Tensioned Flexible Rail Scanner Frame for Paper Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional scanner frames for web manufacturing systems are labor-intensive to design and maintain, require extensive time for alignment, and incur high shipping costs due to their large and customized nature, leading to inefficient manufacturing and delivery processes.
Innovation Solution
The use of a scanner frame design that omits fixed horizontal support beams, instead employing flexible rails coupled to separate supports and placed under tension, allowing the sensor head to move back and forth without requiring fixed horizontal beams, enabling easier assembly, reduced shipping costs, and improved alignment resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If fixed horizontal support beams are used in scanner frame design, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and assembly time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The scanner frame is divided into separate supports positioned at opposite sides, eliminating the need for fixed horizontal support beams that connect them. Each support is an independent component that can be manufactured and assembled separately, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining structural stability through the tensioned rail system.
Solution Approach 2:
Flexible rails are used instead of rigid horizontal beams to connect the supports. These flexible rails can accommodate thermal expansion and shipping stresses while maintaining the structural integrity of the scanner frame, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity without compromising stability.
2Manufacturing precision
If fixed horizontal support beams are used in scanner frame design, then alignment precision is improved, but shipping costs and lead times increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the frame into separate supports without requiring fixed horizontal beams, the components can be manufactured independently and shipped separately. This reduces the overall size and weight of individual components, lowering shipping costs and lead times while maintaining alignment precision through the tensioned rail system that ensures proper positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible rails provide a dynamic solution that allows the frame to accommodate shipping stresses and thermal expansion without compromising alignment precision. The flexibility enables the structure to adapt to various conditions during shipping and assembly, reducing lead times while maintaining manufacturing precision.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the sensor head is mounted on flexible rails under tension, then alignment resilience to thermal and shipping stresses is improved, but structural rigidity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Flexible rails under tension are used to mount the sensor head, providing alignment resilience to thermal and shipping stresses. The tensioned flexible rails maintain sufficient structural rigidity to support the sensor head while allowing for controlled movement that accommodates environmental changes, thus balancing flexibility and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The tension parameter of the flexible rails is optimized to provide the right balance between flexibility for alignment resilience and rigidity for structural support. By carefully controlling the tension level, the system achieves both alignment resilience to stresses and sufficient structural rigidity to maintain sensor head positioning accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system includes a frame having multiple separate supports and multiple flexible rails. Each support is configured to be secured in a position apart from another support, and each flexible rail is configured to be coupled to the supports and placed under tension. The system also includes a sensor head configured to be mounted on the rails and to move back and forth along the rails. The sensor head is substantially self-contained and configured to receive operating power over the rails. The frame may further include a tensioned member configured to be coupled to the supports, and the sensor head can be configured to move back and forth using the tensioned member. The sensor head can be self-contained in that the sensor head does not push and pull any wiring assembly during movement along the rails.