U.S. patent application number 14/014603 was filed with the patent office on 2014-03-06 for high-speed mass finishing device and method.
The applicant listed for this patent is John S. DAVIDSON, Kyle James ELMBLAD, Jeremy Paul HAMMOND, Stuart William QUICK. Invention is credited to John S. DAVIDSON, Kyle James ELMBLAD, Jeremy Paul HAMMOND, Stuart William QUICK.
Application Number | 20140065929 14/014603 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50188181 |
Filed Date | 2014-03-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140065929 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DAVIDSON; John S. ; et
al. |
March 6, 2014 |
HIGH-SPEED MASS FINISHING DEVICE AND METHOD
Abstract
A vibratory mass finishing machine for faster finishing of parts
along with better finishing of the parts (e.g., smoother finishing)
compared to the prior art vibratory mass finishing machines. The
vibratory mass finishing machine allows the use of a motor with
increased horsepower, incorporates a top eccentric weight located
at a position below a line defined by a center of mass of the
media, and has the top eccentric weight positioned close to a
bottom eccentric weight.
Inventors: |
DAVIDSON; John S.; (South
Haven, MI) ; HAMMOND; Jeremy Paul; (Portage, MI)
; ELMBLAD; Kyle James; (Portage, MI) ; QUICK;
Stuart William; (Mattawan, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
DAVIDSON; John S.
HAMMOND; Jeremy Paul
ELMBLAD; Kyle James
QUICK; Stuart William |
South Haven
Portage
Portage
Mattawan |
MI
MI
MI
MI |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50188181 |
Appl. No.: |
14/014603 |
Filed: |
August 30, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61694945 |
Aug 30, 2012 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
451/32 ;
451/327 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24B 31/073
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
451/32 ;
451/327 |
International
Class: |
B24B 31/073 20060101
B24B031/073 |
Claims
1. A vibratory finishing machine for finishing parts comprising: a
bowl having a generally circular receiving area for receiving the
parts, the receiving area being substantially U-shaped and having
an inner wall surface and an outer wall surface; a base having a
plurality of movable parts for movably supporting the bowl to allow
the bowl to vibrate relative to the base; media in the receiving
area and forming a torus when the bowl is vibrated; and an
eccentric spinning assembly for causing the bowl to vibrate, the
eccentric spinning assembly including a spinning vertical shaft, a
top eccentric weight and a bottom eccentric weight, a top weight
center of mass of the top eccentric weight and a bottom weight
center of mass of the bottom eccentric weight both being located
off of a vertical spinning axis of the spinning vertical shaft; the
vibratory finishing machine having a first distance between an
outermost point of the torus of the media where the media no longer
contacts the inner wall surface of the receiving area and a bottom
point where a bottom horizontal line drawn from the bottom weight
center of mass meets the vertical spinning axis of the spinning
vertical shaft; the vibratory finishing machine having a second
distance between a top point where a top horizontal line drawn from
the top weight center of mass meets the vertical spinning axis of
the spinning vertical shaft and the bottom point; and a ratio of
the first distance to the second distance being greater or equal to
1.8:1.
2. The vibratory finishing machine of claim 1, further including: a
motor for rotating the spinning vertical shaft.
3. The vibratory finishing machine of claim 2, wherein: the motor
is fixed to the base.
4. The vibratory finishing machine of claim 2, wherein: the motor
includes an output shaft connected to the spinning vertical shaft
for rotating the spinning vertical shaft.
5. The vibratory finishing machine of claim 1, wherein: the movable
parts comprise a plurality of springs.
6. The vibratory finishing machine of claim 1, wherein: the
spinning vertical shaft is configured to rotate at 2000 RPMs or
greater while maintaining uniform roll of the media.
