Pulley Device Manufacturing with Pre-Aligned Bearings
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing pulley devices for tension rollers are hindered by alignment faults between rolling-element bearings, making it difficult to use less rigid and expensive materials, and the process of overmoulding is not suitable due to alignment issues.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the assembly of single-row rolling-element bearings on a sleeve, where the inner rings are adjusted to compensate for axial and radial alignment faults, allowing for the injection of material onto the outer rings to form a pulley, thereby eliminating alignment issues and enabling the use of multiple single-row bearings instead of a single multiple-row bearing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a pulley is press fitted onto the outer rings of axially adjacent rolling-element bearings to eliminate alignment faults, then the alignment precision is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to requiring rigid pulleys and interference mounting
Solution Approach 1:
The inner rings of the rolling-element bearings are preliminarily adjusted and positioned on the sleeve before the pulley is mounted. This preliminary alignment action eliminates the need for subsequent alignment corrections through interference fitting, allowing the pulley to be simply fitted without press mounting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
A sleeve is introduced as an intermediary component between the rolling-element bearings and the pulley. The sleeve provides a reference surface for adjusting and positioning the inner rings, serving as a mediator that enables precise alignment without requiring complex interference fitting between the pulley and bearing outer rings.
2Ease of manufacture
If material is injected onto the outer rings of rolling-element bearings to form a pulley, then the manufacturing cost is reduced and material flexibility is improved, but the alignment precision deteriorates due to inability to eliminate alignment faults
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment of rolling-element bearings is performed in advance on the sleeve before the pulley material is injected. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the material is deposited onto the outer rings, the bearings are already properly aligned, eliminating alignment faults without requiring rigid interference fitting.
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve acts as an intermediary reference surface that enables precise alignment of the inner rings before material injection. This intermediary structure allows the use of less rigid, cheaper materials for the pulley while maintaining alignment precision through the pre-adjusted bearing positions on the sleeve.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple single-row rolling-element bearings are used instead of a single multiple-row bearing, then the manufacturing cost is reduced and adaptability is improved, but the alignment precision deteriorates due to cumulative alignment faults between multiple bearings
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple single-row rolling-element bearings are preliminarily adjusted and positioned on the sleeve before assembly. This preliminary action on each bearing individually, using the sleeve as a reference, prevents cumulative alignment faults that would occur with conventional assembly methods, maintaining high alignment precision while using multiple separate bearings.
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve serves as an intermediary reference surface that enables precise positioning of multiple single-row bearings. By providing a common reference for all bearings, the sleeve eliminates cumulative alignment errors between multiple components, allowing cost-effective use of single-row bearings to replace more expensive multiple-row bearings.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a pulley device for a tension roller or a roller of a transmission element providing a pulley, at least two rolling-element bearings and a sleeve, the rolling-element bearings being assembled adjacently on the sleeve before the pulley is formed by injecting material onto the rolling-element bearings.