Formwork Spacer with Ball Joint for Misalignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing formwork tubes experience adherence issues due to vertical misalignment and slight inclinations of formwork walls, leading to grout ingress and solidification, making it difficult to remove cross tie rods from the formed wall.
Innovation Solution
A spacer device with a hollow tubular body featuring central and side tubular portions, tapered ends, and ball joints that allow for rotational coupling and inclination adjustment, ensuring adherence to formwork walls even with slight misalignments, and enabling easy extraction of cross tie rods after concrete hardening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the conical end is rigidly coupled to the tube, then the structure is simple and strong, but it loses adherence to the formwork wall when misalignment or inclination occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The ball joint converts the rigid static connection into a dynamic articulated connection, allowing the conical end to rotate and adjust its orientation automatically to maintain contact with the formwork wall despite misalignment or inclination, thus preserving adherence reliability while keeping the structure simple
2Ease of repair
If the tube is made removable in segments, then it becomes reusable and less wasteful, but the complexity of assembly and disassembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is divided into modular segments that can be easily assembled and disassembled through simple coupling mechanisms, enabling reusability while keeping the assembly process straightforward and not excessively complex
3Adaptability or versatility
If the ball joint allows free rotation, then it accommodates misalignment and inclination, but it may compromise the stability of the connection
Solution Approach 1:
The ball joint provides controlled mobility that adapts to misalignment and inclination while maintaining connection stability through the mechanical constraint of the spherical interface, allowing adjustment without compromising structural integrity
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A spacer device (10) for formwork, comprising a hollow tubular body (2) extending around a longitudinal axis (X-X) is described, said tubular body (2) being configured to house a cross tie rod (7) and comprising: -two side tubular portions (2a,2b); each side tubular portion (2a,2b) comprising fastening means at one end; and at the remaining end, a tapered portion (3a,3b) configured to rest on the wall of the formwork; characterised by comprising a ball joint (5a,5b) interposed between each tapered portion (3a,3b) and the respective side tubular portion (2a,2b) to couple each tapered portion (3a,3b) with the respective side tubular portion (2a,2b).