Fender Design Challenge

Fender Design Using NX CAD

Objective-

The objective of the project is to design a body in the white front fender of a car with its mounting using the information provided by the styling team. The skin data and master sketch are the information provided by the styling team.

Introduction-

Fender- Fender is the American English term for the part of automobiles, motorcycles or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside). Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other roads spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be damaged by contact with the road surface.

Sticky materials, such as mud, may adhere to the smooth outer tire surface, while smooth loose objects, such as stones, can become temporarily embedded in the tread grooves as the tire rolls over the ground. These materials can be ejected from the surface of the tire at high velocity as the tire imparts kinetic energy to the attached objects. For a vehicle moving forward, the top of the tire is rotating upward and forward and can throw objects into the air at other vehicles or pedestrians in front of the vehicle.

The importance of car fenders-

Fenders are intricate sheets of metal covering the wheel well of your car.

Fenders are designed in a manner to provide resistance against wind and other roadside debris.

When you travel on rough terrains your vehicle might get minor scratches and dents which look no better.

The car fenders are located on either side of the front and rear wheels. The front car fenders begin where the front door hinges run and end just before the bumper. The rear car fenders begin where the back doors close and terminate before the back bumpers.

Types of fenders are based upon the area covered.

1. Full fender type

The full fender type is a traditional type fender where more material consumption is observed. This type of fender is used in the old design of automobiles where it increases the overall weight and thus reduces the performance of the car.

2. Half fender types

Half fender type is a modern design where less material consumption is observed so productivity increases by reducing the size of blank and thus providing more performance. The maintenance is also relatively low compared to the full bumper type.

Skin data and master sketch

In order to fix the fender Mountings are essential in our design, we classified the mounting into 5 areas

1. A-Pillar Mounting
2. Bumper Mounting
3. Drip Area mounting
4. Baffle Mounting
5. Sill Mounting

Design the A-Pillar

• First, the skin data provided by the styling team needs to be extracted.
• Then the outer edge of the fender was offset inwards to a particular length.
• Then by using the curve on surface command the unwanted portion was trimmed out using the trim sheet.
• By using the law extension, the A-pillar was extended and trimmed on the sides to get a flat edge.
• For creating a flat emboss which was used to mount the fender with the A-pillar a datum plane was created.
• Then the required sketch was drawn on the datum plane and projected to the surface.
• Then for creating a fastener hole which needs to be around a 5 mm gap around it trim surface commands were used.
• Then the required blends were added using face blend and edge blend.

Design Bumper mounting

• The unwanted portions were trimmed off using a curve on the surface and trim surface command.
• Then for creating a flat surface emboss a datum plane was created.
• Then the required sketch drawn on the datum plane was projected to the surface and the required emboss were created.
• The holes were trimmed by using a trim sheet after creating emboss.
• Emboss was created with a draft so that it satisfies the manufacturing requirements.
• Finally, the required blends were applied.

Design the baffle mountings.

• The baffle mounting was designed to fit a splash mounting on it which helps the engine compartment to protect it from the debris that enters into while driving.
• For creating it three mounting areas were created with the required holes on it for the fasteners.
• For creating the holes, a datum plane was created on all three mountings and projected onto the surface.
• By selecting the required vector and deselecting the project on both side options the holes were created.

Design the drip area mounting

• By using the information in the master section provided the drip mounting were created.
• The drip area must be a minimum of 150 mm apart from the front edge so that the drip mounting won’t disturb the headlamp mountings.
• From backwards the drip area must be 200 mm apart from the back edge to avoid the coincidence with the engine cables.
• For creating the drip area at the required distance two planes were created and then the intersection curve was used to create the curve on the surface as required.
• Then the remaining unwanted portions were trimmed out.
• The design takes a vital role in avoiding the human eye from seeing the insides of the car through the gap between the hood and fender.
• So the drip area was created at a particular angle as required by the master section the required emboss were created.
• After creating the law extension as required by the master section the required emboss were created.
• For creating emboss a datum plane was generated and the sketch drawn in it was projected and the emboss feature were applied.
• Then for creating the fastener holes the trim sheet options were used.
• Then the required blends were created for improving the aesthetic of the fender.
• Since the drip area was longer without any support it increases the NVH while driving so to reduce the NVH effect while driving the drip area must be strengthened.

Design the sill mounting

• For creating the sill mounting the extra portions were trimmed out.
• Then the datum was created and the required sketch was drawn and then projected.
• Then emboss were generated and blended the edges together.
• The fastener holes were created by using the trim surface feature.

Some views of the Fender