Cold flow machine anchoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for stabilizing machine tools are labor-intensive, costly, and ineffective in managing vibrations and displacement issues, particularly in high-speed operations, as they require extensive anchoring and specialized dampening systems that are temperature-dependent and prone to settling.
Innovation Solution
The use of leveling pads with a metal base made of forged aluminum and a vinyl polymer liner that cold flows into the floor profile under the weight of the machine, providing a stable and flexible interface that increases the tensile and shear forces required to separate from the floor, thus enhancing energy coupling and reducing vibrations without the need for coring or labor-intensive anchoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If steel pads or energy-absorbing pads are used for anchoring machine tools, then the machine can be secured to the floor, but the installation becomes labor-intensive and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling pad system is designed to self-anchor to the floor surface through the cold-flow mechanism of the polymer liner. The weighted machine tool automatically causes the liner to deform and bond to the floor profile without requiring manual intervention, coring, or additional anchoring operations. This eliminates labor-intensive installation while maintaining reliable anchoring stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical anchoring systems (such as coring, drilling, and bolting operations) with a cold-flow polymer liner that bonds to the floor through deformation. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical installation processes while achieving equivalent or superior anchoring reliability.
2Reliability
If traditional anchoring methods are used, then the machine can be secured, but vibration damping and energy coupling are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the interface between the machine base and floor by using a polymer liner with specific cold-flow characteristics. The liner's deformation under load creates intimate contact with the floor surface, dramatically improving energy coupling and vibration damping compared to rigid steel pads. This parameter change transforms the interface from a rigid, vibration-transmitting connection to a compliant, energy-dissipating bond.
Solution Approach 2:
The leveling pad combines a rigid metal base structure with a compliant polymer liner material. This composite construction provides both the structural support needed for machine stability and the vibration-damping properties of the polymer material. The composite structure enables effective energy coupling to the floor while absorbing vibrational energy, resolving the contradiction between securing the machine and damping vibrations.
3Reliability
If rigid anchoring pads are used, then the machine base is secured, but the system cannot adapt to various floor profiles and conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The polymer liner's cold-flow property allows it to change its shape and deformation characteristics based on the applied load and floor profile. This parameter change enables the same pad design to adapt to various floor conditions (concrete, painted floors, etc.) while maintaining strong anchoring. The liner deforms to match the floor surface geometry, creating intimate contact regardless of the specific floor profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static, rigid pad to a dynamic system where the polymer liner continuously deforms and adapts to the floor surface under the weight of the machine. This dynamic adaptation process allows the pad to conform to different floor profiles and conditions while maintaining reliable anchoring strength, eliminating the need for multiple pad types or manual floor preparation.
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 solution provides a cost-effective, flexible, and stable interface that maintains machine alignment and reduces vibrations effectively, eliminating displacement issues and temperature-related problems, while allowing for easy relocation and installation without the need for specialized anchoring or frequent re-leveling.
Implementation Method 1
a polymer liner coupled to the metal base and being configured to cold flow into a profile of a floor surface when a weight of the device is applied to the leveling pad
Implementation Method 2
The polymer liner is configured to plastically deform into a profile of a floor surface when the weight of the device is applied to the leveling pad
Implementation Method 3
an adhesive configured to chemically bond to the metal base and the polymer liner
Data Source
AI summary
A leveling pad for stabilizing a device is provided. The leveling pad comprises a metal base having a socket configured to receive a portion of the device and a liner coupled to the metal base and being configured to cold flow into a profile of a floor surface when a weight of the device is applied to the leveling pad. The liner may be of a polymer, such as vinyl. The liner is further configured to plastically deform into the profile of the floor surface. The plastic deformation is designed to increase a magnitude of a shear force or a tensile force required to separate the liner from a portion of the floor surface into which it is configured to plastically deform.