Rotary Mould Drum Support Bearing for High-Load Drum Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current rotary mould drum systems face limitations in bearing load ratings, making it challenging to accommodate larger mould drums, such as 1000mm drums, due to space constraints and increased forces required for higher throughput in food processing, which exceed the load capacity of existing bearing constructions.
Innovation Solution
The bearing construction is integrated into the support device instead of the shaft's free end, allowing for the selection of bearings with sufficient load ratings and enabling the use of larger mould drums by eliminating the need for the drum to slide over the bearing, thus expanding the diameter of the bearing construction and accommodating drums up to 1000mm in length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the bearing construction is placed on the free end of the shaft with the drum sliding over it, then the installation is simple, but the bearing load rating is insufficient for larger drums
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing construction is relocated from the horizontal axis (shaft end) to the vertical axis (support device below shaft), changing the spatial dimension of bearing placement. This allows the drum to be supported from below rather than having bearings on its sliding surface, enabling higher load ratings without interfering with drum installation.
Solution Approach 2:
A support device is introduced as an intermediary component between the shaft and the foundation. This support device houses the bearing construction and provides the necessary load-bearing capacity, while the shaft remains relatively simple and the drum can still be easily installed on the shaft without directly contacting the high-load bearing construction.
2Strength
If the bearing construction diameter is increased to handle higher forces, then the load rating improves, but the drum cannot slide over the shaft
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing construction is moved to a different spatial location (vertical support device) rather than being constrained to the horizontal shaft axis. This dimensional relocation allows the bearing diameter to be enlarged without interfering with the drum's sliding installation on the shaft, as the large-diameter bearing is now positioned below the shaft rather than on it.
3Productivity
If larger drums are used to increase throughput, then the productivity improves, but the bearing forces exceed current load capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into separate functional components: the shaft for mounting and rotation, the support device for load-bearing, and the drum for processing. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component, enabling the selection of high-load-rated bearings in the support device without compromising the simplicity of the shaft and drum assembly, thus facilitating the use of larger drums for increased throughput.
Data Source
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AI summary
This invention relates to a mould drum system configured for use in an installation for moulding food products from a pumpable foodstuff mass while rotating a mould drum around a longitudinal rotation axis by a driving unit. A support device (202) is connected to the frame structure (201), having an inner side (610), the support device being moveable relative to the frame structure between an open position and a closing position. A shaft (203) is provided having a mounting side (205) at which it is mounted to the frame and an opposite free end (204), where the shaft is configured to receive a hollow cylindrical mould drum (310) having an inner geometrical cross section, the hollow mould drum having an outer mould drum surface (312) comprising plurality of mould cavities (311) having an opening in the drum surface, the plurality of mould cavities defining a geometrical shape of food products to be moulded, where an outer geometrical cross section of the shaft is essentially the same as the inner geometrical cross section of the hollow drum so as to allow the hollow cylindrical mould drum to be slideable attached to the shaft at the mounting side when the support device is in the open position, followed by moving the support device to a closing position such that the free end is supported by the inner side of the support device. The free end (204) of the shaft comprises a first structure, the inner side (610) of the support device comprises a second complementary structure, where the geometry of the first structure is essentially the same as the geometry of the second complementary structure such that the first structure and the second complementary structure fit into each other when the support device is in the closing position, where a bearing construction (632) is integrated into the support device (202) so as to allow the second complementary structure to follow a rotational movement of the mould drum.