Abstract
A completely safe engineering solution to the automotive assembly line knuckle ball-joint pull-out problem is achieved using failure analysis based on the “Design of Experiment” (DOE) method. During use, some ball-joints move in their housings or come loose under heavy loads. The purpose of this study is to determine critical production parameters that will eliminate this failure. In this research, the knuckle-ball-joint pull-out problem is examined, and knuckle housing and ball-joint outer diameter limits are re-defined. Four levels of interference between knuckle and ball-joint diameters and 2 levels of knuckle thickness are specified. Experiments are repeated five times using General Variance Analysis. Required pull-out force is determined, and necessary interference is found. New knuckle housing and ball-joint diameters, based on recommended interference values, are determined. It is also found that thickness of knuckle boss does not affect the results. Therefore, the design is unchanged in this region and this reduces costs.
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Baynal, K., Makaraci, M. & Gulbudak, K. Solution for failure analysis of automotive axle knuckle pull-out. Int.J Automot. Technol. 11, 701–710 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-010-0083-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-010-0083-4