Fender Design

Objective

To design the Drip Area, Bumper mount region, A-pillar mount region and Sill mount area.

Software Used

CATIA V5

Introduction

Fender is the part of an automobile that frames a wheel well. Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids and other road spray from being thrown to the air by the rotating tyre and cause injuries to the pedestrians.

Mountings

There are generally 5 mountings on a fender-

1. Body

2. A-Pillar

3. Sill

4. Cowl

5. Drip

These are joined using fasteners and not brackets, thereby improving the NVH Factor (Noise, Vibration, Harshness).

Designing

Drip Area

It is the most important mounting unit of a fender. It is connected with the engine compartment and therefore a lot of design constraints are to be followed while designing the drip area.

It should have sufficient clearance from the front and rear end of the fender to accommodate the Cowl mounting region and the Headlamp housing unit respectively as shown in the figure.

                                                                                                                             Fig 1- Master Sketch

The Master Sketch provides the linear and angular measurements for designing the drip mount after taking into considerations various factors like Hood opening, Tool workability, aesthetics (since Fender is a styling surface), Spring Back effect due to exceeded length etc.

                                                                                                                       Fig 2- Drip Area Side View

                                                                                                                          Fig 3- Drip Area Top View

Other Mountings

The mountings for Bumper, A-Pillar, Flush and Sill areas were designed according to the engineering standards by providing adequate relief for producibility.

                                                                                                                           Fig 4- Bumper Mount Region

                                                                                                                     Fig 5- A-Pillar Mount Region

                                                                                                                        Fig 6- Flush Mount Region

                                                                                                                        Fig 7- Sill Mount Region

Embossing was provided on the mountings to strengthen them during fastening.

Commands under Generative Shape Design Workbench of CATIA V5 were used extensively for various operations along with Part Design Workbench commands. Industry standard Fillets, reliefs and design constraints were applied to ensure producibility of the part.

                                                                                                                      Fig 8- Fender with all mountings

                                                                                                                           Fig 9- Fender Front View

                                                                                                                             Fig 10- Fender Rear View

Conclusion

Thus the Drip Area, Bumper mount region, A-pillar mount region and Sill mount area were designed for the Fender from the styling surface provided.