Pelletizing Device Complementary Roller Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional pelletizing devices require high energy consumption, leading to increased operational costs and reduced lifespan of wear parts, especially when processing materials with high viscosity like wood chips, due to the generation of large forces during pellet formation.

Innovation Solution

The pelletizing device optimizes energy usage by arranging the operative pressing surfaces of the rollers to cover a specific portion of the die's surface in a repetitive pattern, ensuring that each part of the die is overrolled only once, reducing power consumption and allowing for design enhancements such as increased die width without altering machine dimensions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If conventional pelletizing devices use rollers that cover the entire die surface, then complete material compression is achieved, but energy consumption increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial compression completenessVSAvoidenergy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The die surface is segmented into multiple zones, each covered by a dedicated roller section. The operative pressing surfaces are arranged to cover only specific portions of the die surface rather than the entire surface, dividing the compression task into discrete segments that reduce overall energy consumption while maintaining effective material compression in each zone.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different sections of the roller operative pressing surfaces are configured to press specific local areas of the die surface. This local quality approach ensures that each roller section applies pressure only where needed, avoiding unnecessary energy consumption from covering the entire die surface uniformly, while still achieving complete material compression through coordinated local actions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Productivity

If the die width is increased to improve productivity, then pellet output increases, but machine dimensions and energy consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepellet outputVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The increased die width is handled by segmenting the pressing task across multiple roller sections with complementary operative surfaces. Each roller covers a specific portion of the expanded die surface, allowing the machine to process wider dies without proportionally increasing the size or energy consumption of individual rollers, thus improving pellet output efficiently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Manufacturing precision

If high forces are generated during pellet formation, then pellet quality improves, but wear part lifespan decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepellet qualityVSAvoidwear part lifespan
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The high compression force requirement is segmented across multiple roller sections rather than concentrated in a single roller. Each roller section generates moderate local forces to press material through its designated die area, and the cumulative effect of all sections achieves the necessary overall compression for high-quality pellets while distributing wear across multiple components, extending their service life.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

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 configuration results in up to 10% less energy consumption, extending the life of wear parts and improving productivity, while maintaining pellet quality and throughput.

Implementation Method 1

each of the rollers comprising an operative pressing surface for pressing material to be pelletized through the radial openings of the die

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Data Source

PatentEP2902100B1Pelletizing device with complementary rollers
Publication Date: 2019.03.13 CPM EURO BV
  • EP2902100B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP2902100B1 patent drawingFigure 4~6

AI summary

The invention relates to a pelletizing device comprising a die with a first surface, called operative surface, and a second surface that is essentially parallel to the first surface, the die between the first and the second surface comprising multiple through going openings for the forming of pellets, at least two rollers rotatable around a shaft, wherein the rollers and the die are moveable with respect to each other, each of the rollers comprising an operative pressing surface for pressing material to be pelletized through the radial openings of the die, wherein a width of the operative pressing surface on each of the rollers is smaller than a width of the operative surface of the die. The invention also relates to rollers for the device.