Rotating Workpiece Cutting Apparatus for Chip-Free Resin Tube Planarity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing cutting apparatuses for resin molded products, such as corrugated tubes, face challenges in achieving cut surfaces with small variations in size and high planarity, often producing chips due to serrated blades and complex structures.

Innovation Solution

A cutting apparatus with a workpiece fixing jig that rotates using rotary drive means, supported by additional means, and equipped with cutter knives that slide to cut the workpiece at axially opposite ends, eliminating chip production and ensuring planarity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a serrated cutting blade is used to cut the resin molded product, then the cutting ability is improved, but chips are produced and manufacturing precision deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting abilityVSAvoidcut surface planarity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the traditional serrated mechanical cutting blade with a rotating blade that cuts while the workpiece rotates. This substitution of the cutting mechanism eliminates chip production and achieves high-precision cut surfaces with excellent planarity, resolving the contradiction between cutting ability and manufacturing precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of moving the cutting blade toward a stationary workpiece, the patent inverts the approach by rotating the workpiece itself and cutting it with a stationary or sliding blade. This inversion eliminates the chip-producing mechanism and achieves superior cut surface quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Measurement precision

If a contact detection sensor is installed on the fixing arm to grasp an elastic work, then the workpiece positioning is improved, but the apparatus structure becomes complicated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveworkpiece positioning accuracyVSAvoidapparatus structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The workpiece itself serves as the positioning reference by rotating on its own axis. The rotating workpiece naturally presents its axial ends to the cutting blade, eliminating the need for external sensors or complex fixing arms to detect and position the workpiece.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent removes the contact detection sensor and complex fixing arm structure from the system. By having the workpiece rotate itself, the positioning function is extracted from the apparatus structure and inherent in the workpiece rotation mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

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

The apparatus achieves cut surfaces with minimal size variations and high planarity without producing chips, suitable for resin molded products like corrugated tubes used in automotive sensors.

Implementation Method 1

a workpiece fixing jig that supports a workpiece, rotates by operation of rotary drive means (3), and rotates the workpiece (1) while fixing the workpiece

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectRotation:

Implementation Method 2

a cutter knife (5) that cuts the rotating workpiece (1) at least at axially opposite ends (a, b) of the workpiece (1), and slide moving means (6) for slidably moving the cutter knife (5)

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCutting:

Data Source

PatentEP2698235B1Cutting apparatus
Publication Date: 2017.06.14 NICHIAS CORP
  • EP2698235B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2698235B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP2698235B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

Provided is a cutting apparatus 10 including a workpiece fixing jig 2 that supports a workpiece 1, rotates by operation of rotary drive means 3, and rotates the workpiece 1 while fixing the workpiece 1; rotary drive means 3 for driving and rotating the workpiece fixing jig 2; support means 4a to 4c for supporting the workpiece 1 while rotating along with rotation of the workpiece fixing jig 2; cutter knives 5a and 5b that cut the rotating workpiece 1 at least at axially opposite ends of the workpiece 1; and slide moving means 6 for slidably moving the cutter knives. The cutting apparatus 10 having a simple apparatus configuration does not produce chips as a result of cutting with small variations in size and with high planarity of cut surfaces.