Portable Tubing Bender With Automatic Feed for Confined-Space Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing conduit bending technologies face challenges when bending conduit in confined or elevated spaces, requiring multiple ascents and descents with manual benders, which increases installation time and expense, and often necessitate separate tools for different conduit diameters.
Innovation Solution
A portable, automated conduit bender system that includes a driver, reductive gear set, bender shoe, and automatic feed mechanism, controlled by a programmable controller, which can be wirelessly connected to a mobile device for designing and executing bends according to specified dimensions and angles, accommodating conduit diameters from 1.2 cm to 10 cm.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a manual conduit bender is used on a lift platform, then conduit can be bent at elevated locations, but the limited platform space and lack of stable work surface make operation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit bender is divided into separable components including a head assembly and a handle, allowing the tool to be disassembled and reconfigured to fit within the limited lift platform space while maintaining operational functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The conduit bender incorporates movable and adjustable components that allow the tool to adapt its configuration based on the available workspace, enabling operation in the constrained environment of a lift platform
2Productivity
If conduit is bent on the ground before ascending to installation location, then bending can be performed with stable work surface, but multiple ascents and descents are required increasing installation time
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit bending capability is prepared and made available on the lift platform itself, allowing bending operations to be performed at the installation location rather than requiring preliminary bending on the ground followed by multiple trips
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate tools are used for different conduit diameters, then each conduit size can be bent with appropriate tool, but multiple tools increase device complexity and require reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit bender is designed with a universal head assembly that can accommodate multiple conduit diameters through adjustable components and interchangeable elements, allowing a single tool to perform bending operations on various conduit sizes without requiring separate specialized tools
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
Enables efficient and precise bending of conduit in confined spaces, reducing installation time and cost by allowing all necessary bends to be made at appropriate angles within a given space without the need for multiple tools or reconfiguration, and can be used on various types of tubing.
Implementation Method 1
a driver configured to rotate a driven shaft at a first rotational output, a reductive gear set operably and comparably coupled to the driven shaft and an output shaft and configured to reduce the first rotational output at the driven shaft to a second rotational output at the output shaft
Data Source
AI summary
A portable tubing bender configured to automatically bend a portion of tubing according to a defined set of bend specifications, including a desired number of bends and a desired angle for each bend. The portable tubing bender including a driver configured to rotate a driven shaft and a first rotational output, a reductive gear set operably coupling the driven shaft to an output shaft, a bender shoe couplable to the output shaft, the bender shoe defining an arcuate channel configured to receive tubing during bending operations, and an automatic feed mechanism configured to advance the tubing relative to the bender shoe from an initial position to a bend position.