Vertical Feed Mill Rotor Structure for Low-Stress Grinding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing animal feed mills face issues with increased wear and tear on mechanical parts due to off-center rotation of the crushing rotor, complicated maintenance, and limited production output due to a small unloading grid, leading to high maintenance costs and reduced productivity.
Innovation Solution
A vertical mill design with removable attachment means for the crushing rotor and driving shaft, a lateral grid for adjustable particle size, and a balanced crushing rotor structure to minimize mechanical stress and facilitate easy maintenance, along with a mixing chamber for enhanced productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the crushing rotor is locked together in rotation with the driving shaft using a fixed connection, then the structural strength is improved, but the maintenance complexity increases and repair time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The crushing rotor is divided into separable components: a rotor body and crushing elements that can be independently removed and replaced. This segmentation allows maintenance without replacing the entire rotor assembly, reducing repair time and complexity while maintaining structural integrity during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The crushing elements are nested within or attached to the rotor body in a way that allows easy insertion and removal. This nested configuration enables quick replacement of worn crushing elements without disassembling the entire rotor, facilitating rapid maintenance while preserving the overall structural strength.
2Power
If the crushing elements are made very heavy to ensure effective grinding, then the grinding effectiveness is improved, but the mechanical stress on the driving shaft increases during stopping phase
Solution Approach 1:
The crushing elements are designed with optimized mass distribution and material properties specific to their local function. Rather than making the entire rotor excessively heavy, only the crushing elements are sufficiently massive to deliver effective grinding blows, while the rotor body maintains minimal necessary weight to support these elements and transmit rotational motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The crushing elements are designed to dynamically adapt their position and orientation during rotation, allowing them to effectively engage material during the grinding phase while minimizing impact stresses during deceleration and stopping phases through controlled movement and energy dissipation mechanisms.
3Device complexity
If the unloading grid is made small to maintain a compact mill structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the production output is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The unloading grid is designed with an expanded surface area achieved through three-dimensional configurations such as multiple layers, extended radial surfaces, or vertically stacked grid sections. This dimensional expansion increases the effective unloading area without significantly increasing the overall footprint or complexity of the mill structure, thereby enhancing production output.
4Ease of repair
If the driving shaft is disassembled from the supporting frame to replace the crushing rotor, then the ease of repair is improved, but the loss of time during maintenance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The crushing elements are extracted as separate, independently replaceable components from the rotor assembly. This extraction allows maintenance personnel to remove and replace only the worn crushing elements without disassembling the driving shaft or rotor body, significantly reducing maintenance time while maintaining ease of repair through simple component access.
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
The solution reduces wear and tear on mechanical parts, simplifies maintenance, increases production output, and enhances the homogeneity and efficiency of animal feed production.
Implementation Method 1
a driving shaft (4) fitted at least partly within the grinding chamber (3) and operable in rotation around an axis of rotation A arranged substantially vertically with respect to the ground
Implementation Method 2
the crushing elements are arranged radially with respect to the horizontal axis of rotation to substantially occupy the entire volume of the grinding chamber
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The mill for the production of animal feed comprises one frame, a loading assembly connected to the frame and defining at least one loading port of the raw material and one grinding assembly mounted on the frame. The grinding assembly comprises one grinding chamber for raw material to obtain food in granular form, one driving shaft fitted within the grinding chamber and operable in rotation around a vertical axis of rotation and one crushing rotor housed within the grinding chamber and associable locked together in rotation with the driving shaft and a mixing chamber in fluid communication with the grinding chamber and the loading assembly. The mixing chamber being configured to receive the raw material from the loading assembly and to send a raw material mixed to the grinding chamber.