Injection Unit Oil Chamber Venting for Balanced Lubrication
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high-performance shaping machines, the increased temperature stresses on drive units due to short cycle times can lead to uneven oil distribution in oil chambers, causing inadequate lubrication and potentially resulting in one drive unit running dry.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an injection unit with separate oil-tightly sealed oil chambers connected by an air-conducting conduit to balance oil levels, along with an oil circuit including a pump and heat exchanger for temperature control, ensures consistent lubrication and heat dissipation across drive units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If oil chambers are connected by oil lines to circulate oil for heat dissipation, then temperature control is improved, but oil level imbalance occurs causing inadequate lubrication
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the oil chamber into two functionally separate but physically connected parts: an oil volume for lubrication and an air volume for pressure equalization. This segmentation allows the oil to remain stationary for reliable lubrication while the air volume compensates for thermal expansion and contraction, preventing oil level imbalance.
Solution Approach 2:
The air volume acts as an intermediary between the oil and the external environment. It absorbs pressure changes due to temperature variations, preventing these changes from directly affecting the oil level. The air volume mediates the thermal effects while the oil maintains its lubrication function.
2Temperature
If pump action is used to circulate oil for heat dissipation, then temperature control is improved, but oil level differences occur between chambers
Solution Approach 1:
The air-conducting relationship between oil chambers creates an equipotential system for pressure equalization. The air volumes are connected such that pressure differences are equalized across all chambers, preventing oil from being forced to different levels by pump action or thermal effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the compressibility of air to automatically compensate for volume changes in the oil due to temperature variations. The air volume expands when heated and contracts when cooled, self-regulating the pressure to maintain consistent oil levels without requiring active control mechanisms.
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
This solution maintains consistent oil levels and temperature control, preventing lubrication issues and ensuring reliable operation of drive units in shaping machines by balancing oil distribution and managing heat effectively.
Implementation Method 1
The air volumes (6) of the oil chambers (4) are connected together in air-conducting relationship by at least one connecting conduit (7), thereby ensuring that the oil levels in the different oil chambers (4) can balance each other out
Implementation Method 2
the oil to be circulated in the oil chambers by means of a pump to improve the dissipation of heat
Implementation Method 3
at least one cooling element, preferably a cooling element having a cooling medium flowing therethrough
Implementation Method 4
at least one cooling element, preferably a cooling element having a cooling medium flowing therethrough
Implementation Method 5
at least one Peltier element for introducing a heat quantity
Implementation Method 6
If an intake of oil into the connecting conduit should occur the oil can flow back under the influence of the force of gravity into an oil chamber along one of the portions
Data Source
AI summary
An injection unit for a shaping machine includes an injection piston arranged displaceably in an injection cylinder and at least two drive units for displacement of the injection piston. Each of the at least two drive units is lubricated by an oil chamber which is oil-tightly sealed off in relation to the surroundings, and each oil chamber holds an oil volume, above which is arranged an air volume. The air volumes of the oil chambers are connected together in air-conducting relationship by a connecting conduit.