Modular Dryer Sections for Vehicle Body Transport and Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dryers for large workpieces, such as vehicle bodies, are cumbersome to produce and transport due to their large size, making it impractical to assemble them at a production site and transport them intact to a different location for use.
Innovation Solution
A modular dryer design consisting of a limited number of prefabricated components that can be easily assembled at the installation site, with integrated air supply systems and conveyor units, allowing for efficient air distribution and simplified assembly, reducing the number of components and assembly time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the dryer is designed as a single large unit to handle large workpieces, then the drying capacity is sufficient, but the transport and assembly become cumbersome and impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The dryer is divided into multiple modular sections that can be manufactured separately and transported to the installation site. These sections include side wall sections, bottom wall sections, and top wall sections that can be assembled together to form the complete dryer structure, enabling both sufficient drying capacity and ease of transport.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the dryer is assembled at the production site and then transported intact, then the structure remains complete, but the transport becomes impractical for large dryers
Solution Approach 1:
The dryer structure is segmented into transportable sections that can be assembled at the installation site. This allows the dryer to be manufactured in manageable parts, transported easily, and then assembled into the complete functional structure needed for processing large workpieces.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular sections are pre-manufactured and pre-assembled with necessary components before transport to the installation site. This preliminary preparation ensures that the sections are ready for final assembly and reduces on-site work, while maintaining structural completeness when assembled.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate components are used to reduce transport size, then transportability improves, but the number of assembly operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functional elements are merged into integrated wall sections. For example, side wall sections combine structural walls with air supply outlets and conveyor support features, while bottom wall sections integrate conveyor units and air supply systems. This merging reduces the total number of separate components and simplifies assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall sections are designed as multi-functional components that serve multiple purposes: structural support, air supply, conveyor mounting, and sealing. This universality reduces the number of specialized components needed and simplifies the overall assembly process while maintaining transportability.
4Productivity
If prefabricated components are used with integrated systems, then assembly time is reduced, but the manufacturing complexity at the production site increases
Solution Approach 1:
Complex sub-assemblies such as conveyor units, air supply systems, and wall sections are manufactured and pre-assembled at the production site before transport to the installation site. This preliminary action consolidates manufacturing complexity into the production phase, leaving the installation phase with simpler assembly operations and reduced assembly time.
Data Source
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AI summary
In order to provide a kit for a dryer section (144) of a dryer (100), by means of which kit a dryer section of the dryer can be transported in a particularly space-saving manner to an installation site of the dryer and assembled from a particularly small number of parts, according to the invention the kit comprises at least two components (146, 146a, 146b, 146c), wherein at least one left side wall component (146, 146a) comprises a left side wall section (112) of the dryer, wherein at least one right side wall component comprises a right side wall section (114) of the dryer, and wherein at least one component comprises a base wall section (108) and/or a ceiling wall section (110) of the dryer and a conveyor unit (104) of a conveyor device (103) for conveying workpieces to be dried through the dryer in the assembled state of the dryer, wherein the dryer section of the dryer can be assembled from the at least two components of the kit (148) at an installation site.