Material Reducing Device With Alternating Cutters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing material-reducing machines are inefficient in processing dense materials like railroad ties with metal tie plates and spikes, and fibrous materials such as roofing shingles, often producing elongated shapes that contaminate the product and require multiple impacts for reduction, leading to operational issues and uneven particle sizes.
Innovation Solution
A material reducing machine with a rotor assembly featuring short and long cutting tools and a breaker assembly with interchangeable shear blocks and breaker blocks, allowing for adjustable angles and surfaces to accommodate different materials, enabling efficient reduction and uniform particle production without machine damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional material-reducing machines process dense materials like railroad ties with metal components, then the machine structure must be robust, but the machine suffers from operational interruptions and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The breaker assembly is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position. When non-reducible objects are detected, the breaker assembly automatically moves away to prevent damage, then returns to its working position. This dynamic capability enables continuous operation without manual intervention while maintaining structural protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that automatically detect non-reducible objects and trigger the breaker assembly to move away. The machine self-regulates its operation based on detected material properties, eliminating the need for operator intervention and enabling continuous automated operation.
2Productivity
If conventional machines use multiple impacts to reduce fibrous materials like roofing shingles, then reduction is achieved, but production time increases and energy consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting tools are designed with varying lengths (short and long alternating patterns) to create different impact characteristics. This local variation in tool geometry allows optimized cutting action for different material types, achieving effective reduction in fewer impacts compared to uniform tool designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor assembly rotates at controlled speeds with alternating patterns of short and long cutting tools, creating periodic variation in impact force. This periodic action pattern optimizes material reduction efficiency by delivering varied impact sequences that are more effective than constant uniform impacts.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional machines produce elongated shaped pieces, then material is reduced, but the product quality deteriorates due to contamination and handling difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The breaker assembly features asymmetric geometry with angled surfaces (slide angles, slip angles, anvil angles, catch angles) that guide material into more uniform, less elongated shapes during the breaking process. This asymmetric design of the breaker components directly influences the shape characteristics of the reduced material.
Solution Approach 2:
The system can interchange different back plates with varying geometric parameters to optimize the breaking action for different materials. By changing the geometric parameters of the breaker assembly, the machine produces more uniform particle shapes suitable for specific application requirements.
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional machines are designed for specific materials, then processing efficiency is high, but adaptability to different materials decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The machine incorporates interchangeable components (cutting tools, shear blocks, back plates) that can be configured for different material types. This universal design allows a single machine to efficiently process diverse materials including wood, metal-containing materials, and fibrous materials by simply changing the appropriate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor assembly operates at variable speeds that can be dynamically adjusted based on the material being processed. This dynamic speed control, combined with interchangeable components, enables the machine to maintain high processing efficiency across a wide range of different materials.
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 machine effectively breaks materials into uniformly sized pieces, operates efficiently with reduced fuel consumption and noise, and can process a wide range of materials without stopping, including dense items like railroad ties, while minimizing elongated shape production.
Implementation Method 1
the tools of the rotating drum carry material into contact with the anvil bar where it is broken into smaller pieces
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of small-diameter circular blades and a plurality of larger diameter circular blades are mounted on shaft 40 in an alternating small-large-small arrangement
Data Source
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AI summary
A material reducing machine includes a rotor assembly having a plurality of short cutting tools and a plurality of long cutting tools. The short cutting tools are arranged in rows which extend across the length of the rotor assembly, which rows are spaced around the periphery of the rotor assembly. Each of the short cutting tools has a cutting bit with a leading edge that is spaced outwardly from the periphery of the rotor assembly by a short cutter distance. The long cutting tools are also arranged in rows which extend across the length of the rotor assembly, which rows are spaced around the periphery of the rotor assembly. Each of the long cutting tools has a cutting bit with a leading edge that is spaced outwardly from the periphery of the rotor assembly by a long cutter distance that is greater than the short cutter distance of each of the short cutting tools. A breaker assembly includes a plurality of shear blocks, each of which is spaced so as to be aligned with a short cutting tool.