Automatic Cleaning of Thermal Cutting Machine Supports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for cleaning machine supports used in thermal cutting processes require manual operation, which is inefficient and can lead to uneven support of workpieces due to slag deposits on the supporting strips.
Innovation Solution
A device with a motor feed drive and feed members that apply feed motion to the supporting strip, allowing for automatic guidance and cleaning, reducing operator burden and improving handling by using the strip's surface for contact, with adjustable and resilient components to adapt to varying strip thicknesses and unevenness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual advancement is used for cleaning supporting strips, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity is low and operator burden is high
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting strip itself serves as the feed drive mechanism. The cleaning device is advanced along the strip using the strip's surface, eliminating the need for a separate motorized feed drive system. This self-service approach enables automatic cleaning operation while keeping the device structure simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting strip performs multiple functions: it supports workpieces during thermal cutting operations and simultaneously serves as the feed mechanism for advancing the cleaning device. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by using an existing component for dual purposes.
2Force
If feed members contact the upper or lower sides of the supporting strip, then feed force can be applied, but the contact surface is small and construction complexity increases due to uneven surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of contacting the supporting strip from above or below (vertical dimension), the feed members contact the longitudinal sides of the strip (lateral dimension). This dimensional change provides access to a larger, more uniform contact surface area that is free from workpiece projections.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than applying feed force through the traditional upper/lower surface contact method, the invention inverts the approach by using lateral side contact. This inversion allows feed members to engage the strip in a manner that avoids the unevenness caused by workpiece support projections.
3Device complexity
If fixed mounting of opposite supports is used, then device structure is simple, but friction during feed motion is high
Solution Approach 1:
The opposite supports are made rotatable rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically adapt to the supporting strip surface during feed motion. This rotational capability reduces friction by enabling the supports to roll or pivot over surface irregularities while maintaining contact.
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
The device enables efficient and automatic cleaning of supporting strips, reducing the risk of damage and improving the evenness of workpiece support by using rollers and cleaning members that can adapt to different strip conditions, ensuring effective contamination removal and reduced operator effort.
Implementation Method 1
at least one feed member and/or the associated opposite support can be applied to the supporting strip under the action of a resilient force. By virtue of that resilient support, the feed members and/or the opposite supports are able to deviate around any unevenness on the supporting strip
Implementation Method 2
at least one feed member is in the form of a roller that can be applied by its circumferential surface to the supporting strip and which has a rotation axis extending in the transverse direction of the supporting strip
Implementation Method 3
at least one opposite support is rotatable about a rotation axis extending parallel to the rotation axis of an associated feed member. During the feed motion, therefore, the opposite supports are able to roll over the supporting strip. Compared with fixed mounting of the opposite supports, the friction that has to be overcome during feed is reduced considerably
Data Source
AI summary
A device for cleaning supporting strips of workpiece supports includes a motor feed drive assembly having a feed drive motor and a feed member. The feed member is configured to engage the supporting strip and to be driven by the feed drive motor to provide relative motion between the feed member and the supporting strip along a longitudinal direction of the supporting strip.