Screw Vacuum Pump Rotor Alignment Using Pre-formed Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
The alignment of rotors in rotary displacement vacuum pumps, particularly screw vacuum pumps, is complex and requires high manufacturing tolerances and assembly accuracy, often involving multiple manual steps and specialized tools, which can be difficult and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating alignment surfaces on the rotors that can be easily aligned using a simple tool, allowing for precise positioning without requiring extensive manual skills or many tools, and the tool can be designed to be compact and self-locking for precise alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional alignment methods using feeler gauges and multiple manual steps are used, then alignment precision can be achieved, but the alignment process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Alignment surfaces are pre-formed on the rotors during manufacturing, and a dedicated alignment tool is prepared in advance. The tool features pre-configured alignment elements that mate with these surfaces, allowing the alignment operation to be performed as a single preparatory step before final assembly, rather than requiring multiple iterative manual adjustments during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment tool serves as an intermediary device between the rotors and the assembly process. It incorporates alignment surfaces or features that interface with corresponding surfaces on the rotors, mediating the alignment operation and ensuring precise relative positioning without requiring direct manual measurement and adjustment by the assembler.
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional alignment methods with multiple tools and manual skills are used, then accurate alignment can be achieved, but the process requires specialized training and many tools
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple alignment functions and features that would traditionally require separate tools are merged into a single integrated alignment tool. The tool combines alignment surfaces, positioning features, and adjustment mechanisms in one device, eliminating the need for multiple separate tools and reducing the complexity of the alignment process.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment tool is designed to be self-aligning or self-positioning through its geometric features that mate with corresponding features on the rotors. This self-service mechanism reduces or eliminates the need for specialized manual skills and training, as the tool guides the alignment process automatically through its design.
3Ease of operation
If alignment surfaces are added to rotors, then alignment is simplified, but the rotor geometry becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the overall rotor geometry, alignment surfaces are added only in specific local areas on the rotor surfaces where they are needed for alignment. These localized features minimize the impact on the overall rotor design and pumping action while providing the necessary alignment functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment surfaces are formed on the rotors during the manufacturing process as a preliminary action, integrated into the rotor production workflow. This approach incorporates the alignment features into the existing manufacturing process without requiring additional complex operations or significantly altering the rotor geometry after the pumping profiles are established.
Data Source
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AI summary
Rotary positive displacement vacuum pump, tool and method for manufacturing a rotary positive displacement vacuum pump, in particular a screw vacuum pump, comprising the steps of: providing a housing; providing two pump-active rotors for arrangement in the housing; providing an alignment surface on each of the rotors such that the alignment surfaces are in a predetermined orientation relative to each other when the rotors are aligned; aligning the rotors using the alignment surfaces by means of a tool adapted to the alignment surfaces in the predetermined orientation.