Spoked Roller End-Fitting for Balancing and Air Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing rolls with concentric tubes face challenges in maintaining a consistent distance, balancing, and sealing air circuits efficiently, particularly due to heavy and complex designs that require destructive assembly and unsatisfactory sealing under pressure.
Innovation Solution
The end piece features spokes connecting inner and outer cylindrical portions with circumferential grooves and pipes, allowing for reversible inner tube removal, improved balancing, and enhanced sealing, made from lightweight composite materials with optional conductive and porous features for precise air distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the two tubes are rigidly connected by gluing end pieces, then the structural integrity is improved, but the ease of repair deteriorates as the guide tube cannot be replaced without destruction
Solution Approach 1:
The end piece is divided into two separable parts: a first part that remains fixed to the outer tube, and a second part that can be removed to allow guide tube extraction. This segmentation enables both structural integrity during operation and ease of repair during maintenance, as the guide tube can be accessed and replaced without destroying the end piece.
2Shape
If end pieces are used to connect tubes, then the spacer function is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases due to removal and restoration operations
Solution Approach 1:
The end piece is segmented into a first part and a second part, where the second part is designed to be removable. This allows the guide tube to be extracted without destroying the end piece, eliminating the need for complex restoration operations. The spacer function is maintained through the first part while simplifying manufacturing and maintenance processes.
3Productivity
If air circuits are created by piercing the end piece, then the air distribution function is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to blockage risks and sizing difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
A dedicated air distribution channel is introduced as an intermediary element between the air supply and the nozzles. This channel provides a reliable, blockage-resistant pathway for air flow, replacing the problematic pierced holes. The channel can be sized and shaped to ensure proper air distribution while eliminating the reliability issues associated with small pierced openings.
4Productivity
If indexing features are added to the end piece for air supply alignment, then the air circuit function is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The air distribution channel is merged with the indexing function by incorporating alignment features directly into the channel structure. This integration eliminates the need for separate indexing mechanisms while maintaining proper alignment between the air supply and nozzles, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
5Strength
If traditional heavy designs are used for printing rolls, then the structural strength is improved, but the weight increases making balancing difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The end piece is constructed using composite materials that provide high structural strength-to-weight ratio. This allows the roll to maintain its structural integrity and strength while significantly reducing overall weight, thereby facilitating easier balancing without compromising structural performance.
Data Source
AI summary
An end piece suitable for forming a spacer for a roll having two concentric tubes with axis, including spokes connecting two inner and outer cylindrical portions, and is where a fluid circuit originating from the center towards the periphery includes a first circumferential groove arranged in the inner cylindrical portion and a second circumferential groove arranged in the outer cylindrical portion connected by at least one pipe, such that the end piece makes it possible to reduce the weight of the roll by approximately 20%, to facilitate the balancing of the roll while ensuring accessibility to the inside of the roll between the two tubes and to enable easy mounting without indexing due to the circumferential grooves, and where the end piece with spokes enables access to the inside of the roll when it is mounted and thus enables both more accurate balancing than with solid end pieces that require the piercing of the outer tube and the invisibility of this balancing from the outside of the roll.