Track Roller Rim Flange Structure for Lower-Cost Track Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Track rollers in machines like dozers and excavators require robust structures to support weight and withstand operational forces, leading to high manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A rim for track rollers featuring annular projections with exterior flanges and notches that constrain axial movement, made from a single integral piece of material, reducing weight and manufacturing costs while maintaining functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a robust structure is used for track rollers to support weight and withstand operational forces, then strength and reliability are improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rim is divided into multiple segments that can be manufactured separately and then assembled together using fasteners. This segmentation allows each segment to be produced using more economical manufacturing processes while maintaining the overall structural integrity and load-bearing capacity of the track roller rim.
2Ease of manufacture
If material usage is reduced to lower manufacturing costs, then ease of manufacture is improved, but wear resistance and durability may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The rim incorporates protrusions and grooves that concentrate material and structural reinforcement at specific locations where wear and stress are highest. This local quality approach ensures enhanced durability at critical wear zones while using less material in non-critical areas, thereby reducing overall manufacturing cost without compromising wear resistance.
3Ease of manufacture
If a simple structure is used to reduce manufacturing complexity, then ease of manufacture is improved, but ability to constrain track movement may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The rim is divided into multiple segments that can be manufactured separately and then assembled together using fasteners. This segmentation allows each segment to be produced using more economical manufacturing processes while maintaining the overall structural integrity and load-bearing capacity of the track roller rim.
Solution Approach 2:
The rim incorporates protrusions and grooves that concentrate material and structural reinforcement at specific locations where wear and stress are highest. This local quality approach ensures enhanced durability at critical wear zones while using less material in non-critical areas, thereby reducing overall manufacturing cost without compromising wear resistance.
Data Source
AI summary
A rim includes a wall, a first annular projection, and a second annular projection. The wall has a first end and a second end. The first end includes a first opening, and the second end includes a second opening that communicates with the first opening to define a bore for a shaft of a track roller. The first annular projection and the second annular projection, which are configured to engage a track, extend radially from the wall. The first annular projection includes a first flange that is configured to constrain movement of the track in a first axial direction. The first flange includes a plurality of notches. The second annular projection includes a second flange that is configured to constrain movement of the track in a second axial direction that is opposite to the first axial direction.