Hexagonal Rolling Stand Housing for Flexible Roller Guide Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rolling stands for metal tubes, bars, or wires struggle with insufficient roundness due to polygon-like cross-sections and require costly reconfiguration for different roll arrangements, especially when switching between Y-arrangement and anti-Y-arrangement, complicating the use of entry roller guides.
Innovation Solution
A rolling stand with a hexagonal stand housing and star-shaped roll arrangement, allowing for flexible positioning and orientation, featuring eccentric bushings for adjustable roll distance and a central roller adjustment mechanism, enabling seamless transitions between Y-arrangement and anti-Y-arrangement without altering the entry roller guide's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If rolling stands are arranged in Y-arrangement and anti-Y-arrangement to improve roundness, then the cross-sectional shape of rolled material is improved, but the complexity of reconfiguring the rolling stand increases when switching between arrangements
Solution Approach 1:
The stand housing is designed with a regular hexagonal outer surface that provides six identical coupling clamping areas arranged at 60° intervals. This universal design allows the same rolling stand to be used in both Y-arrangement and anti-Y-arrangement configurations without requiring reconfiguration, as the coupling mechanism can be attached to any of the six corners to achieve the desired roll orientation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the stand housing is rotated 180° to change between Y-arrangement and anti-Y-arrangement, then the roll orientation is changed, but the inlet side and outlet side are reversed
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling clamping areas are positioned asymmetrically at the corners of the hexagonal stand housing, allowing selective attachment points that maintain consistent inlet/outlet orientation. By choosing specific corners for coupling attachment, the stand can be oriented in different arrangements while preserving the correct flow direction of material through the rolling stand.
3Reliability
If entry roller guides are mounted on the inlet side to prevent torsional movement, then material control is improved, but the cost of retrofitting the rolling mill stand increases when changing between arrangements
Solution Approach 1:
The hexagonal stand housing with six identical coupling clamping areas enables the entry roller guide to be universally mounted on the inlet side regardless of whether the stand is in Y-arrangement or anti-Y-arrangement configuration. This eliminates the need for costly retrofits when changing arrangements, as the same coupling mechanism and roller guide positioning work for both configurations.
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
Facilitates flexible deployment in rolling mills with reduced stand requirements, maintaining a compact design and enabling both manual and automatic roll adjustments, thus improving roundness and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The three roll shafts (18, 28, 38) are mounted in bearing bores (14, 24, 34) of the stand housing (10) by means of eccentric bushings (13, 23, 33) so that the radial distance of the rolls (11, 21, 31) to the rolling axis (19) is adjustable
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
The present application relates to a rolling stand (1) for rolling metallic bars, wires or tubes along a rolling axis (19). The rolling stand (1) comprises three rolls (20.1, 20.2, 20.3) mounted on a roll shaft and arranged in a star shape around the rolling axis (19), together forming a caliber (21), a stand housing (10) with an outer surface (12) which, viewed along the rolling axis (19), has at least six side surfaces (14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.5, 14.6) arranged offset by a rotation of 60° around the rolling axis (19) and two opposing end surfaces (13, 15), wherein the side surfaces (14.1-14.6) form a regular hexagon at least in an imaginary extension, and a roller guide (60) mounted on one of the end faces (13, 15) of the scaffold housing (10) with a cardan shaft (62), wherein the cardan shaft (62) has a roller adjustment connection (64) via which a central adjustment of the roller guide (60) is possible and which is mounted in a corner (16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6) of the hexagon on the scaffold housing (10).