Seal Mounting with Pre-Shaping for Precise Housing Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of seals in high voltage product housings is often manual, leading to errors, extended cycle times, and reduced productivity due to the inability to control the installation process effectively, resulting in potential malfunctions that are only discovered after manufacturing is complete.
Innovation Solution
An automated apparatus and method that uses a support device to provide a predefined shape to the seal, preventing deformation and ensuring proper fit, combined with a vision system for monitoring and a transfer device for precise placement, eliminating manual steps and ensuring accurate mounting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual installation methods are used, then ease of operation is maintained, but productivity is reduced and reliability deteriorates due to errors and extended cycle times
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting apparatus is divided into distinct functional modules: a support device for receiving and shaping the seal, and a transfer device for positioning and installing the seal. This segmentation allows each module to perform its specific function efficiently, improving overall productivity while keeping individual components manageable in complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The support device provides a predefined shape to the seal before installation, ensuring the seal is properly formed and positioned in advance. This preliminary shaping action prevents installation errors and reduces the time required during the actual mounting process, thereby improving productivity without significantly increasing operational complexity
2Manufacturing precision
If manual installation is used, then device complexity is low, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inability to control seal positioning and deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The support device pre-shapes the seal to a predefined configuration that corresponds to the desired final position. This preliminary action ensures the seal is properly formed before installation, achieving high manufacturing precision by controlling the seal's shape and position in advance
Solution Approach 2:
The support device acts as an intermediary between the seal in its raw state and the final installed position. It provides the predefined shape and serves as a reference for the transfer device, enabling precise positioning while maintaining manageable apparatus complexity through functional specialization
3Productivity
If automated mounting is implemented, then productivity increases and manufacturing precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated mounting apparatus is segmented into a support device for shaping and a transfer device for installation. This segmentation enables automation of critical functions like seal shaping and positioning, improving productivity while keeping each subsystem's complexity manageable through clear functional separation
Solution Approach 2:
The support device automatically provides the predefined shape to the seal without manual intervention. This self-service capability ensures consistent seal formation and positioning, improving both productivity and precision while reducing the need for complex manual control mechanisms
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
An apparatus (100) is provided for mounting a seal (110) at or in a housing (120). The apparatus comprises a support device (130) for receiving the seal (110) and a transfer device (140). The support device (130) is configured to provide a predefined shape to the seal (110), wherein the predefined shape corresponds to a desired position of the seal (110)at or in the housing (120) . The transfer device (140) is configured to transfer the seal (110) from the support device (130) to the housing (120). A corresponding method for mounting a seal (110) at or in a housing (120) is also disclosed.