bend all automotive

during my second co-op, i worked at bend all automotive, an automotive supplier specializing in engine and transmission oil cooling lines. they recently started developing and manufacturing hvac lines. as part of the r&d team, the majority of my work was in this product segment.

my main responsibility was to develop formed hoses to go into our prototype hvac assembly builds, which we sent to our customers for design validation. the hose forming process involves holding the raw hose in the desired geometry, then heating and cooling to re-form the cross-linked polymer chains.

some of the interesting challenges i dealt with included:

•process control - how long, and how hot should the hose be held to balance form, structural integrity, and cycle time?

•how to fixture the hoses - i landed on aluminum extrusion for quick iteration, and resin 3d printing for increasing scale and repeatability.

•overbend angle - the hose relaxes after cooling and removal, so how much extra bend is needed for a given hose diameter and material, to achieve a desired angle and radius, and how does it vary with curing parameters?

working in r&d was a very cool experience which allowed me to not only iterate on existing products and processes, but to push the boundaries in an unclear solution space.