Abstract :

Actuator Housings Are Critical Structural Components In Electromechanical And Hydraulic Systems, Providing Mechanical Support, Protection, And Alignment For Internal Components. Traditional Design Approaches Often Focus Primarily On Functionality, With Limited Consideration For Manufacturability, Assembly Efficiency, And Overall Product Cost. This Study Presents A Systematic Design Optimization Of An Actuator Housing Using An Integrated Design For Manufacturing And Assembly (DFMA) And Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) Framework, Followed By Experimental Validation. The Proposed Methodology Combines DFMA Principles To Simplify Part Geometry, Reduce Manufacturing Complexity, Minimize Assembly Operations, And Lower Production Costs, While CAE Tools Are Employed To Evaluate Structural Integrity, Stress Distribution, Deformation Characteristics, And Safety Factors Under Operational Loading Conditions. A Baseline Actuator Housing Model Was Developed And Analyzed Using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Based On DFMA Recommendations, The Design Was Modified To Reduce Material Usage And Improve Manufacturability Without Compromising Mechanical Performance. Comparative CAE Analyses Were Conducted On The Original And Optimized Designs To Assess Improvements In Structural Behavior And Weight Reduction. A Prototype Of The Optimized Housing Was Fabricated And Subjected To Experimental Testing Under Controlled Loading Conditions To Validate The Simulation Results. The Results Demonstrate That The Integrated DFMA–CAE Approach Significantly Improves Design Efficiency By Reducing Component Weight, Manufacturing Complexity, And Assembly Time While Maintaining Required Strength And Reliability. Experimental Observations Showed Close Agreement With Simulation Predictions, Confirming The Accuracy Of The Proposed Design Methodology. The Study Highlights The Importance Of Combining DFMA And CAE Techniques During The Early Stages Of Product Development To Achieve Cost-effective, Manufacturable, And High-performance Actuator Housing Designs. The Proposed Framework Can Be Extended To A Wide Range Of Mechanical Components Requiring Simultaneous Optimization Of Performance And Manufacturability.

Published:

15-11-2023

Issue:

Vol. 23 No. 11 (2023)

Page Nos:

253 - 258

Section:

Articles

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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