Inserting Reinforcing Rods into Laminates via Segmented Clamp Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for inserting reinforcing rods into laminated materials, such as Z-pinning, face challenges in ensuring accurate alignment, preventing rod misalignment and breakage, and efficiently cutting the rod within the material.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus involving a feed clamp and guide clamp system that moves in a coordinated manner to feed, cut, and retrieve the reinforcing rod, ensuring continuous alignment and minimizing the risk of rod breakage, with a controller managing the clamp movements to execute feed, re-supply, cutting, and retrieve operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single clamp is used to feed the rod into the laminated material, then the device complexity is reduced, but the rod alignment precision and prevention of misalignment/breakage deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp system is segmented into two distinct functional clamps: a feed clamp that clamps the rod during feeding motion, and a guide clamp that guides the rod into the hole. This segmentation allows each clamp to specialize in its specific function, with the feed clamp providing feeding force and the guide clamp ensuring alignment precision, thereby solving the contradiction between device complexity and alignment precision
Solution Approach 2:
The guide clamp acts as an intermediary element between the rod and the hole. It receives the rod from the feed clamp and guides it into the hole, ensuring proper alignment. This intermediary function allows the feed clamp to focus on feeding while the guide clamp ensures precision, resolving the contradiction
2Productivity
If the feed clamp moves continuously without releasing, then the productivity is improved, but the rod breakage risk increases due to continuous clamping force
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping function is segmented between two clamps with different clamping characteristics. The feed clamp provides stronger clamping for feeding, while the guide clamp provides gentler guidance. This allows the feed clamp to release during guide clamp operation, maintaining productivity while preventing breakage through reduced continuous clamping force
Solution Approach 2:
The feed clamp operates in periodic cycles: clamp during feeding motion, release during guide clamp operation, then clamp again for the next feeding cycle. This periodic action allows the rod to be handled with appropriate clamping force only when necessary, preventing continuous clamping-induced breakage while maintaining overall productivity
3Manufacturing precision
If the guide clamp remains in contact with the rod throughout the entire process, then the rod alignment is maintained, but the cutting operation becomes difficult and rod breakage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide clamp alternates between clamping and releasing states. It clamps the rod during feeding to maintain alignment, then releases during cutting to allow the cutter to access the rod end without interference. This periodic action resolves the contradiction between maintaining alignment and enabling cutting
Solution Approach 2:
The guide clamp releases the rod in advance before the cutting operation begins, allowing the cutter to freely access and cut the rod end. This preliminary release action ensures that the cutting operation can be performed easily without the constraint of continuous guide clamp contact, while alignment was already established during the feeding phase
Data Source
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AI summary
There is disclosed a method of inserting a reinforcing rod (18) into a hole (42) in a laminated material (40). The method comprises a feed operation in which a feed clamp (20) clamps a rod (18) whilst moving towards the laminated material (40) to feed an end section of the rod through a guide clamp (25) into a hole (42) in the laminated material. The method further comprises a re-supply operation in which the feed clamp (20) releases the rod (18) and moves relative the rod along a return direction away from the laminated material (40) whilst the guide clamp (25) clamps the rod. A corresponding insertion head for inserting a reinforcing rod, and insertion equipment comprising the insertion head and a controller is also disclosed.