Wire Spool Carriage and Magazine for Fast Changeovers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems require lengthy machine shutdowns for spool changes due to heavy, full spools necessitating manual intervention and forklift trucks, leading to increased operational costs and inefficiencies in production sites with multiple machines.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus for managing spools of wire that allows automated spool changes without direct operator intervention, using a supporting carriage and transfer mechanisms to switch between active and unloading configurations, minimizing machine downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If spools are made very capacious to minimize substitution operations, then the frequency of spool changes is reduced, but the spools become extremely heavy requiring forklift trucks and manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the spool handling function into two independent parts: a heavy-duty permanent spool (first spool) that remains in the machine and a removable temporary spool (second spool) that can be easily exchanged. This segmentation allows the machine to maintain a large-capacity spool while enabling quick replacement of smaller, lighter spools when wire depletion occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the removable second spool) that mediates between the heavy permanent spool and the wire feeding requirement. The second spool acts as a buffer that can be quickly replaced without moving the heavy first spool, thus solving both the time loss and weight handling problems.
2Productivity
If multiple machines are installed in the same production site, then production capacity is increased, but the number of operators and forklift trucks required increases proportionally
Solution Approach 1:
The system makes the first spool universal by designing it to remain permanently installed in the machine, serving as a permanent wire storage reservoir. This universal permanent spool eliminates the need for each machine to have dedicated heavy spools that require individual handling, thereby reducing the number of operators and forklift trucks needed across multiple machines.
3Extent of automation
If automated spool changes are implemented, then operator intervention is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic spool configuration where the second spool can be removed and replaced independently from the first spool. This dynamic design allows automated or semi-automated spool changes by simply detaching and attaching the lighter second spool, achieving high automation with relatively simple mechanical operations rather than complex automated handling systems.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for managing spools of wire in machines for forming components of electrical windings, which comprises at least one accommodation structure for at least one spool containing the wire, and at least one supporting carriage for the accommodation structure. The carriage slides along at least one respective transverse guide of the machine for the transfer of the structure from a first, active configuration for dispensing the wire to a second, unloading configuration: andat least one magazine for the temporary accommodation of at least one spool on which the wire is wound, placed side by side with the at least one accommodation structure, when it is in the first, active configuration, and at least one temporary storage unit for at least one empty spool; the magazine comprising transfer elements configured to transfer at least one spool arranged therein to the accommodation structure.