Brake Pad Thermal Treatment Plant with Flexible Heating Sequencing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Standard thermal treatment processes lack flexibility to accommodate brake pads with varying thermal cycles, limiting their ability to achieve optimal performance characteristics.
Innovation Solution
A plant combining convective and infrared heating steps, where braking elements follow a U-shaped path on conveyor belts, allowing for flexible sequencing of heating processes and efficient energy use, with robotic means for transferring elements between belts and forced air management for temperature control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If standard convection furnaces are used for thermal treatment, then the process is simple to operate, but the flexibility to accommodate different thermal cycles for different brake pads is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal treatment plant is segmented into two independent heating lines: a convection heating line and an infrared heating line. Each line can be independently configured and operated to accommodate different thermal cycle requirements for different brake pad types, thereby providing flexibility without requiring a complete redesign of the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The plant design allows a single facility to perform multiple thermal treatment functions by combining convection and infrared heating capabilities. The same plant can process different brake pad types with different thermal requirements, making the system universal and adaptable to various processing needs.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional single-method heating is used, then the plant dimensions and processing time are manageable, but the ability to achieve optimal physical-mechanical and tribological properties is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges convection heating and infrared heating into a single integrated plant with two parallel lines. This combination allows the system to achieve superior physical-mechanical and tribological properties by selecting the appropriate heating method for each specific brake pad type, while maintaining efficient processing times through parallel operation capabilities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the same plant processes brake pads with vastly different thermal cycles, then versatility is improved, but the processing precision and optimal treatment for each type deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the plant into separate convection and infrared heating lines, each line can be optimized for specific brake pad types. This segmentation allows precise control of thermal parameters for each line, ensuring that the most appropriate heating method is applied to each brake pad type, thereby maintaining high treatment precision while processing diverse products.
Solution Approach 2:
Different heating methods are applied to different brake pad types based on their specific requirements. The convection line is optimized for brake pads requiring convective heating, while the infrared line is optimized for those requiring radiant heating. This local quality approach ensures each brake pad type receives the most suitable thermal treatment for optimal results.
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
This combination of heating methods enhances the physical-mechanical and tribological properties of brake pads, reduces processing time and plant dimensions, and allows for different thermal treatment durations within a single system, achieving faster and more flexible thermal treatment with energy savings.
Implementation Method 1
a convection tunnel furnace (4) which is traversed by at least one first conveyor belt (5) moving in a first direction (D1)
Implementation Method 2
an infrared heating tunnel furnace (6) which is traversed by a second conveyor belt (7) moving in a second direction (D2)
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A method and plant (1) for thermally treating braking elements (2) after a forming step, including a convective heating step at 150-300°C and a infrared irradiation heating step, immediately in succession one relative to the other; a tunnel convection furnace (4) crossed by at least a first conveyor belt (5) which translates along a first direction (Dl) and on an upper face of which the braking elements are placed, is arranged laterally adjacent, with respect to the first direction, to an infrared heating tunnel furnace. (6) crossed by a second conveyor belt (7) which translates along a second direction (D2), parallel and opposite to the first one, and on an upper face of which the braking elements are placed; the first conveyor belt (5) is larger than the second conveyor belt (7), and the braking elements appear in multiple side-by-side rows in a transverse and oblique direction (D3) with respect to the first and second directions; robot (10,13) placed at the opposite ends of the furnaces transfer the braking elements from the first conveyor belt to the second one or vice versa to a first end (8,9) of the furnaces and place them on the first conveyor belt or second one to a second end (11,12) of the furnaces being opposite to the first one, so as to change at will the sequence in which the infrared and convective heating steps are performed.