7. A method of finishing parts comprising: providing a vibratory
finishing machine including a bowl, a base and an eccentric
spinning assembly; providing the bowl with a generally circular
receiving area for receiving the parts, the receiving area being
substantially U-shaped and having an inner wall surface and an
outer wall surface; movably supporting the bowl on a plurality of
movable parts of the base; placing media and the parts in the
receiving area; providing the eccentric spinning assembly with a
spinning vertical shaft, a top eccentric weight and a bottom
eccentric weight, with a top weight center of mass of the top
eccentric weight and a bottom weight center of mass of the bottom
eccentric weight both being located off of a vertical spinning axis
of the spinning vertical shaft; and rotating the spinning vertical
shaft and vibrating the bowl relative to the base to form a torus
with the media; the vibratory finishing machine having a first
distance between an outermost point of the torus of the media where
the media no longer contacts the inner wall surface of the
receiving area and a bottom point where a bottom horizontal line
drawn from the bottom weight center of mass meets the vertical
spinning axis of the spinning vertical shaft; the vibratory
finishing machine having a second distance between a top point
where a top horizontal line drawn from the top weight center of
mass meets the vertical spinning axis of the spinning vertical
shaft and the bottom point; and a ratio of the first distance to
the second distance being greater or equal to 1.8:1.
8. The method of finishing parts of claim 7, further including:
rotating the spinning vertical shaft with a motor.
9. The method of finishing parts of claim 8, further including:
fixing the motor to the base.
10. The method of finishing parts of claim 8, further including:
connecting an output shaft of the motor to the spinning vertical
shaft for rotating the spinning vertical shaft.
11. The method of finishing parts of claim 7, wherein: the movable
parts comprise a plurality of springs.
12. The method of finishing parts of claim 7, wherein: rotating the
spinning vertical shaft includes rotating the spinning vertical
shaft at 2000 RPMs or greater; and further including maintaining
uniform roll of the media.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to co-pending U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 61/694,945, filed Aug. 30, 2012,
the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The field of the present invention is drawn to mass
finishing machines, especially vibratory finishing machines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Mass finishing is a group of manufacturing processes that
allow large quantities of parts to be simultaneously finished. The
goal of this type of finishing is to burnish, deburr, clean,
radius, de-flash, descale, remove rust, polish, brighten, surface
harden, prepare parts for further finishing, or break off die cast
runners. The two main types of mass finishing are tumble finishing,
also known as barrel finishing, and vibratory finishing. Both
involve the use of a cyclical action to create grinding contact
between surfaces. Sometimes the workpieces are finished against
each other; however, usually a finishing medium is used. Mass
finishing can be performed dry or wet, with wet processes having
liquid lubricants, cleaners or abrasive, and dry processes not
having such materials. Cycle times for running the parts through
the finishing machines can be as short as a few minutes or as long
as several hours.
[0004] Mass finishing processes can be configured as either batch
systems, in which batches of workpieces are added, run, and removed
before the next batch is run, or as continuous systems in which the
workpieces enter at one end of the arrangement and exit at the
other end in the finished state. The workpieces may also be
sequenced, which involves running the workpieces through multiple
different mass finishing processes. In sequential finishing, the
finish usually becomes progressively finer.
[0005] An example of a prior art finishing machine can be found in
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,718 entitled METHOD OF PRODUCING A FINISHING
CHAMBER FOR A VIBRATORY FINISHING MACHINE, the entire contents of
which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A vibratory mass finishing machine of the present invention
allows for faster finishing of parts along with better finishing of
the parts (e.g., smoother finishing) compared to the prior art
vibratory mass finishing machines. The vibratory mass finishing
machine of the present invention allows the use of a motor with
increased horsepower, incorporates a top eccentric weight located
at a position below a line defined by a center of mass of the
media, and has the top eccentric weight positioned close to a
bottom eccentric weight.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art vibratory
mass finishing machine.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a vibratory mass
finishing machine of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] For purposes of description herein, it is to be understood
that the invention may assume various alternative orientations,
except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be
understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in
the attached drawings, and described in the following
specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive
concepts defined herein. Hence, specific dimensions and other
physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed
herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless expressly
stated otherwise.
