ENUMERATING POSSIBLE DESIGN OPTIONS FOR INTEGRAL ATTACHMENT USING A HIERARCHICAL-CLASSIFICATION SCHEME

The proliferation of plastic in parts, and the ability to mold such pa rts of great complexity at little cost penalty, has resulted in the gr owing use of integral attachment in the form of snap-fit features in d eigns. Heretofore, the great diversity in geometry of mating parts and of available integral attachment snap-fit features (e.g., cantilever hooks, compression traps, bayonet-fingers, etc.) has made it appear th at assembly design possibilities may be unbounded, and that attempts a t optimization might be intractable. This paper enumerates all possibl e assembly design options using a hierarchical classification scheme. In so doing, it guides new designers and validates choices for experie nced ones. The results is great order and simplicity that facilitates better understanding of this assembly joining method, better communica tion, development of design aids, and improved and extended attachment performance.