Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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EXTRU8T0N PU~hER MOUNTING
TeChriiasl Field
The invention relates to extrusion pulling
apparatus and, more particularly, to an extrusion pulling
apparatus mounted on a multifaceted guide beam through
rollers.
Background of the Inyention
It is well known for extrusion pulling
apparatus to incorporate guide means for tracking the
to extrusion pulling jaws along the extrusion pulling axis.
Further, the guide means typically incorporate a
plurality of rollers for movement of the extrusion
pulling apparatus along the guide means. Typically, the
rollers and guide means are mounted either below, or
above the extrusion pulling apparatus and provide the
sole means for stability and support for the extrusion
pulling apparatus.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,339 to Mannell (issued
May 6, 1975) discloses an extrusion pullet comprising an
elongated rectangular rail with a carriage moveable along
said rail on several sets of rollers. The rollers roll
on the rectangular rail on the top, bottom and side
surfaces for guiding the extrusion pullet along the
extrusion axis.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,616 to Zazimko, et a1.
(issued March 21, 1978) discloses a draw bench for
producing cylindrical tubular items. A roller mounted
carriage is mounted on a set of rollers to traverse the
drawing axis.
An extrusion pulling apparatus with the guide
means mounted above the extrusion pullet is disclosed in
U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,719 to Best (issued December 16,
1986). The guide means are essentially an inverted W-
shape cross-section wherein the rollers of the extrusion
pullet are inserted into the bight portions of the
inverted W-shaped guide means and supported on an inward
extending flange. Rollers are incorporated on the
extrusion pullet for tracking along the flanges.
Another example of an upper mounted guide means
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is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,833 to Carraher et al. (issued June
22, 1971). A pair of I-shaped beams are mounted such that rollers
of the extrusion puffer are supported by the flanges of the I-
shaped beam.
Other patents which disclose the use of a roller and guide
means construction similar to those previously discussed include
U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,329 to Caswall, J. R. et al. (issued February
2, 1982); U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,950 to Elhaus (issued April 2, 1985);
and U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,183 to Nearman (issued May 25, 1971).
It is also known in the prior art to utilize an I-beam as
the guide means for the extrusion pulling apparatus. Rollers are
mounted for rolling contact on a horizontal face of the I-beam and
provide support for the extrusion pulling apparatus. In addition,
rollers are mounted on the underside of the flanges of the I-beam
to provide stability and tracking for the extrusion puffer.
It is important to construct an extrusion puffer which is
extremely stable to avoid irregularities in the extruded/pulled
material. A common source for such irregularities is a slip or
studder in the extrusion puffer apparatus. Therefore, an apparatus
which decreases the frequency of slips or studders in the extrusion
puffer will increase the productivity of the extrusion pulling
apparatus.
In accordance' with the invention there is provided, in an
extrusion pulling apparatus comprising an extrusion puffer which is
guided by a lower guide beneath said puffer and guided by an upper
guide above the pull~~r for movement along a line from an extrusion
press, wherein slippage of said puffer with respect to the upper or
lower guides results in undesirable irregularities in the work, the
improvement comprisi~ag; one of the upper and lower guides comprises
a mufti-faced beam with at least three guide face surfaces oriented
approximately 60° apart; said one upper or lower guides has at
least three first ro:Llers which are aligned to roll on three guide
face surfaces of the mufti-faced beams for accurate extrusion
pulling wherein at if=ast one of said three first rollers is
adjustable to accurately a7.ign the roller to the guide surface of
said mufti-faced beam; said mufti-faced beam supports the puffer
through at least one of the>, three rollers the other of the upper
and lower guides has a lateral stabilizing guide surface; and said
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puller has at least two second rollers, one of which rolls on each
side of the lateral stabilizing guide surfaces.
SUt~IARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, an extrusion pulley apparatus
has a lower guide means mounted beneath the pulley and an upper
guide means mounted above the pulley for movement of the pulley
along a line from an extrusion press. One of the guide means
comprises a multi-face beam with at least three guide face surfaces
oriented approximately 60° apart and at least three rollers which
roll on the three guide face surfaces. The multi-face beam supports
the pulley through at least one of the three rollers, the other
rollers providing stability for the pulley.
Preferably, one of the upper and lower guide means
comprises a hexagonal beam and the lateral stabilizing guide
surfaces of the other guide means are vertical.
An extrusion pulley mounting which supplies a great amount
of support and stability is created when the hexagonal beam
comprises the lower guide means and a T-shaped beam comprises the
upper guide means. The T-shaped beam incorporates vertical surfaces
as the lateral stabilizing guide surfaces. Further, the rollers
which roll on the three guide face surfaces of the hexagonal beam
are mounted on axes which are spaced approximately 60° from each
other. The rollers for the upper guide means, or T-shaped beam,
have axes parallel to each other.
The new appa~°atus provides more stability and support for
the extrusion pulley apparatus than is found in the prior art.