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art vibratory mass finishing
machine 10. The prior art vibratory mass finishing machine 10 is
configured to have parts placed therein for finishing. The
vibratory mass finishing machine 10 includes a base 12 supporting a
vibration assembly 14. The vibration assembly 14 vibrates to cause
media 16 to substantially form a torus and move relative to the
parts to finish the parts.
[0011] The base 12 of the vibratory mass finishing machine 10
includes a substantially hollow, and in the illustrated embodiment
cylindrical, housing 18 and a floor panel 20. A plurality of spring
mounting brackets 22 extend at a plurality of locations from an
interior surface 23 of the housing 18. Each spring mounting bracket
22 supports a spring 24. It is contemplated that any number of
spring mounting brackets 22 and springs 24 could be used. For
example, 4, 6 or 8 equidistant spring mounting brackets 22 and
springs 24 could be used. Each spring mounting bracket 22 includes
an angled top plate 26 with a cylindrical spring lower guide 28 on
a top surface thereof. A lower end of the spring 24 surrounds the
cylindrical spring lower guide 28, with the cylindrical spring
lower guide 28 maintaining the spring 24 in a fixed position on the
spring mounting bracket 22. The vibration assembly 14 is supported
by the springs 24 at tops thereof.
[0012] The vibration assembly 14 of the vibratory mass finishing
machine 10 is configured to vibrate relative to the base 12. The
vibration assembly 14 includes a finishing bowl 30 having a central
opening 32 accommodating a center column 34 therein. The finishing
bowl 30 includes a substantially vertical outer and upper side wall
portion 36 and a lower inwardly curved side wall portion 38 which
extends downwardly from upper side wall portion 36. The walls 36
and 38 extend in the illustrated embodiment annularly around the
center column 34. A frustoconical gusset 40 extends between the
center column 34 and an inner surface 42 of the lower inwardly
curved side wall portion 38 of the finishing bowl 30 to form a part
and media receiving area 44 which opens upwardly and extends
annularly around column 34. Typically, a liner 46 (e.g.,
elastomeric) is located in the part and media receiving area 44 and
adhered to the exterior surface of the center column 34 above the
frustoconical gusset 40, on a top surface of the frustoconical
gusset 40, on the lower inwardly curved side wall portion 38 of the
finishing bowl 30 above the frustoconical gusset 40 and on the
inner surface of the substantially vertical outer and upper side
wall portion 36. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the
liner 46 and the frustoconical gusset 40 can have a plurality of
drains (not shown) therein for draining a finishing compound
(typically an environmentally-safe, biodegradable liquid which meet
most ferrous and nonferrous requirements in deburring, burnishing,
cleaning, descaling, radiusing, and rust inhibiting). The part and
media receiving area 44 can also include grates over the drains or
elsewhere therein for supporting the parts and/or the media to
prevent same from falling through the grates.
[0013] The vibration assembly 14 includes an eccentric spinning
assembly 48 for causing the vibration assembly 14 to vibrate. The
eccentric spinning assembly 48 is connected to a top bearing plate
50 and a bottom bearing plate 52 within the interior of the housing
18, with the bottom bearing plate 52 being located at a bottom of
the center column 34. The eccentric spinning assembly 48 includes a
central tube 54 having a vertical shaft 56 extending vertically
therethrough which defines a central axis of rotation 57. A top
eccentric weight 58 is connected to a top end of the vertical shaft
56 and a bottom eccentric weight 60 is connected to a bottom end of
the vertical shaft 56. Centers of mass of the top eccentric weight
58 and the bottom eccentric weight 60 are both located off of, and
in one embodiment the weights 58 and 60 are laterally spaced from,
the axis 57 of the vertical shaft 56. As is well known to those
skilled in the art, rotation of the vertical shaft 56 having the
top eccentric weight 58 and the bottom eccentric weight 60 will
cause the vertical shaft 56, and therefore the eccentric spinning
assembly 48 and the entire vibration assembly 14 to rotate. It is
contemplated that the central tube 54 containing the vertical shaft
56 with the top eccentric weight 58 and the bottom eccentric weight
60 can be inserted into the vibration assembly 14 as a
pre-assembled unit, with the central tube 54 having a top bearing
62 connected to the top bearing plate 50 and a bottom bearing 64
connected to the bottom bearing plate 52. Alternatively, the
vertical shaft 56 can be directly connected to the top bearing
plate 50 and the bottom bearing plate 52 without the central tube
54.
