Chipless Cutting Thick-Walled Plastic Profiles

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for cutting extruded tubes to length, such as flying saws, generate contamination due to sawdust and are inefficient for thick-walled tubes, as they require hazardous waste disposal and cannot produce chamfers or handle all plastic types effectively, with existing automatic cutting machines being slow or unsuitable for various plastics.

Innovation Solution

A device with a cutting tool and support unit featuring two racks in a block, allowing radial and axial movement conversion with a single drive, enabling precise, chipless cutting and chamfering capabilities for thick-walled tubes, reducing component count and installation space.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If a saw blade is used to cut thick-walled tubes, then the cutting can be performed, but sawdust is produced causing contamination and the waste material cannot be recycled

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecutting capabilityVSAvoidsawdust contamination

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical saw blade cutting system with a high-speed jet stream system. The jet stream (water or air) erodes the plastic material through hydraulic or pneumatic pressure, completely eliminating sawdust production and contamination while enabling recycling of clean waste material.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs hydraulic jet streams (water jet) or pneumatic jet streams (air jet) to cut the plastic tubes. The high-pressure fluid jet erodes the material through cavitation and erosion mechanisms, providing a clean cutting process without mechanical contact, thus eliminating sawdust generation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

2Object-affected harmful factors

If a round knife is used for chipless cutting, then contamination is reduced, but it cannot successfully cut thick-walled tubes with large diameters due to knife canted breaking

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovecontaminationVSAvoidknife durability

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical round knife system with a jet stream erosion system. The high-speed fluid jet cuts through the thick-walled tubes by eroding the material, eliminating mechanical contact and the associated problems of knife canting and breaking while maintaining chipless clean cutting.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the cutting mechanism from mechanical contact (knife) to non-contact erosion (jet stream). By adjusting parameters such as jet pressure, fluid velocity, and standoff distance, the system can effectively cut through thick-walled tubes of various diameters without the reliability issues of mechanical knives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Adaptability or versatility

If automatic cutting machines with chamfering capability are used, then chamfering can be produced, but the saw carriage is large resulting in slow cutting speed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvechamfering capabilityVSAvoidcutting speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the large mechanical saw carriage system with a compact jet stream delivery system. The high-speed jet can be precisely directed to cut and chamfer tube ends rapidly without the bulky mechanical structure, simultaneously achieving versatility and high productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The jet stream system can rapidly switch between cutting and chamfering operations by adjusting the jet angle and position, providing periodic multi-functionality without requiring a large complex carriage structure, thus maintaining high cutting speed while achieving chamfering capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

4Adaptability or versatility

If multiple slip rings are used for signal transmission in cutting machines, then various functions can be controlled, but the device complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovefunctionalityVSAvoidslip ring quantity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates the slip ring system entirely from the cutting machine design. The jet stream cutting system requires simpler control mechanisms and signal transmission paths, removing the complex multi-channel slip ring assembly and its associated cost and complexity while maintaining full functional control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS9969096B2Device for cutting extruded plastics profiles to length

Publication Date: 2018.05.15 BATTENFELD CINCINNATI GERMANY GMBH

AI summary

A device for cutting a preferably thick-walled extruded pipe to length, has at least one cutting tool and a receiving unit for the cutting tool, wherein the cutting tool is movable radially with respect to the extension axis and is rotatable by a further means about the pipe to be cut to length, in order to cut the pipe to length. The receiving unit preferably has two toothed rods arranged in a block, wherein the first toothed rod is movable back and forth axially and the second toothed rod radially with respect to the extension axis, the axial movement is converted into a radial movement, and the cutting tool is arranged on the second toothed rod.