Tilting-Pad Bearing Components Without Contour Grinding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The production of tilting-pad bearings for high-speed shafts is complex and costly due to the need for contour grinding to achieve specialized geometries in the outer race and tilting pads, which is time-consuming and expensive.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses a cylindrical blank subjected to radial clamping to induce elastic deformation, allowing for the generation of internal contours without contour grinding, enabling the production of either an outer race or tilting pads with simple round geometries, which can be used as complementary components, reducing production costs and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If contour grinding is used to produce specialized geometries in tilting pads and outer race, then manufacturing precision and adaptability are improved, but device complexity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The method applies preliminary elastic deformation to the cylindrical blank through radial clamping before machining. By deforming the blank in advance to match the desired final geometry, subsequent machining operations become simpler, eliminating the need for complex contour grinding while achieving the required geometric precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state of the blank by applying elastic deformation through controlled radial forces. This parameter change allows the blank to temporarily assume a deformed geometry that matches the target shape, enabling simple circular machining to produce the final complex geometry after release.
2Manufacturing precision
If contour grinding is used to achieve adapted geometries, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The blank is pre-deformed elastically before machining, which prepares it for simpler subsequent operations. This preliminary action reduces the time required for complex contour grinding while maintaining geometric precision, thereby improving overall productivity.
3Ease of manufacture
If standard cylindrical blanks are used instead of custom-shaped components, then ease of manufacture and cost are improved, but adaptability to specific geometries worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses standard cylindrical blanks and changes their geometry through elastic deformation and subsequent machining. By applying radial clamping forces, the blanks are temporarily deformed to match the desired final geometry, allowing simple circular features to be machined that become complex adapted geometries after release, thus achieving both ease of manufacture and geometric adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The blank is pre-deformed to the target geometry before machining operations. This preliminary deformation allows standard cylindrical blanks to be transformed into components with specialized geometries, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving the required adaptability.
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 method simplifies and cost-effectively produces tilting-pad bearing components by eliminating the need for contour grinding, utilizing standard cylindrical blanks to create components with adapted geometries, ensuring high precision and low costs, while accommodating thermal expansions and preventing jamming.
Implementation Method 1
radial forces acting on the (annular) blank are generated at the clamping locations, said radial forces causing an elastic deformation of the blank
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing components of a tilting-pad bearing (10; 10a), wherein: the tilting-pad bearing (10; 10a) has an outer ring (12; 12a) and multiple tilting pads (18; 18a) preferably arranged at regular angular intervals about a longitudinal axis (3; 46) of the outer ring (12; 12a); the tilting pads (18; 8a) are pivotably mounted with an outer surface (20; 20a) about a pitch line (26; 26a) on an inner surface (16; 16a) of the outer ring (12; 12a); and a blank (30; 30a) in the form a cylinder portion (14) having a constant wall thickness is used to produce the tilting pads (18) from a tilting pad ring (42) or to produce the outer ring (12a). The invention is characterised in that: a radial force (FR) acting in the direction of the longitudinal axis (3; 46) is applied to the cylinder portion (14) at multiple clamping points (33; 33a, 34; 34a, 35; 35a) in the region of its outer periphery (32; 32a), said radial forces (FR) elastically deforming the cylinder portion (14); an inner bore (38; 38a) having a round cross-section is subsequently produced on the inner surface (16; 16a) of the elastically deformed cylinder portion (14); and subsequently the radial clamping of the cylinder portion (14) is stopped.