Work Roll Grasping Tool Using Centering Cavities to Avoid Marking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic systems for changing work rolls in 20-high rolling mills fail to ensure safe extraction and insertion while avoiding contact with the metal strip and intermediate rolls, leading to potential marking and safety risks for operators.
Innovation Solution
A method and grasping tool with a support shaft and movable fingers that center and grasp the work rolls via centring cavities on the sidewalls, allowing for extraction and insertion without direct contact with the cylindrical surface, using a robotic system to manage the tool's movement and positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If robotic systems are used to extract work rolls, then operator safety is improved and physical presence near work rolls is reduced, but the risk of marking the metal strip or intermediate rolls increases due to uncontrolled contact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized grasping tool as an intermediary between the robotic system and the work roll. This tool features fingers that precisely engage with centring cavities in the work roll, allowing the robot to extract and insert rolls without direct uncontrolled contact that could cause marking. The intermediary tool provides controlled, precise interaction while the robot provides automated, safe operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The grasping tool is segmented into multiple fingers that can independently engage with different centring cavities on the work roll. This segmentation allows precise positioning and controlled contact points, reducing the risk of unintended contact with the cylindrical surface that could cause marking, while maintaining operator safety through automated operation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If complex tooling is used to ensure safe extraction, then marking risk is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grasping tool is designed with universal applicability to work rolls of different sizes and configurations. The fingers can engage with centring cavities that are standard features on various work rolls, allowing a single tool design to handle multiple roll types without requiring complex customization. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity while maintaining protection against marking.
3Device complexity
If direct contact methods are used for roll extraction, then device complexity is reduced, but the surface quality of rolls deteriorates due to marking
Solution Approach 1:
The grasping tool serves as an intermediary that prevents direct contact between the robotic system and the work roll's cylindrical surface. The fingers engage only with the centring cavities, which are non-critical areas for surface quality. This intermediary approach maintains simple automated operation while preserving the critical cylindrical surface quality needed for metal strip processing.
4Reliability
If automated robotic systems are implemented, then operational safety is improved, but precision in avoiding contact with intermediate rolls decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The grasping tool is designed with pre-positioned fingers that align with standard centring cavity locations on work rolls. This preliminary design of the tool geometry ensures that contact is made precisely at the intended cavities rather than requiring complex real-time control adjustments. The precision is built into the tool structure itself, combining automated safety with precise contact control.
Data Source
AI summary
A grasping tool including a support shaft, as well as a first finger and a second finger, secured to the support shaft, movable relative to one another from a first spacing position between the first finger and the second finger, larger than the length between the distance between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of a work roll, and up to a second position for which the first finger and the second finger are brought close to one another until penetrating respectively a first centering cavity of the first sidewall and a second centering cavity of the second sidewall to ensure grasping of the work roll.