Sheet Product Profiling via Contoured Vacuum Bed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing thin gauge sheet products result in uniform thickness across the width, which can lead to increased weight and costs when additional material is required in specific regions, hindering performance and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a profiling template and contoured vacuum bed to create varying surface profiles on sheet products, allowing for controlled and repeatable changes in thickness along both length and width, using a grinding process that conforms the sheet to the template and reduces material where needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional grinding methods are used to manufacture thin gauge sheet products, then uniform thickness across the width is achieved, but weight increases and costs increase when additional material is required in specific regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using a contoured vacuum bed with varying surface heights to create localized thickness variations in the sheet product. Different regions of the vacuum bed have different contour levels, causing the sheet to be ground to different thicknesses in different areas, allowing material removal only where needed rather than uniformly across the entire sheet width.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses preliminary action by pre-forming a contoured vacuum bed with a specific surface profile before the grinding process. This pre-configured contour serves as a template that guides the grinding operation to achieve the desired variable thickness profile in a single pass, eliminating the need for multiple grinding passes or subsequent material removal operations.
2Strength
If additional material is added across the full width to increase rigidity, then rigidity is improved, but component weight increases and performance is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables local quality optimization by creating variable thickness profiles that concentrate material in regions requiring rigidity while removing excess material from regions where it is not needed. The contoured vacuum bed allows precise control over which areas retain full thickness for structural support and which areas are thinned to reduce weight.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional vacuum bed grinding is used, then tight tolerances can be achieved, but variable thickness across width cannot be produced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines preliminary action with adaptability by pre-forming a contoured vacuum bed that encodes the desired variable thickness profile. This pre-configured contour allows the system to produce different thickness patterns by simply changing the contour template, while maintaining tight tolerances through the precision grinding process, making the system adaptable to various thickness requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dimensionality change by transitioning from a flat vacuum bed surface to a contoured three-dimensional surface. This additional dimensional variation in the vacuum bed height allows the system to imprint variable thickness profiles onto the sheet product while maintaining precise control through the grinding process, enabling both tolerances and variability.
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 the production of sheet products with varying surface profiles that reduce overall weight while maintaining tight tolerances, suitable for applications requiring customized thickness without the added weight and cost of uniform thickness across the entire width.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum may be applied to hold the sheet product in position on the vacuum bed during grinding
Implementation Method 2
grinding and polishing the sheet product using a belt-grinding machine
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for profiling a surface of a sheet product (200), said sheet product having a first profile on a first surface, comprising: (a) creating a profiling support surface; (b) arranging said sheet product on said support surface; (c) conforming said sheet product to said support surface, wherein said conformance causes said sheet product to have a second surface profile on said first surface; and (d) processing said sheet product to form a third surface profile on said first surface.