Sheet Metal Blank Cutting via Flexible Rolling Thickness Profiles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing processes for producing sheet metal blanks lack stability and accuracy, leading to high reject rates due to variations in sheet thickness and cutting inaccuracies.
Innovation Solution
A process involving flexible rolling of metal strips to create thickness profiles matching target profiles, followed by precise cutting using measured thickness profiles and algorithms to ensure accurate positioning and cutting, utilizing beam or mechanical cutting devices, with optional corrosion protection and further processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional cutting processes are used on flexibly rolled strip material, then production speed is maintained, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to thickness variations causing cutting inaccuracies and high reject rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by measuring the thickness profile of the strip material before the cutting process. This advance measurement allows the system to calculate and determine optimal target positions for cutting that account for thickness variations, ensuring high cutting accuracy without requiring rework or rejection of blanks. The thickness measurement and position calculation are performed in advance, enabling precise cutting while maintaining continuous production flow.
2Manufacturing precision
If strip material with varying thickness is cut without position adjustment, then production speed is high, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to incorrect blank positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using the measured thickness profile information to adjust and determine the target cutting positions. The system continuously monitors the actual thickness at different positions along the strip and uses this feedback to calculate the optimal cutting locations that ensure correct blank positioning according to geometric specifications. This closed-loop approach ensures high positioning accuracy while the automated nature of the feedback process minimizes time loss.
3Manufacturing precision
If all blanks are cut and measured thoroughly, then manufacturing precision is high, but productivity decreases due to unnecessary processing of defective regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by measuring and evaluating only the critical thickness regions that directly impact blank quality, rather than uniformly processing the entire strip. The system identifies and focuses measurement and cutting operations on specific regions where thickness variations would result in defective blanks, according to geometric specifications. This selective approach maintains high production accuracy while avoiding unnecessary processing of regions that would not result in rejects, thereby preserving productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A process includes flexible rolling of a strip made of a metallic material, wherein a thickness profile with different sheet thicknesses along the length of the strip is produced such that successive regions of the flexibly rolled strip each correspond to a target thickness profile of a sheet metal blank to be cut out of same; determining a measured thickness profile of a plurality of successive regions of the strip; calculating a target position in the strip for a sheet metal blank to be cut out of the strip depending on the generated measured thickness profile of at least two successive regions of the strip; cutting the flexibly rolled strip by at least one cutting device along the target position for producing the sheet meal blank. A plant is further provided for producing a sheet metal blank.