Shaving Track Thickness Profiling Before Hair Aperture Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current manufacturing methods for hair-cutting appliances, particularly guard elements with shaving tracks, require multiple steps and additional thickness-adapting actions after hair-entry apertures are formed, increasing complexity and costs.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves creating the shaving track with a specific thickness profile before forming hair-entry apertures, using cold forming techniques and material removal steps like stamping, to simplify the process and eliminate the need for post-forming thickness adaptation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple manufacturing steps including post-forming thickness adaptation are used, then manufacturing precision of the shaving track thickness profile is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The thickness profile is formed in advance during the initial forming operation before the hair-entry apertures are created. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent thickness adaptation steps, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining precision through proper tooling design in the initial forming stage
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple manufacturing steps including polishing are used, then manufacturing precision of the shaving track is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The thickness profile is established during the primary forming operation rather than requiring separate polishing steps. This preliminary formation of the correct thickness profile during initial manufacturing eliminates time-consuming post-processing operations, thereby improving productivity while maintaining the required precision through properly designed forming tools
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary post-forming thickness adaptation and polishing steps from the manufacturing process. By taking out these redundant operations and integrating the thickness profile formation into the initial manufacturing step, the process achieves both high precision and high productivity
3Ease of manufacture
If cold forming techniques are used exclusively, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the cold forming process, specifically controlling temperature, pressure, and tooling geometry parameters to achieve precise thickness profiles. By optimizing these parameters during the initial cold forming operation, the process maintains both simplicity and high precision without requiring additional heating or post-processing steps
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
This approach reduces the number of manufacturing steps, allows for efficient realization of various thickness profiles, and enables the use of cold forming techniques alone, potentially lowering production costs and improving the manufacturing efficiency of guard elements.
Implementation Method 1
both the thickness-adapting step and the material-removing step are performed earlier than at least one of the outside bending step and the inside bending step
Data Source
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AI summary
In a method of manufacturing a guard element (21) which is configured to be used in a hair-cutting unit and which is of a design including a shaving track (30) with a plurality of hair-entry apertures (34), the shaving track (30) having a thickness profile with at least one thickness value, a number of steps is performed in a certain order. In an initial step, a sheet is provided. In a first subsequent step, the at least one thickness value of the thickness profile of the shaving track (30) according to the design of the guard element (21) is realized in the sheet at a position where the shaving track (30) is to be formed. In a second subsequent step, material is removed from the sheet at the position where the shaving track (30) is to be formed so as to create the hair-entry apertures (34).