Tube Bender Workpiece Sensing for Automated Multi-Diameter Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for bending tubes, pipes, and conduces require frequent changes of mandrels and collets for different diameters, leading to high costs and inefficiencies, and involve time-consuming processes for creating and interpreting architectural drawings for bending operations.
Innovation Solution
An automated bender system with a rotatable bending shoe, a seat with a sensor to detect the workpiece, and a control device that uses data from architectural drawings to automatically clamp, rotate, and bend workpieces of varying diameters without the need for manual collet changes, utilizing a clamping apparatus and bending carousel to perform precise bends based on input data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual methods are used to install mandrels or collets for different tube diameters, then the bender can accommodate various workpiece sizes, but the operation becomes time-consuming and costly due to frequent manual changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single automated mandrel selection system that can handle multiple workpiece diameters. The system includes a magazine with multiple mandrels of different sizes and an automated selection mechanism that chooses the appropriate mandrel based on the workpiece diameter input, eliminating the need for manual changes and making one machine universally applicable to various tube sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service through automated mandrel selection and changeover. The control device automatically selects and positions the correct mandrel based on programmed workpiece dimensions, without requiring operator intervention. This self-automating feature reduces labor time and allows the machine to service itself during mandrel changes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sizes of mandrels and collets are stored for different tube diameters, then various workpiece sizes can be accommodated, but the cost and storage requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal mandrel storage and selection system where a single magazine unit can hold and dispense multiple mandrel sizes. This consolidates what would otherwise require separate storage locations for each mandrel size into one organized magazine, reducing overall storage space requirements while maintaining the ability to accommodate various tube diameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine system employs a nesting concept by stacking or arranging multiple mandrels of different diameters within a single magazine structure. Smaller mandrels can be positioned within the same magazine as larger ones, efficiently utilizing vertical or radial space, thereby reducing the total storage footprint while maintaining access to all required mandrel sizes.
3Manufacturing precision
If architectural drawings are manually interpreted and individual drawings are created for each bend, then precise bending can be achieved, but the process becomes extremely time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of drawing interpretation and calculation with an automated computational system. The control device receives digital architectural data, automatically calculates bend parameters, and programs the bender operations without requiring manual drawing analysis. This substitution of manual cognitive and computational tasks with automated electronic processing dramatically reduces time while maintaining precision through accurate digital-to-physical data translation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary computational actions by pre-calculating all bend parameters, angles, and positions from architectural drawings before the actual bending process begins. The control device processes the design data in advance, generates the complete bending program, and prepares all necessary parameters, so that during execution, the machine simply follows the pre-computed instructions, eliminating time-consuming on-the-spot calculations and interpretations.
4Ease of operation
If automated rotation using motors or hydraulic actuation is used, then workpiece rotation is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the rotation function from complex motorized or hydraulic systems and implements it through a simpler mechanical advantage system. By using a rotating table or indexing mechanism with cam-actuated clamps, the system achieves automated rotation through basic mechanical principles rather than requiring sophisticated motors or hydraulic actuators, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation mechanism operates through periodic indexing rather than continuous rotation. The workpiece is held stationary during bending operations, then periodically rotated to predetermined angles using a simple indexing mechanism. This periodic action eliminates the need for complex continuous rotation control systems, using instead a straightforward step-by-step angular positioning approach that reduces mechanical complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A bender includes a rotatable bending shoe having at least one channel therein configured to receive a workpiece, a seat proximate to the bending shoe which is configured to receive the workpiece thereon, and a sensor provided on the seat which is configured to sense the presence of the workpiece. In some embodiments, the sensor is configured to sense an end of the workpiece.