Modular Cigarette Rod Assembly for Flexible Product Reconfiguration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing filter cigarette assembly machines require dedicated machinery for each cigarette configuration, leading to increased time and cost in product development and inefficient use of factory space.
Innovation Solution
A modular apparatus for smoking article assembly that can be reconfigured to perform different sequences of operations, allowing a single machine to produce various cigarette configurations by rearranging modules, adding or removing components, and altering the order of operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dedicated machinery is used for each cigarette configuration, then manufacturing precision and reliability are maintained, but device complexity and factory space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cigarette manufacturing machine is divided into multiple independent modules, each performing a specific function (e.g., rod insertion, division, separation). These modules can be independently configured and rearranged to produce different cigarette types, reducing the need for entirely different machines while maintaining manufacturing reliability through specialized functional units.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular architecture enables a single machine to perform multiple functions by reconfiguring the same modules for different cigarette configurations. The same modular apparatus can produce various cigarette types by changing the arrangement and connection of modules, eliminating the need for dedicated machinery for each product variant.
2Manufacturing precision
If dedicated machinery is used for each cigarette configuration, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but loss of time and cost in product development increase
Solution Approach 1:
The modular modules are designed to be dynamically reconfigurable, allowing quick changes in their arrangement and connectivity to accommodate different cigarette configurations. This dynamic reconfiguration capability enables rapid product development without sacrificing assembly precision, as each module maintains its specialized function while adapting to new product requirements.
3Manufacturing precision
If dedicated machinery is used for each cigarette configuration, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but factory space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single modular machine occupies factory space while being capable of producing multiple cigarette configurations through module reconfiguration. This universal machine replaces what would otherwise require multiple dedicated machines, significantly reducing the total factory space needed while maintaining the assembly precision of specialized equipment through its modular functional units.
4Adaptability or versatility
If modular reconfiguration is implemented, then adaptability and versatility improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is segmented into standardized modular units with defined interfaces and functions. This segmentation enables flexible reconfiguration for different production requirements while managing complexity through modular design principles, where each module remains relatively simple but the system as a whole achieves high versatility.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1a
Figure 2~2A
AI summary
A modular apparatus is configured to cause received rods of smokeable material to undergo a first sequence of operations. The modular apparatus can be reconfigured so as to cause received rods of smokeable material to undergo a second sequence of operations, different to the first sequence of operations. The first and second sequences of operations respectively form at least part of first and second processes for assembling smoking articles, each smoking article comprising one of said rods of smokeable material, which is smoked in use. The modular apparatus comprises a first inserter configured to insert a first rod article between two tobacco rods, a first rod divider configured to divide the first rod article into at least two parts, a separator configured to separate a first group comprising a rod of smokeable material and one of said parts from a second group comprising a rod of smokeable material and another of said parts and a second inserter configured to insert a second rod article between the first and second groups.