Method for producing at least one component element for a furniture fitting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The furniture industry faces challenges in reducing metal waste and costs during the production of component parts like rails, where conventional cutting methods result in significant material loss and inefficiencies, while also compromising geometric precision and safety.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a flat metal sheet with orthogonal indentations is used to form a profile, which is then bent and mechanically separated without cutting tools, allowing for precise geometry maintenance and reduced waste, enabling the production of lightweight, aesthetically appealing components with lower post-processing efforts and safety benefits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional cutting methods are used to separate rails from profile material, then rails can be produced with defined dimensions, but significant metal waste is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The method introduces indentations into the metal sheet before the separating cut is made. These pre-formed indentations serve as stress concentration points that guide the separation process, allowing the material to split cleanly along the desired line with minimal waste and no burrs, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and material loss
Solution Approach 2:
The separating process is divided into two stages: first forming indentations that create predetermined separation lines, then making the actual cut along these guided paths. This segmentation allows for more precise control over the separation process, reducing material waste while maintaining dimensional accuracy
2Loss of substance
If thin-walled metal sheets are used to reduce weight, then resource conservation improves, but the material becomes more difficult to process and separate
Solution Approach 1:
By forming indentations before separation, the method creates predetermined weak points in the thin-walled material that guide the cutting process. This preliminary action makes it easier to separate thin-walled sheets without causing deformation or requiring excessive force, thus resolving the contradiction between material efficiency and ease of manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The indentation process creates localized changes in the material structure at specific points, concentrating stress at these predetermined locations. This local modification of material properties allows thin-walled sheets to be separated more easily at the indentation points without compromising the overall integrity or requiring additional processing steps
3Manufacturing precision
If separating cuts are made with sawblades of defined width, then rails achieve precise dimensions, but burrs are formed on the cut surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The indentations are formed before the separating cut, creating a guided path that directs the cut along the exact desired line. This preliminary action ensures that the final separation occurs precisely where needed while the indentation geometry controls the separation mechanism to minimize or eliminate burr formation
Solution Approach 2:
The indentations act as an intermediary element between the cutting tool and the final separation. They serve as a mediating structure that guides the cut and controls the separation process, ensuring dimensional accuracy while preventing the formation of harmful burrs on the cut surfaces
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 method effectively minimizes material waste, reduces production costs, and enhances safety by eliminating burrs, allowing for efficient and precise manufacturing of component parts like drawer rails with flexible length adaptation and improved material characteristics.
Implementation Method 1
the metal sheet is provided, preferably by at least one embossing die and/or at least one embossing roller, on at least one top surface with at least one indentation
Implementation Method 2
the metal sheet is bent, with the result that, in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal extent, a profile of the at least one component part, preferably rail, is formed
Implementation Method 3
the bent metal sheet is mechanically separated, preferably snapped, particularly preferably cracked and split, in the region of the at least one indentation
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a component element for a furniture fitting, in particular a rail, includes the following steps to be carried out in chronological order: providing a planar sheet having a longitudinal extension, two top surfaces and two side surfaces spaced apart by a width of the sheet, as a semifinished product of the component element. The sheet has a wall thickness in the range of 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm, and is formed, preferably by an embossing stamp and/or an embossing roller, on at least one top surface with an indentation. The indentation is arranged transversely, preferably substantially orthogonally, to the longitudinal extension. The sheet is bent such that, in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal extension, a profile of the component element arises, and the bent sheet is mechanically separated in the region of the indentation.