Pallet Clamping Apparatus with Replaceable Hard Balls
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing clamping apparatus for machine tools requires messy operations and leads to wear, causing looseness between the pallet and the base, which compromises machining accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A pallet clamping apparatus with a base, ball support ring, presser plate, and locknut system that uses hard balls in grooved portions, allowing for easy replacement of worn balls to maintain secure attachment without messy operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a clamping apparatus using balls and taper sockets is used to attach a pallet to a machine tool base, then the pallet can be securely attached initially, but wear occurs at the contact portions over time causing looseness and reduced machining accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the contact surfaces by providing tapered portions on both the pallet and base that engage with each other. This tapered geometry maintains consistent contact pressure and prevents looseness even after wear occurs, as the taper allows for self-adjustment and maintains the clamping force without compromising machining accuracy.
2Reliability
If a clamping apparatus with balls and taper sockets is used, then secure attachment is achieved, but messy operations are required for loading and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the complex ball and taper socket assembly from the clamping mechanism. Instead of using separate balls that need to be loaded into tapered sockets, the design integrates the tapered portions directly into the pallet and base structures, eliminating the need for messy loading operations while maintaining secure attachment through the tapered engagement.
3Reliability
If wear occurs at the contact portions between pallet and base, then the attachment becomes loose, but replacing the entire clamping apparatus is complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the clamping system into the pallet with its tapered portion and the base with its corresponding tapered engagement feature. This segmentation allows the pallet to be easily removed and replaced without complex disassembly, as each component can be independently serviced. The tapered design ensures that even after wear, the pallet can be quickly swapped out by simply removing it from the base, making maintenance simple and rapid.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(c)
Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
To provide a pallet clamping apparatus for machine tools which is properly loading a base with a pallet side without need for messy works. SOLUTION A pallet clamping apparatus for machine tools to clamp a pallet for machine tools which is having an opening at a center and is mounted machine tool parts on an upper surface near the opening against a table of a machine tool, comprising; a base having a side wall portion that several groove portions are formed, hard balls pressed into recessed portions which are formed on bottom corners of a opening of the pallet for machine tools together with being housed in the groove portions, and a preventing means for preventing that the hard balls are dropped from the groove portions under a condition not to disturb an exchange to other hard balls from the hard balls.