Band Saw Blade Spooling with a Small Arbor to Prevent Kinking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machines for spooling large band saw blades are costly and complex, and are not adaptable to spool different sizes, often resulting in kinking of the blade due to insufficient bend radii, which increases the size and expense of the spooling mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A compact band saw spooling machine with a small arbor and rotatable blocks mounted on shoulder bolts, allowing for adjustable spacing and curvature to prevent kinking, enabling the spooling of various blade sizes into a pretzel shape without permanent bends.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large arbor is used to spool large band saw blades with sufficient bend radius, then the blade is prevented from kinking, but the size and cost of the spooling mechanism increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The blade spooling process is segmented into multiple stages: initial wrapping around the small arbor, then transitioning to wrapping around the formed spool itself. This allows the use of a small arbor for the critical initial bends while the blade supports itself in subsequent layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade is preliminarily formed into a partial spool shape using the small arbor before the main spooling operation. This preliminary formation creates the necessary initial curvature and structure that allows the blade to support itself in later stages, eliminating the need for a large arbor.
2Reliability
If a spooling mechanism is designed for large blades with 6'' bend radius, then large blades can be spooled without kinking, but the machine becomes costly and large
Solution Approach 1:
The spooling mechanism transitions from a static large arbor to a dynamic process where the blade progressively builds its own support structure. The arbor size remains small, but the effective support radius increases as the blade spool grows and self-supports subsequent layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade spool serves its own function of supporting subsequent layers of blade material. Once the initial structure is formed around the small arbor, the accumulating blade layers provide the necessary support radius without requiring a proportionally large arbor.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional spooling machines are used for different blade sizes, then each size requires a dedicated machine, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spooling mechanism is designed with universal components that can accommodate different blade sizes. The small arbor combined with the progressive spooling method allows the same machine to handle various blade dimensions by adjusting the wrapping process rather than requiring size-specific arbors.
Data Source
AI summary
A band spooling machine (1) including a small arbor (19) with protrusions (21) that rotate with the arbor. In an embodiment, the machine includes a table (3) having side rails (7) and a single rotating arbor (19) carrying two spaced-apart pins (21) having blocks (23) that rotate freely on the pins. The arbor is preferably mounted close to one end of the machine and substantially closer to one of the side rails than to the other. The blocks prevent the blade from kinking. The machine forms the band into a pretzel having a circle part (C) divided by a central reach (R) into two lobes, and a teardrop shaped tail (T).