Grinder Safety Rest with Adjustable Gap Control Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional safety rests for tool grinders struggle to maintain the required 1-3 mm gap with grinding wheels as they wear, especially when the wheels have special edge shapes or curved radii, leading to potential equipment damage or bodily injury due to increased gap sizes.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable safety rest with a base featuring a U-shaped notch and a gap control member that can be adjusted to maintain a 1-3 mm gap, including a slide plate and stop member, allowing for repositioning to accommodate worn or specially shaped grinding wheel edges, ensuring consistent safety spacing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional safety rest with flat perpendicularly oriented sides is used, then it can accommodate the original flat sides of a new grinding wheel, but it cannot maintain the required 1-3 mm gap when the grinding wheel edge wears into a curved radius or has a special edge shape
Solution Approach 1:
The safety rest incorporates an adjustable gap control member that can be repositioned along the curved inner wall of the notch to adapt to different grinding wheel edge shapes. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the safety rest to maintain the required 1-3 mm gap whether the wheel has a flat edge, curved radius, or special shape, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and gap precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner wall of the notch is designed with a curved shape instead of flat surfaces, creating different local regions that can accommodate various wheel edge geometries. The gap control member can be positioned at different locations along this curved wall to match the specific local geometry of the grinding wheel edge, enabling precise gap maintenance for different wheel shapes.
2Manufacturing precision
If the entire safety rest is adjusted to maintain the 1-3 mm spacing as the grinding wheel wears, then the flat edge surface can be repositioned, but the gap control cannot accommodate curved radius edges or special shaped wheels
Solution Approach 1:
The safety rest is segmented into a fixed base structure and a movable gap control member. The base provides stable support while the gap control member can be independently adjusted to accommodate different wheel shapes. This segmentation allows the system to maintain precise gap spacing while adapting to various wheel conditions without requiring adjustment of the entire safety rest structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The gap control member is designed to be dynamically adjustable along the curved inner wall of the notch, allowing operators to reposition it to match the specific geometry of worn or specially shaped grinding wheels. This dynamic capability enables continuous maintenance of the 1-3 mm gap requirement regardless of wheel shape variations.
3Ease of operation
If the grinding wheel edge is used for smoothing radius cuts, then the originally flat corner edge wears away into a curved radius, but this causes the gap between the wheel edge and safety rest to open larger than required by safety regulations
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable gap control member allows operators to maintain safety compliance even after the grinding wheel edge has been used for radius cuts and developed a curved profile. By repositioning the gap control member along the curved inner wall, the system dynamically adapts to the changed wheel geometry while maintaining the required 1-3 mm safety gap, thus preserving both operational flexibility and safety compliance.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable safety rest for grinding wheel includes a notch in one of a base edge defining side walls and an inner wall conformable in a spaced relationship around outer side edges and the outer edge of a grinding wheel. A wheel edge gap conformable member or special shape member is mounted in a base fixed to the grinder and is axially adjustable in position to maintain a first end of member in a fixed spaced dimensional relationship relative to one portion of the outer surface of the grinding wheel as the grinding wheel undergoes wear. The member may be disposed in a recess in the base at a 45° degree angle intersecting at least one inner corner of the notch in the base. The member may also be centrally mounted on the base to intersect only the inner wall of the base.