Compensating Chuck Coupling Ring Radial Play
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing compensating chucks face challenges in maintaining centricity during clamping, especially with fewer jaws, leading to elastic deformation and reduced repeat accuracy, and existing solutions like coupling rocker drives are complex and prone to failure.
Innovation Solution
A compensating chuck design featuring a coupling ring with radial play between drivers and the ring, allowing for rotational synchronization of rockers to maintain centricity, reducing component complexity and assembly effort, and incorporating a central through-opening for material feed and synchronized slide movement for uniform clamping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a coupling rocker drive is used to ensure centricity, then the clamping centricity is improved, but the device complexity increases and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive mechanism is segmented into independent components: a first drive unit for the first pair of jaws and a second drive unit for the second pair of jaws. Each drive unit operates independently but is coordinated through the coupling ring, allowing centricity to be achieved without a complex integrated coupling rocker drive.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling ring acts as an intermediary element that coordinates the movement of the first and second drive units. It features radial slots that guide the drive slides, ensuring synchronized radial movement of all four jaws while maintaining clamping centricity without requiring a complex coupling mechanism.
2Device complexity
If fewer jaws are used for clamping, then the device complexity is reduced, but the elastic deformation increases and manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The chuck employs an asymmetric jaw configuration with two pairs of jaws (first pair and second pair) positioned at different orientations. The first pair of jaws clamps in a first clamping plane while the second pair clamps in a second clamping plane, creating an asymmetric but balanced four-point clamping system that distributes stress uniformly and minimizes elastic deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The four-jaw configuration acts as a counterbalancing system where the clamping forces from each jaw pair compensate for each other. The coupling ring ensures that the radial movements of all four jaws are synchronized, creating a balanced force distribution that prevents excessive elastic deformation of the workpiece.
3Manufacturing precision
If radial guidance is integrated into the driver-coupling ring interface, then the centricity is maintained, but the assembly complexity and static overdeterminations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The radial guidance function is extracted from the driver-coupling ring interface and assigned to a separate guide structure. The coupling ring only provides rotational coupling through its radial slots, while the guide structure independently handles radial positioning, eliminating static overdeterminations and simplifying assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The guidance system is segmented into separate functional elements: the coupling ring handles rotational synchronization, while distinct guide structures handle radial positioning. This functional segmentation eliminates the need for complex integrated interfaces and reduces assembly complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a compensating chuck (1) for centrally clamping workpieces (100), said chuck comprising a housing (3), two pairs of diametrically opposite base jaws (11a,11c;11b,11d) for receiving corresponding chuck jaws, a movable drive unit (10), preferably movable by means of force clamping, which comprises two pairs of drivable driving elements (23a,23b;25a,25b), wherein two adjacent driving elements (23a,23b) are coupled to one another by means of a first rocker (17), and two further adjacent driving elements (25a,25b) are coupled to one another by means of a second rocker (19). According to the invention, a coupling ring (27) is provided which guides a first driving element (23a) and a diametrically opposite second driving element (25a) in a circumferential direction in relation to the chuck axis (A), wherein play exists between the driving elements (23a, 25a) and the coupling ring (27)in a radial direction.