Therefore, fewer defects will be found in the extruded material and ,
a greater productivity will be achieved with the apparatus.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1
is a perspective view of an extrusion pulling apparatus; FIG. 2 is
a partial sectional 'view along lines 2-2 of FIG. l; FIG. 3 is a
partial side view of the extrusion pulley mounting along lines 3-3
of the FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of the lower guide
means seen in FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged side view of the
lower guide means seen in FIG. 3; FIG. 6 is a partial sectional
view along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3; and FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged
view of the upper guide means as seen along lines 7-7 of FIG. 6.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, an extrusion pullet 14 is
mounted on a lower guide means 26 and an upper guide
means 28 for movement along a run out table 16 from an
extrusion press 12. It is well known in the art to
construct a pulling apparatus wherein the material to be
pulled 18 is forced through the extrusion press 12 and
gripped by the extrusion pullet 14. The extrusion pullet
14 is driven away from the extrusion press 12 along the
extrusion axis A by a suitable drive means which may
include a chain (not shown) beneath the run-out table 16
(not shown) and a chain connector 20. After the
extrusion is completed, the extruded material 18 is moved
to a cooling table 17 for further processing by a belt
conveyor 19.
As seen in FIG. 2, the extrusion pullet 14 is
guided along the pulling axis A by an extrusion pullet
mounting 22. The extrusion pullet mounting 22 of the
invention is guided by an upper guide means 24 and a
lower guide means 26. These guide means help to provide
support and linear accuracy in the extrusion pracess.
The extrusion pullet mounting 22 comprises a '
rectangular support frame 28 which is mounted between the
upper guide means 24 and the lower guide means 26.
Fixedly attached to the rectangular frame 28 is a
suitable mounting structure 30 for a pair of extrusion
pullet jaws, an upper jaw 32 and a lower jaw 34. The
pullet jaw mounting structure 30 is arranged such that
the pullet jaws 32, 34 are above and adjacent to the run
out table 16. On the opposite side of the rectangular
frame 28 from the mounting structure 30 and pullet jaws
32, 34 is a C-shaped support frame 36. The C-shaped
support frame 36 provides support for the rectangular
support frame 28 along the extrusion axis A through the
upper and lower guide means 24, 26.
The lower guide means 26 comprises a hexagonal
beam 42, and a plurality of rollers 44. The rollers 44
are typically constructed of steel. The hexagonal beam
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42 may be constructed of steel and is typically rolled to
close tolerances to provide accurate and studder-free
extrusion pulling.
The hexagonal beam 42 extends parallel to the
extrusion axis A and is supported by a suitable support
means 46. In the preferred embodiment the support means
46 comprises a conventional I-beam 48 and a narrow width
rectangular beam 50. The I-beam 48 is attached to the C-
shaped support frame 36 by a suitable means such as
1o welding; the narrow width rectangular beam 5o is fixedly
attached to the top surface of the I-beam 48 by welding
and the hexagonal beam 42 is fixedly attached to the top
surface of the narrow width rectangular beam 50 by bolts.
The upper guide means 24 comprises a T-shaped
beam 58 and a pair of rollers 60. The T-shaped beam 58
is fixedly attached to the C-shaped support frame 36
through a suitable means such as welding. The T-shaped
beam 58 extends parallel to the extrusion axis A. The
rollers 60 are rotatably mounted to the rectangular
support frame 28 such that one roller lies on each side
of the vertical leg of the T-shaped beam 58. The rollers
6o are typically constructed of steel and the T-shaped
beam 58 can be constructed of a suitable structural
material such as steel.
As seen in FIG. 3, the extrusion pulley
mounting 22 incorporates two lower guide means 26 and a
single upper guide means 24. The two lower guide means
26 are spaced a distance apart along a leg 38 to provide
additional stability and accuracy during the pulling
operation.
As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the preferred
embodiment of the lower guide means 26 incorporates a set
of three rollers 44 mounted for rolling contact on three
sides of the hexagonal beam 42. In FIG. 4, portions of
the rollers and mounting structure are broken away to
show details of the construction. The top roller 66
provides support for the extrusion pulley mounting 22 and
the side rollers 80 provide stability during the
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extrusion operation. The top roller 66 rolls along a
support surface 72 and the side rollers 80 roll along
stability surfaces 74 of the hexagonal shaped beam 42.
The support surfaces 72 and 74 are oriented at 60° with
respect to each other. That is, the intersection of
surfaces 72 and 74 when extended have an included angle
of 60°.
Each of the rollers 44 is mounted on a
cylindrical axle 52. The axes 52 are oriented 60° with
respect to each other. Contained within the body of the
roller 44 are suitable bearings 54 which allow for
efficient rotation of the rollers 44 about the axles 52.
Suitable roller washers 56 are mounted on each end of the
bearings which are lubricated through a conventional
grease fitting 62 in the axle 52. The grease fitting 62
communicates directly with a hollow canal within the axle
63 which in turn communicates with the bearings 54 and
allows grease to flow from the grease fitting 62 to the
bearings 54.
