Fender Design

Objective

To design the front fender of a car with mounting on areas of A-pillar, Sill area, Bumper area and Drip area using the given design parameters using Siemens NXCAD software.

Literature

Fender is a curved panel that sits above the wheels of the car and connects from the bumper to its doors.It is a plastic, metal or rubber curved panel over the wheels on the side of a car, extending from the front bumper to the front door of a car. The main purpose of fenders is to prevent dirt, mud and other debris off from the tires and braking system, making the car safer and more efficient. Fenders are attached to the frame of the car and it comes with different styles and sizes. Also, it improves the aerodynamics of the vehicle. As the tires rotate at high speed, they cause a lot of drag by creating turbulence around them. A curved enclosure of the fender over the wheels help to reduce that turbulence and improve the aerodynamics of the car.Fender can be of two types;Half fender and Full fender.

Here the fender design consists of 5 different mounting points.

1. Sill
2. Bumper
3. Baffle(Splash)
4. A-Pillar
5. Drip

Figure 1: Front Fender of a Car

Sill Mounting is used to link the fender with the sill. Sill is the underside portion of the passenger door of the car.

Figure 2: Sill mount

Bumper Mounting is used to connect the fender with the bumper. During collision, bumper will be facing large impact force. Fenders will provide an extra support for the bumper

Figure 3: Bumper Mount

Baffles (Splash) protects the car from debris entering into the engine compartment. It also improves the NVH of the car.

Figure 4: Baffles

A Pillar Mounting connects the fender with the A Pillar. A Pillar is the structure that combines body with the roof.

Figure 5: A Pillar Mount

Drip area mounting is the part which connects the fender with the engine compartment.

Figure 6: Drip area Mount

Design Consideration

• Minimum clearance of 150mm for drip area from the front end of the fender.
• Maximum of 300mm and minimum of 200mm clearance for drip area from the rear end of fender
• The height of drip area mounting should be less than 40mm so that it prevents the spring back effect.
• Ribs are provided to increase the strength of the mounting part.

Different orientation views

Conclusion

The front fender of a car is designed successfully in NXCAD as per given design input.