Adjustable Terminal Rollers for Metal Leveling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing metal leveling machines face challenges in maintaining minimal distance between leveling rollers, leading to increased assembly difficulties and reduced compactness due to vertically located adjusting mechanisms and non-adjustable terminal rollers.
Innovation Solution
Designing individually adjustable terminal lower leveling rollers supported by lever arms with synchronous movement mechanisms, including movable backup rollers and external actuating drives, allows for minimal distance maintenance and easy adjustment, preserving compactness and facilitating external retrofitting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If individually adjustable leveling rollers are moved vertically to narrow the gap, then the leveling precision is improved, but the distance between the adjustable roller and the adjacent leveling roller increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the adjustment direction from vertical to horizontal. The terminal lower leveling roller is made movable in the horizontal direction along the metal stock, rather than moving vertically. This dimensional change allows the roller to follow the contour of the metal stock while maintaining minimal distance to adjacent rollers, thus preserving both leveling precision and compact machine structure.
2Ease of operation
If the adjusting mechanism is located vertically under the leveling roller inside the machine, then the adjustment function is achieved, but the machine assembly becomes much more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the adjustment mechanism from the interior of the machine and relocates it to the exterior. The terminal lower leveling roller is made movable from outside the machine structure, allowing the adjustment mechanism to be positioned externally. This makes the machine much easier to assemble while maintaining full adjustment capability for following the metal stock contour.
3Adaptability or versatility
If terminal lower leveling rollers are made individually adjustable, then the ability to perform intentional overleveling is improved, but the machine compactness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention achieves overleveling capability by moving the terminal lower leveling roller horizontally along the metal stock contour, rather than requiring vertical movement that would increase machine volume. This allows the roller to follow the stock shape and create intentional overleveling effects while maintaining a compact machine footprint.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for leveling metal stock, which is moved during operation from an infeed side of the device to an outfeed side, includes: an upper set of leveling rollers and a lower set of leveling rollers, each of which comprises a terminal leveling roller on the infeed side and another one on the outfeed side. A plurality of lower backup roller support blocks, each include a plurality of backup rollers, which serve to support the lower leveling rollers and are arranged in rows, wherein their axes of rotation are parallel to axes of rotation of the leveling rollers. At least one of the terminal lower leveling rollers of the set of lower leveling rollers is arranged so that it can be individually adjusted, wherein the at least one of the terminal lower leveling rollers is supported at each end in a lever arm.