Metallic Multiple Wheel Tooth Contour Forming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing multiple wheels for traction drives are inflexible and require specific molds and tools for each tooth geometry, leading to high material waste and production bottlenecks, especially when producing complex configurations like triple wheels with varying diameters.
Innovation Solution
A method involving preforms that can be prefabricated independently of the final tooth geometry, allowing for non-cutting forming processes like rolling to transform rough contours into finished tooth shapes, reducing material waste and enabling production of complex configurations with reduced tool wear and increased variability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional cutting methods are used to produce tooth geometry, then precise tooth contours can be achieved, but material waste increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the manufacturing parameter from cutting (material removal) to forming (material displacement), transforming the tooth geometry through plastic deformation. This allows achieving precise tooth contours while minimizing material waste, as the material is redistributed rather than removed.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the traditional mechanical cutting system with a forming system that uses rolling or pressing tools to reshape the metal blank. This substitution of the mechanical process fundamentally reduces material waste while maintaining manufacturing precision.
2Ease of manufacture
If specific molds and tools are kept for each tooth geometry, then production of specific multiple wheels is possible, but device complexity and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The forming tools are designed to be universal, capable of producing different tooth geometries by adjusting forming parameters or using different forming passes on the same tool. This multi-functionality reduces the need for maintaining multiple specialized molds and tools for different multiple wheel configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention performs preliminary forming of the tooth geometry during the sintering process itself, creating a preformed green compact that requires minimal additional machining. This preliminary action reduces the complexity of subsequent manufacturing steps and tooling requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex multiple wheels with varying diameters are produced by traditional methods, then production is possible, but production time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the forming process into distinct stages: sintering of the green compact with preliminary tooth geometry, and subsequent forming of the final tooth contours. This segmentation allows complex multiple wheels with varying diameters to be produced efficiently by handling each stage with specialized equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses parameter changes in the forming process, such as varying temperature, pressure, and deformation rate, to efficiently produce complex multiple wheels with different diameters. By optimizing these parameters, the forming process can handle diverse geometries without significantly increasing production time.
4Strength
If sintered metal components are produced, then material properties are achieved, but surface quality deteriorates with transverse grooves
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the density parameter of the sintered metal component by applying additional compression or sintering pressure. This parameter change eliminates transverse grooves and improves surface quality while maintaining the desirable material properties of sintered metal.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the traditional sintering process that leaves surface defects with a combined sintering and forming process. The forming step mechanically removes surface imperfections like transverse grooves, substituting a two-step process for a single defective step.
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 approach allows for quicker reaction to customer requirements, reduces production bottlenecks, and facilitates the production of complex multiple wheels by enabling the transformation of preforms into final tooth geometries with minimal material waste and lower tool wear, enhancing surface quality and wear resistance.
Implementation Method 1
the forming can be facilitated by lowering the porosity at least in the outer area, ie the component is compressed in these areas
Implementation Method 2
The non-cutting forming, in particular the rolling, also means that the material waste can be significantly reduced
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for the production of a one-piece metallic multiple wheel (2) for a traction mechanism, having at least two single wheels (3, 4) disposed next to each other, each having a wheel body (5, 6) with an exterior circumference (7, 8), wherein teeth (9, 10) are distributed across the outer circumference (7, 8) for engaging the traction mechanism, and wherein at least one of the at least two single wheels (3, 4) is configured as a chain, gear, or toothed belt wheel. The chain, gear, or toothed belt wheel is produced having a rough contour, wherein the tooth thickness of the rough contour - in an axial view - is larger than the tooth thickness of the final contour of the finished chain, gear, or toothed belt wheel, and this rough contour is then reformed by means of non-machining reforming, particularly by means of rolling, into the finished tooth contour as a function of the traction mechanism used, wherein a toothed belt wheel contour is produced from a chain wheel, or gear wheel contour, or a chain wheel contour is produced from a gear wheel or toothed belt wheel contour, or a gear wheel contour is produced from a toothed belt wheel or a chain wheel. The invention further relates to a preform for the production of a multiple wheel, and to a multiple wheel.