Needling Machine Needle Boards 180° Rotation Pattern
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Solution Overview
Problem
Classical needling devices face challenges in manufacturing uniform needle patterns, leading to alignment faults in non-woven fabrics due to the time-consuming and error-prone process of creating random or pseudo-random needle board distributions, and the need for multiple patterns to avoid faults.
Innovation Solution
A needling machine design featuring two needle boards with identical but rotated needle face patterns, where one pattern is rotated 180° relative to the other, simplifying manufacturing and reducing alignment faults by ensuring different patterns are used in successive fields without the need for multiple pattern designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If random or pseudo-random needle patterns are used on needle boards, then alignment faults in the web are reduced, but manufacturing time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the needle board pattern into modular units (first pattern and second pattern) that can be manufactured separately and then assembled. The first pattern is used on the first needle board and the second pattern (rotated 180°) is used on the second needle board, allowing each to be manufactured using the same simplified process while achieving the overall random distribution effect needed to prevent alignment faults.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces asymmetry through the 180° rotation of the second pattern relative to the first pattern. This rotational asymmetry ensures that when the needle boards are arranged in series, the patterns do not align, preventing systematic alignment faults while maintaining the random distribution appearance. The asymmetrical arrangement compensates for the simplicity of the individual patterns.
2Reliability
If multiple different needle patterns are manufactured to avoid alignment faults, then product quality is maintained, but manufacturing complexity and error risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates a universal pattern design where the same basic first pattern can be used on multiple needle boards by simply rotating it 180° for subsequent boards. This multi-functional approach allows a single pattern design to serve multiple purposes across different needle boards in the series, reducing the need to manufacture and manage multiple distinct patterns while maintaining product quality through varied arrangement.
3Reliability
If uniform but random needle patterns are used, then alignment faults are minimized, but the manufacturing process becomes tedious and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses copying by rotation, where the second pattern is created by rotating the first pattern 180°. This copying method preserves the random distribution characteristics needed to minimize alignment faults while simplifying manufacturing, as the same base pattern can be replicated and rotated rather than creating entirely new random patterns for each needle board, reducing manufacturing complexity and error risk.
Data Source
AI summary
Needling machine intended to consolidate, by needling, a web of fibres, in particular a sheet of non-woven fabric, comprising a series of needle-field boards, each board having at least one respective needle field projecting from one face, called the needle face, of the board, means for making the web of fibres move in front of the needles of the boards of the series of boards and means for moving the needles back and forth in a direction transverse to the movement of the web, such that they pass through the web of fibres passing in front of them in one direction and then the other, the series of needle-field boards comprising at least a first board comprising a first needle field and a second board comprising a second needle field, the first needle field being arranged on the needle face of the first board according to a first needle face pattern and the second needle field being arranged on the needle face of the second board according to a second needle face pattern, characterised in that the first needle face pattern is such that it cannot be superimposed on its image by a 180° rotation relative to an axis parallel to the direction of the needles and/or of movement of the needles, and the second needle face pattern is identical to the first needle face pattern, but is rotated by 180° relative thereto, relative to an axis parallel to the direction of the needles and/or of movement of the needles.