Vertical Lathe Feed Device Nested Carriage Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vertical lathe feed devices require large installation spaces due to modular carriage designs, leading to limited workpiece access and increased nonproductive production times and unit costs.
Innovation Solution
A compact feed device design featuring two carriages where the second carriage is mounted on the first, allowing telescopic nesting and minimizing center height, with a U-shaped cross section for rigidity and reduced dimensions, and a spindle drive for precise adjustability, enabling movement in three directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If individual carriage modules are arranged in a row or next to each other to provide mobility in different directions, then the feed device achieves multi-directional movement capability, but the overall dimensions and installation space increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by placing the second carriage inside or on top of the first carriage, and the third carriage inside or on top of the second carriage. This nested arrangement allows all three carriages to coexist in a compact vertical configuration, enabling multi-directional movement (X, Y, and Z directions) while minimizing the horizontal installation space. The nested structure effectively stacks the carriages in the vertical direction rather than arranging them horizontally, thus resolving the contradiction between versatility and installation space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a horizontal arrangement of carriages to a vertical arrangement by utilizing the vertical dimension. The carriages are stacked one above another in the vertical direction, with each carriage responsible for movement in a specific direction (X, Y, or Z). This dimensional change allows the feed device to maintain full multi-directional movement capability while significantly reducing the horizontal footprint and installation space required.
2Manufacturing precision
If the feed device is arranged between the workpiece feed and the workpiece spindle, then machining accuracy is maintained, but the gaps for workpiece feed and removal are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The nested carriage configuration concentrates the feed device components in a compact vertical space above the workpiece spindle. This allows the feed device to be positioned between the workpiece feed and the workpiece spindle without significantly encroaching on the horizontal gaps needed for workpiece feed and removal. The nested structure minimizes the horizontal projection of the feed device, thus preserving adequate access gaps while maintaining the desired arrangement for machining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
By arranging the carriages vertically in the vertical dimension rather than horizontally, the patent reduces the horizontal space occupied by the feed device. This dimensional reorganization allows the feed device to be positioned in the vertical space between the workpiece feed and the workpiece spindle while leaving sufficient horizontal gaps for workpiece feed and removal operations, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining machining accuracy and preserving access gaps.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the guide of the third carriage projects in the Y-direction, then movement in the Y-direction is enabled, but a significant proportion of the gaps for workpiece supply and removal is closed
Solution Approach 1:
The third carriage is nested inside or on top of the second carriage, which itself is nested on the first carriage. This nested arrangement allows the guide of the third carriage to extend in the Y-direction while the overall horizontal projection remains compact. The nested configuration ensures that the Y-direction movement capability is achieved without the guide projecting far beyond the vertical axis, thus minimizing the closure of gaps for workpiece supply and removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the vertical dimension to accommodate the third carriage and its guide structure. By stacking the carriages vertically, the guide of the third carriage can extend in the Y-direction for enabling Y-axis movement, but the horizontal footprint is minimized because the carriages are arranged in the vertical direction rather than spreading out horizontally. This resolves the contradiction between Y-direction versatility and preserving workpiece access gaps.
4Length of stationary object
If the second carriage is mounted on the first carriage and extends over the top, then the center height is minimized, but the structural rigidity must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The second carriage is nested on top of the first carriage, with the second carriage extending over the top of the first carriage in a nested configuration. This nesting arrangement minimizes the center height by stacking the carriages vertically rather than arranging them side by side. The nested structure also provides inherent structural rigidity through the interlocking or supported configuration, where the second carriage is securely mounted on the first carriage, maintaining strength while achieving compact vertical dimensions.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an advancing device for moving a machining device of a vertical lathe for machining a workpiece, which preferably consists of metal or the like at least in some segments, comprising a first carriage for moving the machining device in a first direction and a second carriage for moving the machining device in a second direction, which is different from and preferably at a right angle to the first direction, wherein the second carriage is supported on at least one lateral surface of the first carriage and extends over the top side of the first carriage.