Wound Tube Axial Compression for Reliable Laser Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wound tubes, particularly those with hooked profiles, are difficult to weld due to their flexibility and lack of defined welding geometry, leading to unreliable cutting and potential unwinding after being cut to length, which complicates assembly and can result in particle generation from mechanical cutting methods.
Innovation Solution
A method involving axial compression of the wound tube in a predetermined region to secure windings, followed by welding along a predetermined number of windings using laser beams, ensuring a precise and clean cut by forming a consistent groove for the welding seam, thereby preventing unwinding and allowing for reliable severing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If wound tubes with hooked profiles are used to achieve high flexibility, then flexibility is improved, but welding reliability deteriorates because no defined welding geometry develops
Solution Approach 1:
The wound tube is axially compressed in a predetermined region before welding to bring the windings to rest on each other, creating a defined welding geometry in advance. This preliminary compression ensures that the hooked profiles are properly positioned and stabilized before the welding process begins, resolving the contradiction between maintaining flexibility and achieving reliable welding.
2Ease of manufacture
If mechanical saw cutting is used to cut wound tubes, then cutting capability is improved, but harmful particles are generated that can destroy downstream components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical saw cutting with laser cutting technology. The laser beam cuts the wound tube without contact, eliminating the generation of metal particles and chips that would otherwise be produced by mechanical saw blades. This substitution maintains cutting capability while eliminating the harmful particle generation that threatens downstream exhaust gas cleaning components.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If three axially off-set laser beams are used for cutting, then clean cutting is improved, but the wound tube unwinds after cutting due to inherent mobility and large tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The wound tube is axially compressed in a predetermined region before the laser cutting process to stabilize the windings and prevent unwinding. This preliminary compression creates a defined geometry and reduces inherent mobility, allowing the laser beams to cut cleanly without causing the tube to unwind or develop large tolerances that would complicate assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The axial compression applied to the wound tube creates a counteracting force against the unwinding tendency that occurs during and after laser cutting. By pre-compressing the tube in the predetermined region, the invention anticipates and counteracts the unwinding effect, maintaining tube stability throughout the cutting process and preventing assembly complications.
4Stability of the object's composition
If welding is performed before cutting to prevent unwinding, then tube stability is improved, but the welding geometry remains undefined leading to unreliable welding
Solution Approach 1:
The wound tube is axially compressed in a predetermined region before welding to create a defined welding geometry. This preliminary compression brings the windings to rest on each other in a controlled manner, establishing precise geometry at the welding location while maintaining overall tube flexibility elsewhere. This resolves the contradiction by providing defined welding geometry without sacrificing tube stability.
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 method ensures a clean, precise, and reliable cutting process with reduced risk of unwinding, enabling high-quality, automated production with minimal costs and no residual particles, suitable for both laser and mechanical severing methods.
Implementation Method 1
the welding being performed along a predetermined number of windings in the region
Implementation Method 2
welding occurs as a preliminary adhesion via individual, spaced apart welding spots or as a continuous welding seam
Implementation Method 3
the wound tube is severed between the two seams via a third laser beam
Implementation Method 4
clean cutting areas develop during the severing process with no residual particles
Data Source
AI summary
A method and a device for separating a wound tube (1) which includes interlocking windings (11, 12, 13, 14) of a metal strip (2) are provided, the wound tube (1) is welded in a predetermined axial region (10) and is then severed within the region (10) in a radial plane (6). The method furthermore defines that the wound tube (1) is axially compressed in the predetermined region prior to welding, such that the windings (11, 12, 13, 14) bear against one another in the region (10), and the welding is carried out along a predetermined number of turns (11, 12) in the region (10).