Clevis bracket for car doors

What was the context and the client's desired application?‍

Our client assembles car doors. The clevis is a connection part used in car door hinges. The customer needs an extremely reliable, solid solution for this application and for their end consumers, where security and reliability are of critical concern.
The hinges allow connection in the door for opening and closing. The clevis ensures that the hinges are securely fastened to the vehicle body and to the inner part of the door, allowing for smooth and controlled movement.

What fasteners was the client using before talking to us?

The client came to us with an idea based on ground pins or a sort of retaining clip to restrict the movements of the axis that crosses the clevis, allowing for connection movement in the hinge. The client asked us to use our know-how as fastening experts to explore any other possible options.

What studies did we conduct?

As soon as this project was put forward to our design office, we immediately started looking at the possibility of eliminating an element from the ensemble.

The shaft, which needed a pin to restrict its movement, could easily be secured into the hole in the clevis using only grooving technology.

Our study mainly focused on the diameter of the holes for the clevis, as well as pull-out resistance tests on the grooved nail. We needed to make sure that removing one part wouldn't jeopardise the safety of the whole assembly.

What was our advice to the client?

We recommended a grooved nail with a groove at the end, somewhere between an ISO8741 and an ISO8745. This pin allowed us to efficiently fasten the clevis and the car door. We also optimised surface texture so that it would match the steel clevis and maintain the same resistance.

What were the quantifiable benefits for our client?

For our client, we ended up eliminating a whole manufacturing stage, as well as a mechanical part from the assembly.
The pins we recommended were 80% cheaper than the fasteners the client was previously using. Our pins, with their high-quality alloys and treatments, were able to provide 100% pull-out resistance.
This is an example of an extremely competitive part, as removing a part in the industrial process enables us to maximise the solution's value.

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