3D Tube Bending Sequence for Complex-Curvature Tubular Parts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing tubular products with complex curvatures, such as ELM coils, face challenges in creating adjacent curved portions with reduced bending radii and three-dimensional development, as roller-type bending devices deform the tube and struggle with multiple bends on different planes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving two bending operations: first, a roller-type or free-form bending device creates initial curved portions, followed by a form-bound bending device that shapes the tube to have tangents on orthogonal planes, allowing for the creation of three-dimensional curves and complex curvature tubular products with smaller bending radii.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a roller-type bending device is used to perform bending operations on metal tubes, then high dimensional and geometric precision is ensured, but the device is unsuitable for obtaining complex-curvature tubular products with immediately adjacent curved portions on different bending planes
Solution Approach 1:
The bending process is divided into two distinct stages: a first bending operation to create initial curved portions, and a second bending operation to create additional curved portions on different planes. This segmentation allows each bending device to be optimized for its specific function, with the second device专门 handling the complex three-dimensional curvature requirements that the first device cannot achieve alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from planar bending (single bending plane) to three-dimensional bending (multiple bending planes). The second bending device applies curvature in a direction orthogonal to the first bending plane, creating truly three-dimensional curved portions that cannot be achieved by conventional roller-type devices operating on a single plane.
2Shape
If multiple bends are performed on immediately adjacent tube portions with different bending planes, then complex-curvature tubular products are obtained, but the bending radius cannot be sufficiently reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The first bending operation is performed as a preliminary action to create initial curved portions and prepare the tube for the second bending operation. This preliminary curvature creation allows the second bending device to work on already-curved sections, enabling it to achieve smaller final bending radii by building upon the existing geometry rather than creating curvature from a straight tube.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the bending parameters by introducing a second bending plane orthogonal to the first. This parameter change allows the second bending device to apply different bending radii and curvature characteristics that, when combined with the first bending, produce complex three-dimensional curves with reduced effective bending radii in the final product.
3Ease of manufacture
If a roller-type bending device performs sequential bends on immediately adjacent portions, then the tube is plastically deformed at the intermediate roller, but the device struggles to handle multiple bends on different planes
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into two distinct bending operations performed by different devices. The first bending device handles initial curvatures, while the second bending device专门 handles the multi-plane curvature requirements. This segmentation allows each device to be optimized for its specific capability, with the second device designed to handle the complex geometric requirements that would otherwise overload a single roller-type device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the production of tubular products with three-dimensional curves and complex curvature, specifically achieving smaller bending radii and precise geometries, applicable beyond ELM coils to various complex-curvature tubular products.
Implementation Method 1
a roller-type bending device plastically deforms the tube at the intermediate roller
Implementation Method 2
performing a second bending operation on the tube leaving the first bending device, by a second bending device, so that the curved portion of the tube has the first and second tangents at said opposite ends lying on a cylindrical surface
Data Source
AI summary
A method for obtaining a three-dimensional curve in a tubular product starting from a tube extending along a rectilinear longitudinal axis includes performing, by a first bending device, a first bending operation on a bending plane passing through the rectilinear longitudinal axis (x), so that the tube leaving the first bending device has a curved portion lying on the plane of curvature, and performing on the tube leaving the first bending device, by a second bending device, a second bending operation, so that the curved portion of the tube at the output of the second bending device has a first tangent and a second tangent (t1, t2) at its opposite ends lying on a cylindrical surface having generatrices orthogonal to two planes (A1, A2) respectively containing the first and second tangents (t1, t2). A method for manufacturing complex-curvature tubular products is also provided.