Stationary Cutting Segment Shoulder Design for Plastic Granulator Throughput

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional plastic granulators experience reduced throughput due to oversized plastic pieces causing upward deflection, which hampers additional material from being cut efficiently, leading to inefficient cutting processes.

Innovation Solution

A plastic granulator apparatus with a stationary cutting segment featuring a rail with arcuate spaced teeth and a shoulder surface that acts as an adjunct cutting surface, allowing the rotating cutter to urge material against the shoulder, thereby increasing throughput and minimizing material jumping.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a rotary cutter is used to cut plastic material, then cutting function is provided, but material jumps upward causing reduced throughput

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovethroughputVSAvoidmaterial jumping

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The rotary cutter is divided into multiple discrete cutter segments (teeth) spaced around the rotary cutter body, allowing sequential cutting actions that guide material downward through the cutting zone rather than causing upward deflection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A stationary cutting segment with a shoulder surface is introduced as an intermediary element that works in conjunction with the rotary cutter segments. The shoulder surface provides a counter-cutting action that prevents material from jumping upward while maintaining effective cutting

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If oversized plastic pieces are fed into the granulator, then material processing is enabled, but cutting efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecutting efficiencyVSAvoidoversized material pieces

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The stationary cutting segment with its shoulder surface performs a preliminary cutting action on oversized material pieces before they reach the main rotary cutter. This pre-cutting reduces material size and prepares it for more efficient subsequent cutting, preventing upward deflection of large pieces

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The stationary cutting segment provides localized cutting action at a specific position in the cutting zone, creating different cutting stages. The shoulder surface area is specifically designed to contact and guide material, providing localized control over material flow and cutting efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS11628447B2Plastic granulator stationary cutting segment

Publication Date: 2023.04.18 SIZE REDUCTION SPECIALISTS CORP

AI summary

A plastic granulator apparatus stationary cutting segment includes a segment rail having multiple arcuate spaced teeth. Each tooth of the plurality of arcuate spaced teeth has a tooth surface and is spaced to be complementary to a rotary cutter segments as a rotary cutter is rotated. The segment rail is adapted to be mounted to a granulator housing. The rail segment has a shoulder with a shoulder surface, the shoulder is adjacent to each of a set of arcuate spaced teeth. The shoulder has a shoulder surface height of between 0 and 10 mm, and a stepback distance of between 0 and 2 mm between the shoulder surface and the arcuate tooth surface. The shoulder and the arcuate tooth surface define an angle therebetween of 90° and 130°, and the shoulder surface defines an angle between 90° and 130°.