Unitary Casting Compressor Valve Plate Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The use of stamped parts in compressor valve plates limits geometric complexity and increases assembly complexity and cost due to the need for separate spacers, which are not easily integrally formed.
Innovation Solution
A valve plate assembly featuring a first valve plate as a unitary casting with a central recessed portion and an outer wall, and a second valve plate that is either brazed or mechanically engaged, both made from steel and formed using investment casting or lost foam casting processes, which allows for integrally formed features and reduced part complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If stamped parts are used to form valve plates, then manufacturing is simpler and easier, but geometric complexity is limited and assembly complexity increases due to separate spacers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines multiple separate stamped parts (first valve plate, second valve plate, and spacers) into a single unitary casting. This merging eliminates the need for separate spacers and reduces assembly complexity while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through investment casting or lost foam processes.
2Ease of manufacture
If stamped parts are used to form valve plates, then manufacturing cost is lower for simple geometries, but assembly cost increases due to multiple parts and complex assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple parts into a single unitary casting, eliminating assembly operations and associated costs. While the casting process itself has costs, the elimination of multiple parts, spacers, and assembly operations results in overall cost reduction despite the increased geometric complexity enabled by the unitary construction.
3Device complexity
If unitary casting is used to form the first valve plate, then assembly complexity is reduced and geometric complexity is improved, but manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces investment casting or lost foam casting as an intermediary manufacturing process that enables unitary construction with complex geometries. These specialized casting processes serve as mediators between the desire for simple manufacturing and the need for geometric complexity, allowing integration of multiple features that would be difficult or impossible with traditional stamping.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate parts are used in valve plate assembly, then manufacturing flexibility is maintained, but heat treatment options are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple parts into a unitary casting, enabling comprehensive heat treatment of the entire assembly in one operation. This eliminates the need for separate heat treatment of individual components and their subsequent assembly, providing superior heat treatment options and material properties throughout the entire valve plate structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
A valve plate assembly may include a first valve plate formed as a unitary casting and defining a suction chamber exposed to a suction pressure region of a compressor.