Adjustable Soldering Hold Down With Gravity Suspension
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing material positioning devices for soldering, welding, and gluing often obstruct heat application and interfere with adhesives due to direct contact with jaws, and are bulky, making them unsuitable for irregularly shaped components.
Innovation Solution
A device using three legs to suspend a weight above the components, allowing gravity to apply pressure with adjustable angles and lengths to accommodate different shapes and surfaces, minimizing contact and avoiding the need for clamping devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional clamping devices with opposed jaws are used to hold components, then the components can be positioned and held during soldering, but the jaws obstruct even heat application and interfere with adhesive application
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the clamping function from traditional jaw-based devices and implements it through a gravity-based suspension system. The weight (4) suspended from legs (1, 2, 3) provides holding force without requiring contact jaws that would obstruct heat or adhesive application to the workpiece.
Solution Approach 2:
The legs (1, 2, 3) act as intermediaries between the suspended weight (4) and the workpiece. Instead of direct jaw-to-workpiece contact, the legs transmit the gravitational force indirectly, allowing heat and adhesives to reach the workpiece surface without obstruction from clamping elements.
2Reliability
If traditional clamping devices are used to secure materials, then the materials can be held in position, but the devices become attached to the work piece making it defective
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the attachment mechanism entirely from the clamping device. Instead of jaws that clamp onto and potentially damage the workpiece, the suspended weight (4) provides holding force through gravity acting on the legs (1, 2, 3), which contact the workpiece minimally without creating attachment points that could cause defects.
3Reliability
If traditional clamping devices with fixed structure are used, then they can provide stable clamping, but they are large in bulk and difficult to use on irregularly shaped components
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces dynamic adjustability to the clamping device. The legs (1, 2, 3) can be adjusted in length and angle, and the weight (4) can be repositioned, allowing the device to adapt to various workpiece shapes and sizes while maintaining stable gravitational clamping force.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the clamping device by making the leg lengths and weight position adjustable. This allows the device to be configured for different workpiece geometries, improving versatility while maintaining the reliable gravitational clamping mechanism.
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 even heat distribution and unobstructed working angles, allowing for effective soldering and joining on irregular surfaces without the drawbacks of traditional clamping devices.
Implementation Method 1
It relies on the force of gravity to apply pressure upon the components being joined
Data Source
AI summary
A tool for holding a work piece being soldered, welded or glued, the tool being made up of a weight with three or more legs that protrude from said weight, each leg having an end such that the ends of three of the legs define a triangle. Typically, the legs extend completely through the weight. The legs are preferably rotatable about their longitudinal axes, and are longitudinally adjustable along their length with respect to the weight. One or more of the legs may be bent at the end. Generally, the legs are held in place by the effect of gravity and a precision fit of the legs within the weight. Each of the legs is moveable along its longitudinal axis through the weight, and one of the legs is bent at an end to an angle ranging from greater than 0 to less than 180 degrees.