Crusher Upper Frame Spider Arm Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing upper frames in gyratory and cone crushers face challenges in balancing strength and weight, while also requiring ease of use, installation, and maintenance, and are often excessively heavy and prone to uneven stress distribution.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a u-shaped cavity in the spider arm structure that extends from the central hub to the lower flange, with a continuous diameter increase towards the lower flange, reducing wall thickness and weight while maintaining strength, and includes attaching means for wear parts and lifting tools, allowing for integral casting and reduced assembly needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the frame structure is made stronger to withstand large stresses and impacts, then the strength and reliability improve, but the weight increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The spider arm is divided into multiple sections along its length, with each section having optimized thickness. The segmentation allows the structure to maintain strength where needed while reducing material usage in less critical areas, resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The spider arm features variable wall thickness along its length, with thicker sections at the hub and flange areas where stress is highest, and gradually thinner sections towards the middle. This local quality optimization ensures strength at critical points while minimizing overall weight.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the spider arm wall thickness is increased to maintain strength, then the structural integrity improves, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spider arm is segmented into multiple sections with varying wall thicknesses. This segmentation allows the structure to maintain adequate strength and structural integrity in high-stress areas while using less material in lower-stress areas, thereby reducing overall weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall thickness of the spider arm is not uniform but varies locally according to the stress distribution. Thicker walls are provided at the hub and flange connections where structural integrity is most critical, while thinner walls are used in intermediate sections, optimizing the strength-to-weight ratio.
3Strength
If the upper frame is designed as a single integral piece, then the structural strength improves, but the ease of manufacture and maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The upper frame is divided into separable components including the spider arm, hub, and flange sections. This segmentation maintains structural strength through proper connection design while significantly improving ease of manufacture, assembly, and maintenance compared to a single integral piece.
Solution Approach 2:
While the overall frame is segmented for manufacturability, key components like the spider arm are designed to integrate smoothly with the hub and flange, creating a unified structural system that maintains strength while allowing separate manufacturing and assembly.
4Stress or pressure
If the diameter of the upper frame increases continuously towards the lower flange, then the strength distribution improves, but the material usage and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The diameter of the upper frame increases continuously towards the lower flange, creating a tapered structure. This local geometric optimization improves stress distribution by providing greater material where stresses are highest (at the flange) while using less material in the upper sections where stresses are lower, thereby resolving the contradiction between stress distribution and weight.
Data Source
AI summary
A mineral material processing plant, a crusher and an upper frame for a crusher. The upper frame includes a central hub for receiving a main shaft of the crusher, an upper rim, and a spider arm. A u-shaped cavity extends towards a lower flange from the upper rim.