A mounting plate 65 is fixedly attached to the
rectangular support frame 28 through a suitable means
such as welding. In the preferred embodiment, the
mounting plate 65 is welded directly to the bottom
surface of the rectangular support frame 28. Fixedly
attached to the mounting plate 65 is a base plate 64.
The base plate 64 and the mounting plate 65 provide the
support and mounting structure for the lower guide means
26.
The top roller 66 of the lower guide means 26
is fixedly attached to the base plate 64 through a fixed
roller mounting 68 and mounting screws 70. The mounting
screws 70 extend through an appropriate opening in the
base plate 64 and are threaded directly into the fixed
roller mount 68. The axle 52 for the top roller 66 is
securely mounted in the fixed roller mount 68. The top
roller 66 freely rotates on the axle 52 through bearings
54 while the fixed roller mount 66 supports the weight of
the extrusion pulley mounting 22.
The side rollers 80 are mounted in an
adjustable roller mount 82 which is generally J-shaped.
The adjustable roller mount 82 is attached to the fixed
roller mount 68 through the use of mounting screws 84.
The mounting screws 84 are inserted through an appro-
priate opening in the vertical portion of the J-shaped
adjustable roller mount 82 and axe threaded directly into
the fixed roller mount 68. The axle 52 for the side
rollers so extends through an appropriate opening in the
lower portion of the J-shaped adjustable roller mount s2
and is fixedly attached to the adjustable roller mount 82
through an adjustable C-clamp 90 and tightening screw 92.
The C-clamp 90 surrounds the axle 52 and through the
tightening of the tightening screw 92 may securely clamp
the axle 52 of the side roller 80 in place. Adjustments
of the side rollers 80 for proper alignment of the side
rollers 80 on the stability surfaces 74 can be made by
adjusting the mounting screws 84 which raise or lower J-
shaped mount 82.
As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the preferred
embodiment of the upper guide means 24 incorporates a set
of two rollers 60 on each side of the T-shaped beam 58.
The rollers 60 roll along a lateral stabilizing guide
surface 98 of the T-shaped beam 58. In the preferred
embodiment, the lateral stabilizing guide surfaces 98 are
vertical. The T-shaped beam 58 is shown in one piece but
can be made of two bar stock pieces bolted together
perpendicular to each other.
The upper guide means 24 is fixedly attached to
the rectangular support frame 28 through a mounting plate
3o 100 and a L-shaped roller mount 102. The mounting plate
10o is fixedly attached to the rectangular support frame
28 through a suitable means such as welding. The L-
shaped roller mount 102 is fixedly attached to the
mounting plate 100 through a plurality of mounting screws
104. The mounting screws 104 are inserted through a
plurality of appropriate openings 106 in the L-shaped
roller mounting 102. The openings 106 are oval in shape
to allow for horizontal adjustment of the L-shaped roller
mounting 102.
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The rollers 60 are mounted on axles 110.
Suitable bearings (not shown) are constructed on the
inside of the rollers 60 to allow for efficient rolling
action of the rollers 60 on the axle 110. The bearings
are similar to those described previously for the lower
guide means 26.
The axles 110 extend through an appropriate
opening in the horizontal face of the L-shaped roller
mounting 102 and are held in place by a conventional nut
112 and lock washer 114. The bottom portion of the axle
110 is threaded to provide for cooperation with the nut
112.
The upper guide means 24 help provide for
efficient and studder-free tracking of the extrusion
pulley mounting 22 along the extrusion axis A. 2n order
to maintain the most accurate movement of the extrusion
pulley mounting 22 along the extrusion axis A, the upper
guide means 24 is provided with a suitable mechanism for
making minor adjustments in the alignment of the rollers
60. To this end, one of the two roller axles is provided
with an eccentric mounting 116. The eccentric shape
allows for the transverse movement of one of the rollers
60 relative to the other so that the two rollers can be
adjusted snug against the T-shaped beam 58.
The preferred embodiment discloses,the
incorporation of the hexagonal beam as the lower guide
means and the T-shaped beam as the upper guide means,
although it is clear that these two guide means can be
reversed. The hexagonal beam can be incorporated as the
upper guide means and provide both support and stability
for the extrusion pullet when the pulley is suspended
from the beam. Further, the T-shaped beam could likewise
be incorporated as the lower guide means and still
provide lateral stability for the suspended extrusion
pulley.
The preferred embodiment provides for the use
of three surfaces on the hexagonal beam, wherein the
guide surfaces of _the hexagonal beam are oriented
approximately 60° apart. However, it is to be under-
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stood that the exact angle and configuration can vary
provided the extrusion puller is still supported and
stabilized by three guide surfaces which have acute
angles between them. In addition, there is no need that
the beam be hexagonal in shape, any multi-face beam could
be used provided the support and stability functions are
still accomplished through three surfaces oriented 60°
apart.
While particular embodiments of the invention
have been shown, it will be understood, of course, that
the invention is not limited thereto since modifications
may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in
light of the foregoing teachings. It is, therefore,
contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such
modification as incorporate those features which
constitute the essential features of these improvements
within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
