Pin-Mold Bending Structure for Curved Plate Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing bending jig systems require a large number of driving sources to adjust the pin-like members, leading to complex and costly operations, especially as the number of pins increases, due to the need for individualized control of each pin-like member.
Innovation Solution
A bending apparatus that includes a heater, a pin group supported by a guide plate, and a movable plate with a mold, allowing for the bending of a forming plate using fewer driving sources by moving the pins in a coordinated manner to achieve the desired curvature without the need for high heat resistance molds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If each pin-like member is individually controlled with separate driving sources, then the curved surface shape can be precisely adjusted, but the number of driving sources becomes enormous and the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pin-like members are divided into multiple groups, where each group shares a common driving source. The guide plate is segmented with multiple guide holes that allow pins to move independently along their respective trajectories while being driven by a reduced number of actuators positioned at strategic locations.
Solution Approach 2:
Each driving source serves multiple pin-like members simultaneously by positioning the actuator to control a group of pins. The guide plate structure enables a single driving source to universally control multiple pins through shared mechanical linkage and coordinated guide hole arrangements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual adjustment of pin-like members is performed, then flexibility in shape modification is achieved, but the operation becomes complicated and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static manual adjustment to dynamic automated control. The guide holes are designed to allow pins to move dynamically along predetermined trajectories, enabling automatic shape transformation without manual intervention while maintaining operational flexibility through programmable control sequences.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide plate is pre-configured with optimized guide hole positions and trajectories that define the desired pin movement paths. This preliminary design of the guidance structure enables automatic execution of complex shape transformations without requiring real-time manual adjustment decisions.
3Temperature
If high heat resistance molds are used, then the mold can withstand heating during forming, but the mold fabrication cost and fabrication time increase
Solution Approach 1:
A heater is introduced as an intermediary component between the forming plate and the mold. The heater applies thermal energy to the forming plate, allowing the mold to remain at lower temperatures and use materials with reduced heat resistance requirements, thereby lowering fabrication costs and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature distribution is changed by applying localized heating to the forming plate rather than requiring the entire mold to withstand high temperatures. This parameter change in thermal management allows the use of lower heat resistance mold materials, reducing fabrication costs and time.
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 solution reduces mold fabrication costs and times by allowing multiple pins to be moved with fewer driving sources, simplifying the operation and reducing the complexity of controlling numerous pin-like members, while maintaining the ability to form complex curved surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
a heater that heats a forming plate to be bent
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A bending apparatus includes a heater that heats a forming plate to be bent; a first pin group including three or more of first pins that contact a first main surface of the forming plate; a first guide plate which supports three or more of the first pins parallel to each other and independently movably supports three or more of the first pins in a longitudinal direction of the first pins; a first movable plate that is arranged on a side opposite to the forming plate with respect to the first guide plate and on which a first mold having a first curved surface that contacts the first pin group is installed; and a first moving mechanism for moving the first movable plate relative to the first guide plate in the longitudinal direction of the first pins.