Structural Analysis and Lightweight Design for Cab Overturned Support of a Medium-Duty Truck

Abstract

To adapt to the trend of lightweight of vehicles, and optimize the structure of vehicle components, the former overturned support of a medium-duty truck cab was optimized by lightweight design. The 3d model of the cabin former overturned support was firstly established, and then finite element analysis method was used to analyze the distributions of stress and displacement, with the support under extreme work conditions. And then a lightweight design was made basing on the analysis. The support blank is produced by permanent mold casting method. To meet the requirement of actual production, this paper, analyzed the casting defects of the structure by lightweight design, and then had a further modification basing on the actual casting technique. The results indicate that the weight of the cab support is reduced 23.2%, with lightweight design reducing the support weight effectively under safety. And the modifications of the structure casting performance meet better the structural optimization objective, and make the production of the cab support more efficient.