDELINESTOAVOIDCOMMONDIFFICULTIES

IMPROVEDCANTILEVERDESIGN
TheclassicalcantileverbeamstrainformulasdiscussedinPartIIofImproving
SnapFitDesignworkwellwhenaflexiblecantileverbeamisanchoredtoarigid
wall,suchaswoodtostone.Insuchcases,deformationofthecantileverundera
givenloadistheprimarycauseofmovementatthetipofthecantilever.
However,thetypicalplasticsnapfitdesigninvolvesasnapfitfingerattachedto
aflexiblewallusuallyaplasticsplatewiththicknessinthe3mmrange.When
appliedtotheseconventionalplasticsnapfitdesigns,however,theclassical
formulasfailtoaccountfortheamountofdeflectionfromthebeam/wallinterface.
Theysimplyneglecttheeffectofdeformationinthewallitselfafactorthat
becomesmoresignificantwithsomewhatmoreflexiblewallmaterials,suchas
wood,compositesandthermoplastics.Theclassicalformuladoespredict
deflectionfairlywellwhenabeamlengthtothicknessratioisgreaterthan10:1,
butthecalculateddeflectiondeviatesfurtherfromactualvaluesastheratiogets
smallerorwhenthebeam,inotherwords,getsstubbier.

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Toobtainamoreaccuratepredictionofthetotalallowabledeflectionforshort
beamsinsnapfits,thedesignengineermustapplyamagnificationfactorto
compensatefortheclassicalformulasshortcomings.Doingsoallowsthedesign
engineertotakefulladvantageofamaterialsstraincarryingcapabilityand,
therefore,toenjoygreaterdesignflexibility.

MagnificationFactors
BASFPlasticshasdevelopedamethodfordeterminingthesemagnification
factorsforavarietyofsnapfitbeam/wallconfigurations,includingbeamswith
eitheruniformortaperedcrosssections(graphicallydepictedinFiguresIV1and
IV2).

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BASFhasverifiedtheresultsofthismethodbothbyfiniteelementanalysisand
actualparttesting.

ImprovedFormulas
Todeterminemaximumstrainatagivensnapfitsbase,designengineerscan
nowusetheimprovedformulawhichincorporatesacorrectivemagnification
factor(SeeFigureIV3).BASFalsoprovidesformulasfordeterminingthePush
onandPerpendicularMatingForces(FigureIV3).

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Toreviewexamplesthatemploythese
formulastodetermineaccuratesolutions
fortwodifferentsnapfitdesigns,see
FiguresIV4andIV5.Thefirstexample
incorporatesallowablestrainand
coefficientoffrictionvaluesforaspecific
gradeofBASFUltradurPBTthe
secondexample,foragradeofBASF
UltraformPOM.RefertoBASFsSnap
FitDesignManualPageIV4fortables
providingallowablestrainandcoefficient
offrictionvaluesforeightdifferent
materialsappropriateforsnapfitdesigns.

UshapedandLshapedDesigns
DesignengineersinterestedintheapplicationoftheseformulastoUshaped
andLshapedsnapfitdesignsandamoredetaileddiscussioncanreferto
BASFsSnapFitDesignManual,PagesV1,2,3and4.

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Conclusion
TheformulasdevelopedbyBASFrepresentasignificantimprovementoverthe
classicalcantileverbeamdeflectionandstrainformulas.WorkingwithBASFs
improvedformulas,designengineerscannowmoreaccuratelycalculateand
predicttheforcesencounteredandallowabledeflectionlimitsfordifferent
configurationsofcantilevertypesnapfitassemblies.Withthegreaterdegreeof
certaintytheseformulasprovide,designengineerscangetthemostoftheir
materialsandtheirdesigns.

GUIDELINESTOAVOIDCOMMONDIFFICULTIES
Beforefinalizinganysnapfitdesign,thedesignengineershouldreviewthree
basicconsiderations:

StressConcentration
Creep/Relaxation
Fatigue

Thesinglemostcommoncauseof
failureinsnapfitsistheconcentration
ofstresscausedbyasharpcorner
betweenthesnapfitbeamandthewall
towhichitisattachedthenormalpoint
ofmaximumstress.Onesolutionisto
incorporateagenerousfilletradiusat
thejuncturebetweenthebeamandthewall,eitheronbothsidesofthebeamor
particularlyonthebeamstensilestressside(SeeFigureVI1).

