Preloaded Cam Follower With Segmented Slider
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing cam follower arrangements, particularly those using conical springs and fork constructions, face manufacturing challenges due to twisting of fork fingers during heat treatment, leading to unpredictable distortions and increased rework, making the manufacturing process time-consuming and expensive.
Innovation Solution
A cam follower arrangement featuring a rectangular-shaped through hole with a slider and spring configuration, where the slider is composed of two halves with a stepped cross-section, reducing machining complexity and stabilizing the structure to prevent distortions, and utilizing a spring to bias the slider, ensuring proper engagement with the cam.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fork construction with conical springs is used to extend cam follower life, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to unpredictable twisting during heat treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The slider is divided into two separate halves that are assembled around the spring pack, allowing each half to be manufactured and heat-treated independently without distortion affecting the other component, thus maintaining manufacturing precision while achieving the desired reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The spring pack acts as an intermediary element between the two slider halves, providing the necessary biasing force while allowing the halves to be manufactured separately and assembled without requiring tight tolerances on the fork fingers, thereby eliminating distortion issues
2Reliability
If tight tolerances are maintained to prevent clearance and rocking under dynamic loading, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to multiple planes requiring clearance control
Solution Approach 1:
The complex tongue and groove arrangement for clearance control is extracted and replaced with a simpler design where the two slider halves provide natural guidance, eliminating the need for multiple clearance control planes while maintaining stability under dynamic loading
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using grooves to retain the slider, the invention uses protruding steps on the slider halves that engage with corresponding features in the fork, inverting the retention mechanism to simplify the overall structure
3Adaptability or versatility
If the end cap is used to hold fingers in flexed or outwardly flexed states to provide required clearances, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing time increases due to post-processing adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
The required clearances and positioning are built into the design of the two-slider-half configuration and spring pack arrangement during the manufacturing process, eliminating the need for post-processing adjustments and allowing all units to be produced without rework
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 simplifies machining, reduces rework, and maintains the cam follower's functionality by stabilizing the slider and cam followers, enhancing manufacturing efficiency and reducing the risk of distortions.
Implementation Method 1
a spring disposed between the slider and the first end of the rectangular-shaped through hole to bias the slider toward the second end of the rectangular-shaped through hole
Data Source
AI summary
A cam follow arrangement has a rectangular-shaped through hole formed in an end portion of a ram member, the through hole having first and second opposed ends and a pair of parallel sides. A slider which is disposed in the rectangular-shaped through hole is configured to be slidable back and forth along the parallel sides toward and away the first and second ends. A spring is disposed between the slider and the first end of the rectangular-shaped through hole to bias the slider toward the second end of the rectangular-shaped through hole.