[0014] A motor 66 having a rotating output shaft 68 serves to
rotate the vertical shaft 56 of the eccentric spinning assembly 48.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the rotating output shaft 68 of the motor
66 has an output wheel 70 thereon and a bottom of the vertical
shaft 56 of the eccentric spinning assembly 48 has an input wheel
72 thereon. An endless connector 74 (e.g., belt or chain) extends
between the output wheel 70 and the input wheel 72 to transmit
rotary motion of the rotating output shaft 68 of the motor 66 to
the vertical shaft 56 of the eccentric spinning assembly 48. It is
contemplated that the motor 66 can be connected to the base 12 as
illustrated in FIG. 1 or can be connected to the center column 34
of the vibration assembly 14.
[0015] For several decades, the vertical shaft 56 of the eccentric
spinning assembly 48 has been run at a speed of approximately 1200
to 1500 revolutions per minute (RPMs). In this speed range, the
media would circle about a center of mass 76 of the media 16 in a
circular motion and the media would substantially form a circle 78
as illustrated in FIG. 1. If the vertical shaft 56 was rotated
below 1200 RPMs, the media 16 would not move sufficiently against
the part to properly finish the part. Further, when the vertical
shaft 56 was rotated above 1500 RPMs, the media 16 would move
erratically and not in a circle to sufficiently finish the part. In
other words, when the vertical shaft 56 was rotated above 1500
RPMs, the "roll" of the media 16 and parts becomes non-uniform and
totally unacceptable throughout, with dead spots and/or other
variations in the movement of the media 16 and parts. Furthermore,
when the vertical shaft 56 was rotated above 1500 RPMs in the prior
art vibratory mass finishing machine 10, the vibration assembly 14
would vibrate in a non-uniform manner. The prior art vibratory mass
finishing machine 10 has remained substantially unchanged for
decades without altering the RPMs of the vertical shaft 56.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the vibratory
mass finishing machine 10a of the present invention. Since the
vibratory mass finishing machine 10a of the present invention is
similar to the prior art vibratory mass finishing machine 10,
similar parts appearing in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are represented by the
same, corresponding reference number, except for the suffix "a" in
the numerals of the latter. The inventive vibratory mass finishing
machine 10a of the present invention allows the vertical shaft 56a
to spin at a speed of between 2000 to 2600 RPMs without
encountering any of the undesirable results when the vertical shaft
56 of the prior art vibratory mass finishing machine 10 was run at
such speeds. When the vertical shaft 56a of the vibratory mass
finishing machine 10a spins at 2000 to 2600 RPMs, the media 16a
circles about a center of mass 76a of the media 16a in a circular
motion, the media 16a does not move erratically, the "roll" of the
media 16a and parts is uniform and totally acceptable throughout,
with no dead spots and/or other variations in the movement of the
media 16a and parts. Such increased speed of the vertical shaft 56a
results in faster finishing of the parts along with better
finishing of the parts.
[0017] As illustrated in FIG. 2, three changes to the prior art
vibratory mass finishing machine 10 allow the inventive vibratory
mass finishing machine 10a to perform better. First, the horsepower
of the motor 66a is increased. The increased horsepower allows the
rotating output shaft 68a of the motor 66a to spin faster, thereby
increasing the speed of the vertical shaft 56a of the vibratory
mass finishing machine 10a. Second, the position of the top
eccentric weight 58a was moved to a position below a line 100
between the center of mass 76a of the media 16a. Third, the top
eccentric weight 58a was moved closer to the bottom eccentric
weight 60a.
