Separable Press Frame Joints for Lower Vertical Deflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional press frames face challenges in absorbing complex dynamic and static forces efficiently, leading to increased material and assembly costs, and require oversized designs to prevent damage, which complicates transportation and assembly, while also increasing the vertical deflection and stress on components.
Innovation Solution
A press frame design that eliminates tie rods and uses non-positive or force-and-form-locking joining geometries to connect uprights with cross-connections, allowing for symmetrical deformation under asymmetric operating forces, thereby reducing vertical deflection and optimizing material usage, and incorporates a computer program for controlling stiffness adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If tie rods are used to brace uprights against cross-connections, then the press frame can absorb complex dynamic and static forces, but the material costs and assembly costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes tie rods from the press frame structure entirely. Instead of using separate bracing elements, the uprights are directly connected to cross-connections through integrated joining geometries that provide both support and bracing functions, thereby eliminating the need for tie rods while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The joining geometry integrates multiple functions into a single connection element. The non-positive or force-and-form-locking joining geometry combines the functions of support, bracing, and connection that were previously distributed across separate components (uprights, cross-connections, and tie rods), simplifying the overall structure
2Reliability
If tie rods are used to prevent head piece lifting, then the prestressing force is maintained, but the residual clamping force definition masks the problem of investigating significant parameters concerning press accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates tie rods and their associated prestressing mechanisms. The direct joining geometry between uprights and cross-connections provides structural stability without requiring preloading, thereby removing the masking effect that prestressing had on accuracy measurements and allowing for more precise investigation of press frame behavior
Solution Approach 2:
The joining geometry is designed as a simple, replaceable connection that does not require complex prestressing mechanisms. This simplified approach allows for easier measurement and control of actual press accuracy parameters without the interference of tie rod preload effects
3Ease of manufacture
If the press frame is designed to be horizontally separable, then the transitions between head piece and lateral stands can be bypassed, but the frame requires additional bracing with tie rods to maintain stiffness
Solution Approach 1:
The press frame is divided into separable modules (uprights and cross-connections) that can be assembled and disassembled horizontally. The joining geometries are designed to maintain structural integrity during separation and reassembly, eliminating the need for additional bracing while preserving the benefits of modular construction
Solution Approach 2:
The joining geometry integrates the functions of connection and bracing into a single element. When uprights are joined to cross-connections through these geometries, the connection itself provides the necessary stiffness without requiring separate tie rod bracing, thus maintaining frame rigidity while enabling horizontal separability
4Force
If heavy presses are equipped with tie rods to control operating forces, then the complex forces are absorbed, but the tension rod preload influences the static load and residual clamping force
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes tie rods and their preload mechanisms from the press frame. The direct joining geometry between uprights and cross-connections allows for pure transmission of operating forces without the superposition of tie rod preload, thereby eliminating the influence of residual clamping forces on static load measurements and enabling more accurate force control
Data Source
AI summary
A system of a separable frame for presses and press frames (1), the respective press frame (1) comprising uprights (2) and a head piece as an upper cross connection (3) and a press table as a lower cross connection (4), which as structural units form a closed frame that absorbs static and dynamic forces for any required functions of a press such as the drive of a ram used for forming with tools. The uprights (2) are attachable laterally or longitudinally to the cross connections (3, 4) by non-positive or non-positive and positive joining geometries (5) and releasable connector (5.1). The proposed press frames (1) have a reduced vertical deflection (v2) compared to press frames joined by tie rod bracing (6).