T-Shaped Guide Rail Roll Forming for Higher Buckling Resistance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing guide rails with a T-shaped cross section are energy-intensive and costly, and they lack sufficient buckling resistance to withstand clamping forces of safety gear brake shoes, making them unsuitable for guiding safety gears.
Innovation Solution
A method involving roll profiling of a flat metal strip where the metal strip is thinned in the fold-over area to align doubling areas in parallel contact, allowing for direct contact and precise alignment, reducing the height of the fold-over area, and forming grooves and punctures to enhance surface engagement and resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the fold-over area is shaped with a gap between parallel doubling areas (prior art), then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the guide rail cannot guarantee necessary buckling resistance and cannot withstand clamping forces of brake shoes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the fold-over area by thinning the metal strip in this region, which enables the doubling areas to be brought into direct contact over a large area. This parameter change transforms the structural configuration from a gapped design to a contact-based design, achieving both manufacturing efficiency and buckling resistance
2Strength
If hot rolling with subsequent milling and grinding is used (prior art), then guide rails with sufficient buckling resistance can be produced, but the manufacturing process becomes energy-intensive and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the energy-intensive hot rolling and subsequent machining operations from the manufacturing process. By using cold roll profiling with metal strip thinning in the fold-over area, the process achieves sufficient buckling resistance through direct contact of doubling areas without requiring high-energy thermal processing or precision machining
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive hot rolling and machining processes with a cheaper cold roll profiling process. The metal strip is thinned in the fold-over area during rolling, enabling direct contact configuration that provides adequate buckling resistance without the need for costly subsequent machining operations
3Manufacturing precision
If the metal strip is thinned in the fold-over area, then the doubling areas can be brought into direct contact over a large area, but the metal strip requires more precise thickness control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary thinning of the metal strip in the fold-over area before the doubling areas are brought into contact. This preliminary action of thinning the material in advance allows for easier and more precise alignment of the doubling areas during the rolling process, as the reduced thickness facilitates better contact and positioning
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
This approach enables the production of guide rails with enhanced buckling resistance and reduced production costs, suitable for guiding safety gears without the need for subsequent processing steps, ensuring the guide surfaces can withstand clamping forces.
Implementation Method 1
the metal strip in the hemming area is thinned out by means of roll profiling before or during the bending of the metal strip in the hemming area
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2d
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a guide rail with a T-shaped cross-section, which has a first leg and a second leg, wherein a first end of the first leg is attached to a longitudinal side of the second leg, wherein the guide rail is roll-profiled from a flat metal strip such that the metal strip is bent by 180° in a fold area, wherein the fold area forms a second end of the first leg, which lies distal to the second leg, two doubling areas of the metal strip adjacent to the fold area are aligned parallel by the 180° bend in the fold area, wherein the two doubling areas together form the first leg, and two areas of the metal strip distal to the fold area adjacent to the doubling areas are bent away from the longitudinal alignment of the doubling areas by 90° in opposite directions.These areas are called partial legs and form the second leg. According to the invention, the metal strip is bent in the overlap area in such a way that the inner surfaces of the doubling areas are brought into direct contact over a flat area.