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates two measurements that are involved in the
inventive vibratory mass finishing machine 10a. The first
measurement is a first distance 150 defined between a point 152 on
the circle 78a of the media 16a where the media 16a no longer
contacts an inner surface 102 of the liner 46a of the finishing
bowl 30a during rotation of a top portion of the media 16a towards
the center of the machine and a point 154 where a horizontal line
155 drawn from a center of mass 172 of the bottom eccentric weight
60a meets the vertical spinning axis 57a of the vertical shaft 56a.
The second measurement is a second distance 156 between a point 158
where a horizontal line 159 drawn from a center of mass 170 of the
top eccentric weight 58a meets the vertical spinning axis 57a of
the vertical shaft 56a and the point 154 where the horizontal line
155 drawn from the center of mass 172 of the bottom eccentric
weight 60a meets the vertical spinning axis 57a of the vertical
shaft 56a. In the vibratory mass finishing machine 10a of the
present invention, a ratio of the first distance 150 to the second
distance 156 is between 1.8:1 and 2.3:1, with a preferred ratio of
2:1. With such a ratio, the efficiency of the inventive vibratory
mass finishing machine 10a as described above is met. In the prior
art, the ratio of the first distance 150 to the second distance 156
was less than 1.7:1 (see FIG. 1).
Finishing Machines
[0019] The present invention is a vibratory finishing machine 10,
such as those used for grinding, deburring, descaling,
edge-breaking, polishing, bright-honing, burnishing, and any other
surface finishing of parts or workpieces, which may, and generally
do, be comprised of wood, metal, ceramic, glass, or the like. Such
vibratory finishing machines 10 include a finishing bowl 30 having
a liner 46 as an elastomer and such elastomer usually has a Shore A
Hardness of at least 50, usually 50 to 100, and preferably about 65
to about 90. Further details and characteristics of such
elastomeric linings are well known in the art, and reference is
made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,900, representatively illustrating a
vibratory finishing machine embodying a finishing chamber with an
elastomeric lining, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,161,993; 3,981,693;
3,990,188; 4,012,869; 4,022,012; 4,172,339; 4,177,608; 4,307,544;
4,329,817, and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27 084, as well as U.S. Pat. No.
4,480,411, for various other types of finishing machines.
Finishing Media
[0020] By the term "media" as used herein, or its equivalent terms
"finishing media," "finishing material" or "finishing medium", it
is intended to include loose, comminuted, granular, or particulate,
and in any event solid finishing materials of the type presently
employed in the trade and others of a similar nature. Although
liquid finishing materials or "compound" may also be used in
conjunction with solid finishing materials, these are considered to
be ancillary, since most finishing processes employ some solid
finishing medium. Moreover, the terms first set forth in this
paragraph are used generally and herein to designate such solid
materials which are used to impart all types of finishes, including
those finishes acquired with abrading materials as well as
polishing materials and the like, "polishing", "burnishing", and so
on being terms considered in their usual sense as species of
"finishing". Such suitable finishing media include, inter alia,
porcelain, ceramic, aluminum, steel, zinc, stainless steel, and
grainite chips, and the like, all as well-known in the art, and in
various sizes and configurations, also as well-known in the art,
such configurations representatively being cones, bars, cylinders,
squares, stars, triangles, wedges, balls, spheres and the like.
Operation
[0021] In operation, finishing machines 10a assembled in accord
with FIG. 1 exhibited greatly increased structural stability, with
the result that the same mass of finishing media and parts to be
finished could be employed in a finishing machine embodying the
present invention for an entirely satisfactory finishing operation
with a time cycle required for a particular desired finishing
effect to be shortened. Additionally, the "roll" of finishing media
and parts was uniform and totally acceptable throughout, and no
dead spots or other variations in the movement of the mass of
finishing media and parts was discernible during a test period of
many hours of finishing operations carried out in vibratory
finishing machines 10a according to the present invention.
* * * * *