Grinding Head with Tangential Diamond Wheel for Glass Slabs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing grinding machines face challenges in achieving precise geometric accuracy and sufficient material removal capacity for glass slabs due to positioning errors and the limitations of conventional grinding wheel diameters, which result in unsatisfactory edge quality and increased encumbrance when working with thicker slabs.
Innovation Solution
A grinding head equipped with a tangentially operating diamond grinding wheel with an adjustable diameter up to 200 mm, whose rotation axis is parallel to the glass edge, allowing for efficient material removal and minimal encumbrance by utilizing the wheel's thickness instead of width, and featuring a handling system with a cam-shaped supporting element and motor-driven movement for precise operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a bigger diameter grinding wheel is used to increase material removal capacity for thick glass slabs, then the removal capacity is improved, but the width encumbrance of the grinding head increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the orientation of the grinding wheel from the conventional configuration (where the wheel diameter determines the working width) to a tangential configuration where the wheel's thickness becomes the limiting dimension rather than its diameter. This dimensional reorientation allows using large diameter wheels (200 mm or more) for high material removal capacity while the width encumbrance is determined by the wheel thickness instead of diameter, effectively resolving the contradiction between productivity and spatial occupation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the conventional grinding wheel arrangement by placing the rotation axis parallel to the glass edge instead of perpendicular to it. This inversion allows the grinding wheel to operate tangentially on the glass edge, fundamentally changing how the wheel dimensions relate to the grinding head's footprint and enabling large diameter wheels without proportional increases in width encumbrance.
2Productivity
If the grinding machine sides are increased to accommodate larger grinding wheels, then the material removal capacity is improved, but the device complexity and overall machine size increase
Solution Approach 1:
By reorienting the grinding wheel so that its rotation axis is parallel to the glass edge, the invention allows the wheel's thickness (rather than diameter) to determine the required machine side dimensions. This dimensional change enables high productivity through large diameter wheels without requiring proportionally larger and more complex machine structures.
3Ease of operation
If conventional grinding wheels with perpendicular rotation axis are used, then the grinding operation is simple, but the geometric accuracy of ground edges deteriorates due to positioning and squaring errors
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the conventional grinding wheel orientation, placing the rotation axis parallel to the glass edge instead of perpendicular. This inversion creates a tangential grinding action that inherently maintains better geometric accuracy by eliminating the positioning and squaring errors associated with conventional wheel orientations, while the tangential operation remains mechanically straightforward.
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 enables precise and efficient grinding and polishing of glass slabs with improved geometric accuracy and increased material removal capacity, while maintaining a minimal increase in the grinding head's width encumbrance, capable of handling slabs of various sizes with reduced operational complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a grinding wheel (5) tangentially operating on a glass edge (2) and having a rotation axis (A) parallel to the edge of the glass (2) to be ground
Data Source
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AI summary
A grinding assembly (3) is described, for a grinding head (1) for a grinding machine of glass slabs (2), comprising: a first (5) (and possibly a second (7) ) grinding wheel adapted to tangentially work on the glass edge (2) and whose rotation axis A is parallel to the glass edge (2) to be ground; and a handling system for the grinding wheel (5) for adjusting the removal of glass (2) in an oscillating way or in parallel with the plane of the slab (2) to be ground. A grinding head (1) equipped with the above grinding assembly (3) is further described.