Common Structural Forms of Instrument Panels
According to their structural form, instrument panels can be divided into two types: split-type and one-piece type.
① Split-type instrument panels refer to instrument panels that are divided into upper and lower parts, as shown in the figure. The two parts are generally connected by screws or welding, which maximizes the satisfaction of styling requirements in terms of color, texture, and appearance. At the same time, the parting method should be rationally selected based on factors such as mold feasibility and part manufacturing processes.
② One-piece instrument panels refer to instrument panels that are injection molded in one piece. This is simple in terms of parts and more economical, but it can easily restrict the styling of areas such as the instrument cluster and glove compartment, making it impossible to meet styling requirements.
Positioning
The instrument panel system is generally positioned onto the vehicle body using positioning pins on the left and right sides. There are two common positioning methods: The first is four-way positioning (Y and Z directions) on the driver's side using positioning pins, while only two directions (Z direction) are restricted on the front passenger side. This positioning method mainly ensures the matching of the driver's side instrument panel with the door panel and surrounding area, but it is not conducive to the symmetry of the matching between the driver's side and the front passenger side. Another approach is to use two-way positioning (Z-axis) on both the driver's and front passenger's sides. The Y-axis positioning of the entire instrument panel system is ensured by specialized tooling to guarantee symmetry on both sides.
[Diagram of a split instrument panel]
The positioning of the instrument panel body to the instrument panel crossbeam is generally achieved through locating pins on the instrument panel body. Common positioning strategies include driver-side positioning and center positioning, as shown in the diagram. Driver-side positioning involves placing the designated point in the instrument cluster area, which improves the matching quality between the driver's side instrument panel and the door panel. Center positioning involves placing the designated point in the central entertainment system area of the instrument panel, which helps ensure symmetry between the left and right sides of the instrument panel and the door panel.
In addition to these main positioning structures, the instrument panel system also has numerous auxiliary positioning methods to ensure the installation and matching of the entire system.