Centerless Roll Grinding Machine Neck Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
In steel rolling processes, the eccentricity of back-up and work rolls leads to gage variations in flat rolled sheet products, which are challenging to control and result in inefficient material use and energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
A centerless roll grinding machine with a frame that supports a work roll with a narrower neck, featuring a grinding wheel assembly and a V-channel support system with averaging links to reduce horizontal displacements caused by radial variations in the roll neck.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional fixed lateral and lower supports are used to hold the work roll, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the radial variation of the roll neck is copied into the ground surface, causing gage variations and poor manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral support is divided into multiple bearing pads (at least three) that are radially spaced along the neck, with each pad independently contacting the roll neck. This segmentation allows the support system to accommodate radial variations without copying them to the ground surface, as the multiple pads distribute the support function across different locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing pads are made movable relative to the roll neck through pivotable connections with averaging links, allowing the support system to dynamically adapt to radial variations in the neck geometry. This dynamic capability enables the support to maintain contact while absorbing dimensional variations, preventing them from being transferred to the ground surface.
2Manufacturing precision
If the grinding machine copies the neck radial variation directly, then the support structure remains simple and fixed, but the manufactured roll surface exhibits gage variations and poor dimensional accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
Averaging links are introduced as intermediary elements between the bearing pads and the horizontal ram. These links pivotally connect the bearing pads to the ram, creating a mechanical averaging mechanism that computes the mean position of the neck centerline. This intermediary structure prevents direct copying of radial variations while maintaining precise control over the grinding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixed mechanical support system is replaced with a kinematic mechanism involving bearing pads, averaging links, and a horizontal ram. This substitution transforms the support from a rigid structure that copies variations into a dynamic system that mechanically averages radial variations, eliminating gage variations in the ground surface.
3Manufacturing precision
If fixed solid column supports are used, then the device complexity is low, but the horizontal motion of the roll geometric center cannot be reduced, resulting in poor gage control
Solution Approach 1:
The static fixed column supports are replaced with dynamic bearing pads connected through pivotable averaging links to a horizontal ram. This dynamic configuration allows the support system to respond to radial variations in real-time, reducing the horizontal motion of the roll geometric center and improving gage control through mechanical averaging of the neck position.
Data Source
AI summary
A centerless roll grinding machine includes a lateral support of a V-channel support that is received by a vertical support of a frame and extending horizontally in the first direction to contact a second side of one neck of a work roll. A lower support received by and extending generally upwardly from the frame displaced in the first lateral direction from a geometric center of the neck of the work roll cooperates with the lateral support to provide the V-channel support to hold the work roll for rotation about a longitudinal axis. A lateral support device includes radially spaced bearing pads on the neck in opposition to a grinding wheel. Each pair of bearing pads is pivotally attached to a respective first tier averaging link that is pivotally coupled to a horizontal ram to reduce displacements of the work roll caused by errors in the neck.