Machine Tool Filter Element with Drainage Opening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Filter elements for machine tools, particularly spark eroding machines, are cumbersome and heavy due to their voluminous size and high weight, making them difficult to handle and exchange, and often result in the introduction of contaminants to the clean side when the spent liquid is blown out with compressed air.
Innovation Solution
A filter element with two end discs, one with an inlet opening for the operating liquid and the other with a drainage opening that can be closed, allowing for the drainage of the liquid before exchange, reducing weight and preventing contamination, and featuring a pressure-stable jacket and a zigzag-shaped filter medium for efficient cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the filter element is operated free-standing with large diameter (30-80 cm) to ensure proper filtration capacity, then the filtration performance is improved, but the weight and handling difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage opening is prepared in advance at the end disc, allowing liquid to be drained before exchange. This preliminary preparation enables weight reduction at the moment of exchange without compromising the filtration performance achieved during operation.
2Ease of operation
If compressed air is used to blow out the operating medium from the spent filter element, then the exchange process is simplified, but the filter medium becomes damaged and contaminated operating medium is introduced to the clean side
Solution Approach 1:
The operating medium is extracted through the drainage opening at the end disc, removing the liquid from the filter element in a controlled manner. This eliminates the need for compressed air blowing, thereby preventing filter medium damage and contamination of the clean side.
Solution Approach 2:
The drainage opening is prepared in advance, allowing the operating medium to be drained before exchange. This preliminary drainage action prevents the need for post-use compressed air blowing that would damage the filter medium.
3Loss of substance
If the filter element is allowed to drain in the pressureless state after full loading, then complete liquid removal is achieved, but the exchange time is extended due to slow drainage
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage opening is prepared in advance at the end disc, enabling immediate drainage when needed. This preliminary preparation allows operators to initiate drainage at the optimal moment rather than waiting for pressureless drainage, significantly reducing exchange time while ensuring complete liquid removal.
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 easier handling and disposal of the filter element by reducing weight through liquid drainage, allowing for the recovery and reuse of expensive dielectric fluids, and ensuring environmentally friendly disposal by preventing contamination of the clean side.
Implementation Method 1
the eroded particles are rinsed off with a liquid dielectric fluid such as eroding oil and caught in the filter element
Implementation Method 2
When the filter element is fully loaded with separated material, it often takes a comparatively long time in the pressureless state until the liquid still retained in the filter element has drained
Data Source
AI summary
A filter element for cleaning an operating liquid of a machine tool is provided with a pressure-stable jacket permitting flow therethrough. A filter medium is arranged in the pressure-stable jacket. A first end disc and a second end disc are seal-tightly connected to opposite ends of the filter medium. The filter medium surrounds an inner raw-side cavity. The pressure-stable jacket surrounds the filter medium and is connected fixedly to the first and second end discs. The first end disc has an inlet opening for the operating liquid. The second end disc has a drainage opening provided with a releasable closure element that closes the drainage opening.