Rotary Magnetic Feeder for Metal Bars
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing apparatuses for feeding metal bars lack efficient and cost-effective solutions for transverse loading, which is essential for precise and fast loading of bars onto machining units like bending machines, while also being simple, inexpensive, and reliable.
Innovation Solution
A feeding apparatus utilizing a rotary drum with magnetic elements and fluid cylinders to pick up and transfer a controlled number of metal bars from a bundle to a machining unit, allowing for transverse feeding, with adjustable magnetic elements for different bar diameters and excess bar management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional feeding apparatuses are used for metal bars, then the loading process is simple, but the loading speed and precision are insufficient for transverse loading requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical grippers with a magnetic field-based pickup device. The magnetic field acts on ferromagnetic metal bars to achieve secure holding and precise transverse feeding, eliminating the need for complex mechanical gripping mechanisms while significantly improving loading speed and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The pickup device operates through periodic magnetic field activation and deactivation cycles. The magnetic field is activated to pickup bars from the stack, transported to the machining unit, then deactivated to release the bars. This periodic action enables continuous, high-speed transverse loading while maintaining simple device structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If magnetic pickup device is used for transverse loading, then loading precision and speed improve, but the ability to handle different bar diameters becomes limited
Solution Approach 1:
The pickup device incorporates adjustable magnetic field strength and movable pickup positions. The magnetic field intensity can be dynamically adjusted to match different bar diameters and materials, while the pickup position can be moved along the bar length. This dynamic adjustability maintains high loading precision across various bar specifications without compromising versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The pickup device is designed with universal applicability through adjustable magnetic parameters and reconfigurable geometry. A single device can handle multiple bar diameters and materials by adjusting magnetic field strength and pickup position, eliminating the need for multiple specialized devices while maintaining high precision loading for each specific bar type.
3Volume of moving object
If conventional feeding methods are used, then space usage is less optimized, but the apparatus dimensions are easier to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements transverse feeding by moving bars perpendicular to the stack direction, utilizing the vertical dimension for bar storage and the horizontal dimension for feeding. This dimensional reorganization optimizes space usage by allowing compact vertical stacking while achieving efficient horizontal material flow, reducing the overall apparatus footprint compared to conventional longitudinal feeding systems.
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 precise, fast, and reliable transverse loading of metal bars onto machining units, optimizing space usage and simplifying the loading process, while being adaptable to various bar sizes and diameters.
Implementation Method 1
a magnetic element, which defines a housing sized for receiving just one bar inside it
Implementation Method 2
which is pushed upwards by means of a fluid cylinder so as to press the end portion of the bundle of bars against the bottom part of the rotary drum
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
Described herein is an apparatus for feeding a controlled number of metal bars, which comprises a rotary pick-up member (6) set above a bundle of bars and provided with magnetically operating pick-up means (10), which are located in a peripheral position with respect to the axis of rotation (6a) of the member (6), and comprises a further mobile member (6') for separating the bar picked up by the aforesaid rotary pick-up member completely from the bundle.