Spiral Air Conduit Hole Layout for Aligned Airflow Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies lack the capability to efficiently produce spirally wound air conduits with optimized hole geometries aligned on the conduit, which is essential for effective airflow distribution in residential and commercial environments.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that forms spirally wound conduits from flat strips, featuring a cutting device with moving axes to create arrays of holes tilted at specific angles based on the strip width and conduit diameter, allowing for varied hole shapes and alignments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If holes are made on the strip before spirally winding, then the holes become misaligned on the conduit, but if holes are made after winding, then the production process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting device performs preliminary action by creating holes on the flat strip before the spirally winding process. The key innovation is that the cutting device is designed with movable axes that allow it to accommodate the strip width and conduit diameter variations, eliminating the need for costly tooling changes while maintaining hole alignment on the final conduit product.
2Manufacturing precision
If the cutting device is configured for specific strip widths and conduit diameters, then cutting precision is improved, but adaptability to different dimensions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting device incorporates dynamic elements with movable axes that can be adjusted according to different strip widths and conduit diameters. This dynamic configuration allows the cutting device to adapt to various dimensions while maintaining cutting precision, eliminating the need for fixed tooling setups for each specific dimension.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows parameter changes by adjusting the cutting device's axes positions and configurations based on the specific strip width and conduit diameter requirements. This enables the same cutting device to produce accurate holes for different dimensions by changing its operational parameters rather than requiring physical reconfiguration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cutting devices are used for different hole geometries, then hole geometry variety is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting device is designed with multi-functionality to create various hole geometries (circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, etc.) using a single device. The movable axes and programmable control system allow the same cutting device to produce different hole shapes and patterns by adjusting its parameters, eliminating the need for multiple specialized cutting devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus (10) for forming a spirally wound conduit (14) from a flat strip (2) comprising: a forming device (6) comprising a bending section (7) configured to spiralling bend the strip (2) and a joining section (8) configured to join opposite longitudinal sides (2A,2B) of the strip (2) each other; a feeding device (11) of the strip (2) along a feeding direction (F) parallel to the longitudinal edges (9) of the strip (2); a cutting device (1) arranged upstream the forming device (6) comprising a cutting head (3) for cutting the strip (2) and moving means configured to move said cutting head (3) along a plurality of moving axes (X,Y,Z) orthogonal to each other; a control unit (18) configured to command said moving means according to diameter (D) of the conduit (14) to be realized and to the width (B) of the strip (2) so that said cutting head (3) realizes on the strip (2) a plurality of arrays (12) of holes (13) each one tilted with respect to one of the longitudinal edges (9) of the strip (2) by an angle (α) function of the width (B) of the strip (2) and of the diameter (D) of the spiral conduit (14) to be realized. The present invention relates also to a air conduit (14), a perforated strip (2′) and a coil (19) of a perforated strip (2′) comprising a plurality of said arrays (12) of holes (13) wherein said holes (13) comprise at least two different shapes.