The increasing demand for higher specific power and the need for weight reduction and decrease of emissions have become the driving factors of product development in the automotive market today. Substitution of high-density materials and more precise adjustment of material parameters help in significant weight decrease, but it is accompanied by undesirable cost increase and manufacturing complexity. One of the approaches to optimize the design is through the process of integration which involves integrating the functional elements of two or more components into one and achieving a reduction in weight and cost without impacting required performance.
This paper explains a similar approach followed as a part of the Design and Development of 1.5 L, 3 Cylinder CRDI Diesel Engine for a new vehicle platform, developed for automotive passenger car application.
Two components of the fuel injection system - the Fuel Injection Pump (FIP) housing and the Fuel Control Unit (FCU) bracket are integrated into one component. The paper discusses the design methodology, integration of classical methods, and verified through CAE simulation to ensure the required targets of modal analysis and strength analysis are met. Simulation results and actual measurement results are discussed in detail to show the effectiveness of an integrated approach used in this development program. Tools like DFMEA, DFMA,etc. are used along with value engineering concepts to make an efficient and cost-effective product to the end customer with minimum iterations in reduced cycle time.