Sheet Metal Forming With Embedded Tool Alignment Indicia
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet material forming processes, particularly cold rolling, face challenges in maintaining tool alignment, which affects the quality and provenance of the formed material, making it difficult to detect minor misalignments and ensuring consistent product quality.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a method and tool design that forms patterns and indicia on sheet material during the forming process, using embossing and cold working techniques, to provide visual and machine-readable indicators of tool alignment and provenance, allowing for simplified monitoring and traceability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If regular inspection of formed sheet material is performed to ensure proper tool alignment, then manufacturing precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating alignment indicators directly into the formed sheet material during the forming process itself. The indicia are formed simultaneously with the sheet material, providing immediate alignment information without requiring separate inspection steps. This eliminates the need for regular post-forming inspections while maintaining manufacturing precision.
2Ease of operation
If alignment indicators are formed during the forming process, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the alignment indication function with the existing forming tool by incorporating indicia-forming surfaces into the tool structure. The same forming surfaces that shape the sheet material also create the alignment indicators, combining two functions into a single integrated system. This reduces the need for separate alignment monitoring devices while maintaining ease of operation.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple forming operations are performed to create both pattern and alignment indicators, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent ensures continuity of useful action by forming both the sheet material pattern and the alignment indicators in a single continuous forming operation. The forming surfaces simultaneously create the functional pattern on the sheet material and the alignment verification indicia, eliminating interruptions or separate operations. This maintains forming speed while ensuring manufacturing precision through integrated alignment verification.
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
Enables effective and simple monitoring of tool alignment, ensuring consistent product quality and traceability, while reducing complexity and cost by integrating alignment indicators directly into the forming process.
Implementation Method 1
cold rolling, which is a process of shaping materials by passing a sheet material between a pair of rollers whilst at a temperature below its recrystallization temperature
Implementation Method 2
As the material passes between the rollers, it is strengthened by a process known as strain hardening
Implementation Method 3
moving the tools such that the tools, e.g. respective second forming surfaces thereof, emboss the sheet material to form indicia or a second pattern
Data Source
AI summary
A formed sheet metal material and methods, tools and apparatus for forming the sheet metal material in which a pattern of projections and depressions are cold worked in a first portion and, simultaneously, indicia is embossed in a second portion of the sheet material. The cold worked portion is formed with the projections and depressions configured and distributed such that lines drawn on a surface of the formed sheet material between adjacent rows of projections and depressions are not rectilinear. The indicia is indicative of the alignment between the tools.