In Automotive world, different types of shield are used to safe guard the assembly from dirt and dust. These can deteriorate the performance and functioning of systems. Typically the dirt shields are not load carrying members, so preferred to have low gauges and low weight. Dirt shield has to cover many subassemblies, so it has intricate shape as well. Due to low gauge and complicated shape, the manufacturing of these shields becomes challenging in terms of maintaining assembly tolerances. In order to overcome these concerns, concurrent design approach is used. Using this approach manufacturing process of the parts is virtually simulated and residual stresses, strains, permanent set, spring back effect are evaluated. These results are cascaded to assembly load analysis, and results are monitored for deflections. Based on these results various interferences during actual assemblies or failure during assemblies like flushness can be predicted well in advance and design correction can be carried out at very early stage, resulting lower product development cost and time.
In this paper, brake assembly dirt shield design approach is presented. Sheet metal forming process used for dirt shield manufacturing was virtually simulated using forming CAE tool and results were further cascaded to pretension analysis. The deflection results were evaluated from analysis and correlated with the field test results.