Scope:

The client is a global distributor/manufacture of truck bed covers.

Why APA?

APA has a dedicated team to work on the designs and reverse engineering of recreational vehicle components, with an exclusive lab set up for probing, scanning (3D non-contact), and measuring dimensions.  

Scope:

The scope is to study all the existing patents for hard & soft fold "clamps, latches, rubber hinges, & extrusions" and to design the new clamps, latches, rubber hinges, & extrusions without patent infringement.

Design Challenges involved:

The challenge was to design the bed cover without infringing any patents and make it easily accessible to customers.

Design process:

● Understand the existing bed design background and measure the required geometry values from the physical bed.
● Study all the patents for bed clamps, latches, rubber hinges, and extrusions.
● Design the new clamps, latches, rubber hinges, & extrusions without patent infringement.
● Identify the material for all the components and get approval from the client.
● Perform mold flow analysis for the required plastic parts.
● Design optimized plastic parts.
● Perform the DFMA for all the clamps, latches, and hinges.
● Prepare parts, assembly drawings, and a Bill of Materials.

Value delivered:

Delivered 3D models, 2D drawings and BOM list for the complete soft and hard fold bed covers, including cab side clamps, rear side clamps, latches, and hinges, without patent infringement.