Drill Head Support Pad Continuous Chamfer Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional deep hole drilling support pads with sharp chamfer intersections lead to poor hole quality, reduced working life, and increased torsional load due to concentrated frictional forces, and existing methods for smoothing these intersections are labor-intensive and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A support pad design with continuous chamfers formed in a single grinding operation, eliminating discontinuities and using a virtual guide metric to instruct CNC machines to create smooth transitions without requiring complex CAD representations, allowing for efficient and repeatable manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional support pads with sharp chamfer intersections are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but hole quality deteriorates and frictional forces increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by replacing sharp chamfer intersections with continuous blended surfaces. The transition regions between chamfers are curved rather than angular, eliminating discontinuities. This is achieved through CNC grinding operations that create smooth transitional surfaces, reducing friction and improving hole quality while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If chamfers are honed by hand using diamond file or lap, then intersection sharpness is reduced, but labor intensity increases and consistency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual honing operations with automated CNC grinding. The grinding process uses controlled mechanical motion to create smooth transitions, substituting the manual diamond file or lap operation. This automation provides consistent, repeatable results while reducing labor intensity and improving manufacturing efficiency.
3Manufacturing precision
If additional grinding steps are used to blend intersections, then smoothness improves, but manufacturing complexity increases due to multiple operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple grinding operations into a single integrated CNC process. The support pad is manufactured with all chamfers and transition regions created in one continuous operation, rather than through separate honing or blending steps. This consolidation reduces manufacturing complexity while maintaining the required smoothness and precision.
4Productivity
If support pads are manufactured with conventional methods, then production time is shorter for simple geometries, but frictional forces concentrate at sharp edges reducing working life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating smooth transition regions directly into the support pad geometry during the initial manufacturing process. The continuous blended surfaces are built-in from the start, preventing friction concentration before the support pad enters service. This preliminary design feature extends working life without requiring post-manufacturing intervention.
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 solution reduces frictional forces, minimizes vibration, increases the working life of support pads, and enhances the productivity of deep hole drilling operations by avoiding sharp edges and intersections, leading to improved hole quality and reduced maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
a support pad design with continuous chamfers formed in a single grinding operation
Data Source
AI summary
A deep hole drill head support pad whose edge chamfers are formed in a continuous grinding operation so that there are no discontinuities in the angled side surface leading up to the outer surface thereof. A method of manufacturing the support pad includes generating a virtual guide metric including a curved travel path for a grinding surface around a support pad blank, and a plurality of control surfaces intersecting with the curved path at separate locations along its length, each control surface defining an angle of orientation of the grinding surface. A CNC grinding machine can interpret the virtual guide metric to change the angle of orientation of a grinding surface relative to a support pad blank as it moves between adjacent control surfaces in a continuous manner.