Segmented Transfer Belt Assembly for Six-Out Shell Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current conversion presses face limitations in producing more than four can ends per minute due to the characteristics of legacy ram presses, which restrict the number of die sets and transfer belt configurations, leading to issues like deformation, misalignment of shells, and insufficient speed, and the existing transfer belt assemblies are prone to deformation and wear due to excessive width and columns of recesses.
Innovation Solution
A transfer belt assembly with a reduced number of columns and a plural die shoe configuration that allows for more efficient use of space and reduced mass, enabling the accommodation of three two-lane die sets and kiss blocks positioned effectively, along with high-speed belt idlers to enhance processing capacity and reduce wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single die shoe supports multiple die sets to increase production capacity, then the number of can ends produced per cycle increases, but the die shoe mass increases making it unsuitable for legacy ram presses
Solution Approach 1:
The die shoe is divided into multiple separate die shoes, each supporting a subset of die sets. This segmentation reduces the mass of each individual die shoe while maintaining the total production capacity of the system. Each die shoe can be independently managed and positioned, allowing legacy ram presses to handle the reduced mass while still achieving high-volume production through coordinated operation of multiple die shoes.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple die shoes are arranged in a spatial configuration that utilizes the available space within the press footprint. By distributing die sets across multiple die shoes positioned at different locations, the system achieves high production capacity without concentrating all mass in a single component, effectively using spatial distribution to manage mass constraints.
2Productivity
If transfer belts are made wider to accommodate more columns of recesses for higher production, then more shells can be processed per cycle, but the belts become prone to deformation and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer belt system is segmented into multiple narrower transfer belts, each with a limited number of columns of recesses. This segmentation prevents any single belt from becoming excessively wide, thereby reducing deformation and wear while maintaining overall high production capacity through the coordinated operation of multiple belts.
Solution Approach 2:
Each transfer belt handles a subset of the total shell flow rather than all shells in a single wide belt. This partial action approach allows each belt to operate within optimal dimensional limits, reducing stress and deformation while the collective system achieves the required throughput by processing shells across multiple parallel belts.
3Productivity
If the conversion press is configured to produce six can ends per cycle to exceed legacy production limits, then productivity increases beyond four can ends, but existing transfer belt assemblies become inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer belt assembly is segmented into multiple narrower belts, each configured to handle a specific subset of die sets and shell lanes. This segmentation enables the system to accommodate six or more can ends per cycle by distributing the workload across multiple belts, avoiding the deformation issues associated with single wide belts while achieving the required productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The segmented transfer belt configuration creates a modular system where each belt can be independently configured and optimized for its specific function. This multi-functional arrangement allows the same basic belt design to be replicated and adapted for different production capacities, making the system scalable and adaptable to various die set configurations without requiring entirely new belt designs.
Data Source
AI summary
A transfer belt assembly includes a plurality of transfer belts. The transfer belt assembly is structured to move any of an increased number of shells, a very increased number of shells, or an extremely increased number of shells through said conversion press.