Anothercauseoffailureisthat,overtime,creepandstressrelaxationcan
graduallyreducetheretentionforcebetweenthetwocomponentsconnectedby
asnapfit.Insomecases,lowerretentionforcecanleadtoleakagefroma
formerlytightsealinothers,excessiveplaythatcreatesnoiseandvibration(or
BSRBuzz,SqueakandRumble).Waystominimizetheeffectsofcreepand
stressrelaxationincludedesigningalowstresssnapbeam,incorporatinga90
returnangletoavoidbending,orincreasingthelandlengthintheareaofalarge
returnangle(SeeFiguresVI2andVI3).

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Thethirdmajorcauseofsnapfitfailureisfatigue,orrepetitiveloading,primarily
inapplicationsinvolvinghundredsorthousandsofcycles.Thefirst,most
obvious,waytoavoidfatiguefailureistochooseamaterialknowntoperform
wellinfatiguesituations.ComparedifferentmaterialsSNcurves,whichshow
expectednumberofcyclestofailureatvariousstresslevelsandatdifferent
temperatures.AsecondwaybasedonSNcurvesistoselectasufficientdesign
stresslevelattheapplicationscorrectexposuretemperature.Inthereal
application,thefrequencyofcyclesisusuallyalowernumberthanintesting,
therebyprovidingamarginofsafetyforthedesign.

Conclusion
Thereareanumberofwaystoovercomestressconcentration,stressrelaxation
orcreep,andfatigue.Awellthoughtoutdesign,plustherightchoiceofmaterial,
willallowyourapplicationtobenefitfromalltheadvantagesofsnapfitdesign.

MaterialsSelection
Part4ofthefivepartseriesImprovingSnapFitDesignprovidesanoverview
ofmaterialsappropriateforsnapfitdesignandguidelinesforselectingthe
materialbestsuitedtoyourapplications.Thecompleteseriesofarticles
includes:

Part1:IntroductionandOverviewofGeneralApplicationsandTypes
Part2:PrinciplesofClassicalBeamTheoryandDesign
Part3:ImprovedCantileverDesignandGuidelinestoAvoidCommonDifficulties
Part4:MaterialsSelection

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AbouttheAuthor

ChulLee,anApplicationsTechnologyLeaderatBASF,hasbeen
involvedwithplasticsapplicationsanddevelopmentalactivitiesfor
thepastthreedecades.WorkingoutofBASFCorporations
Wyandotte,Michiganfacility,Chulhasawealthofexperiencein
variousareasofplasticsresearch,includingservicelifeprediction
researchfortheplasticspipelineindustry,andapplicationofCAE
technologyforplasticsproductdevelopment.Chulscurrent
endeavorsinthefieldarefocusedonthedevelopmentofplastics
joiningtechnology,suchasvibrationwelding,laserweldingand
mechanicalfastening.Duringthelast10years,Chulhasbeen
activelyinvolvedinapplicationsdevelopmentworkpertainingtothe
automotiveandindustrialmarketsegments.Concentratingon
applicationdevelopmentsfortheautomotivepowertrainmarket,
ChulLee,ApplicationsTechnology includingplasticairintakemanifolddevelopmentsandoilsupply
Leader systems,ChulhascoordinatedBASFGlobalResearchonJoining
BASF Technologies,suchasvibrationwelding,laserwelding,snapfits,
Email:chul.lee@basf.com mechanicalfasteningandadhesivejoining.ResultsofMr.Lees
Website: researchisoftendisseminatedbothinternallyandinthepublic
http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/ domainbyvirtueofparticipationinseminarsandpublication
distributionatmajortechnicalconferences.Chul,aPh.D.graduate
fromtheUniversityofMichigansMechanicalEngineering
department,haspublishedmanypapersonvarioustechnical
developmenttopics.Hisacademicspecializationinthefieldof
FractureBehaviorofPlasticsMaterialsenableshisastuteresearch
andsubsequentpublicationofamultiplicityoftopics,rangingfrom
SnapFitDesign,RibbingDesignOptimization,Vibrationwelding
optimization,andNVH(NoiseVibrationandHarshness)
experimentsandsimulationsofairintakemanifolds,and
Laserwelding.Chulisalsoresponsibleforseveralpatents,suchas
apatentonNVH,multiplepatentsonvibrationwelding,and
currentlyhasapatentpendingonstoneimpactresistantribbing
design.

Theviews,opinionsandtechnicalanalysespresentedherearethoseofthe
author,andarenotnecessarilythoseofUL,ULProspector.comor
Knowledge.ULProspector.com.Whiletheeditorsofthissitemakeeveryeffortto
verifytheaccuracyofitscontent,weassumenoresponsibilityforerrorsmadeby
theauthor,editorialstafforanyothercontributor.Allcontentissubjectto
copyrightandmaynotbereproducedwithoutpriorauthorizationfrom
Prospector.

FiledUnder:Design
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