EP1133594A1

EP1133594A1 - Bar assembly

Info

Publication number: EP1133594A1
Application number: EP99972703A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Reinhard HÖFER
Original assignee: Saxonia Umformtechnik GmbH
Current assignee: Saxonia Umformtechnik GmbH
Priority date: 1998-11-24
Filing date: 1999-11-24
Publication date: 2001-09-19
Anticipated expiration: 2019-11-24
Also published as: US6632317B1; DE19854191A1; ATE288511T1; EP1133594B1; WO2000031329A1; DE59911565D1; DE19854191B4; ES2237214T3

Abstract

The invention concerns a set comprising a plurality of mutually juxtaposed, generally flat, plate-shaped components which are fixedly connected together, and a process for the production thereof. Production is simple and inexpensive to implement and that means also that the entire set can be produced inexpensively and sufficiently accurately in terms of fit. A process according to the invention for connecting together in the longitudinal direction to form a set a plurality of components disposed at a spacing in mutually juxtaposed relationship, in particular needles, whose main planes are disposed transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction, is distinguished in that the individual components are positioned at the correct spacing relative to each other, and at least one bar is inserted in the longitudinal direction into at least one aligned orifice in the components, in particular needles, wherein the outside diameter of the bar is only slightly smaller than the orifice, and the set is glued in the region where the bar passes through the components.</PTEXT>

Description

Rod connection

I. Field of application

The invention relates to a package of several, mostly flat, plate-shaped components lying side by side, which are firmly connected to one another, and a method for its production.

In industrial applications, many side-by-side, often very thin, plate-shaped components often have to be handled with one another, e.g. B. in the bed of a knitting machine or in knitting elements. For this purpose, a large number of such components are connected to one another in a package, as a result of which handling, in particular replacement, is made considerably easier. This is particularly important if the components are wearing parts and, accordingly, they have to be replaced relatively frequently. A manufacture from the full material, e.g. B. by milling, especially with thin components is often no longer possible or not economical.

Various possibilities have hitherto been known for connecting these components, which usually consist of metal, in particular a carbon-containing hardenable steel, to one another.

Welding is rather uncommon since the necessary welding temperature can cause the components to warp, and especially during welding the relative position of the components can change very easily. Another possibility is to glue the components one after the other, but this is also a time-consuming method with a large number of components per package.

It is also known to connect the components to form a package in that the components - for. B. at their free ends - be poured into another material. If the load-bearing capacity is low, it can be poured into plastic, with higher load-bearing capacity into a low-melting metal alloy, for example a lead alloy, or into nickel silver.

A disadvantage is that the weight of the package is drastically increased by the potting material, especially when pouring into metal. The cast-in package is often ten times as heavy as the package without the casting material, especially when the components are very thin and small workpieces, such as the needles of a knitting machine.

The disadvantage is that the pouring must preferably take place at the free ends of the components, since pouring in the middle area is much more complex and, moreover, the shrinkage of the potting material must be taken into account dimensionally when cooling, which requires great experience. However, the free end areas of the components often serve as functional surfaces and must be freely accessible.

It is also known to thread the components onto dowel pins by providing holes which are aligned with one another in the components and through which the dowel pins are passed. The desired distance between the individual components can be achieved by inserting spacer sleeves.

Another disadvantage is that the required dowel pins have to be manufactured with very small dimensional tolerances and are correspondingly expensive. In addition, the placement of spacers between the needles when threading difficult and time consuming. In addition, there is the problem of the sum error in the spacer sleeves.

Furthermore, it is known to thread the components onto a fitting tube by providing mutually aligned bores in the components through which the fitting tube is passed. The components are fixed on the fitting tube by the subsequent expansion of the tube radially from the inside to the outside by means of an expanding mandrel or an expanding ball.

The disadvantage, however, is that the length of the tube is shortened overall by the widening of the tube, that is to say the initial length of the package does not correspond to its end length, and thus the distances between the components are also changed during the widening. Due to this sum error, only packages of limited length can be created.

Another disadvantage is that, for a sufficiently stable connection, on the one hand a certain minimum wall thickness and - because of a minimum inside diameter of the tube for the expansion element - a certain minimum outside diameter of the tube is required. Because of the mechanical load on the edge areas of the components to be threaded around the passage, a certain minimum width of the components in the area of the passages cannot be exceeded.

a) Technical task

It is therefore the object according to the present invention to create a package and a method for its production, the production being simple and inexpensive to carry out, and thus the entire package on the one hand being inexpensive and on the other hand being able to be produced with a precise fit. b) solving the problem

This object is solved by the features of claims 1 and 24. Advantageous embodiments result from the subclaims.

By inserting a rod into the aligned passages of the components and then gluing this rod to the package of components so that the individual components sit firmly on the rod, there are clear advantages over previous fastening methods:

The rod used for pushing through must be less precise than a dowel pin, since the play between the outer diameter of the rod in the initial state and the inner diameter of the passage of the components does not determine the later movement of the components within the package, as in the case of a dowel pin.

Rather, the individual components only have to be arranged in the correct relative position to one another when connecting, specifically in the desired end position to one another. On the one hand, pushing the rod in is easy, since there may be sufficient play, approximately one to five hundredths of a millimeter, between the outer diameter of the rod and the inner diameter of the passage. On the other hand, the connection with the components is only made by gluing to the rod, and thus even slight positional or dimensional deviations of the passages in the components are compensated for. This simplifies and reduces the cost of manufacturing the individual components. In addition, the rod itself only has to meet requirements with regard to the outside diameter that are clearly below the narrow tolerances of a dowel pin.

For example, the diameter of the rod will change relatively strongly with the size of the components and is at least 4 mm. A common diameter for components that have a height of approximately 10 to 20 mm is 3 mm. While the individual components mostly consist of a carbon-containing, i.e. hardenable, but uncured connection, such as C80 or C100, a chromium-nickel steel is usually used for the rod.

Because no significant mechanical forces are transferred to their clamp components when the rods are inserted into the aligned passages or when the package is glued, the individual components in the area of the passages do not have to be supported, but the position and positioning of the individual components in relation to one another Functional area is sufficient. This offers the advantage that even those components that adhere to the required dimensional tolerances in the functional area, such as straightness, etc., but not in the area of the passages, can nevertheless be used, since a curvature, etc., which is only present in the area of the passages , there z. B. expresses at different distances between the components, but does not affect the correct positioning of the functional parts of the components to each other.

Another advantage is that the type of connection to a packet according to the invention does not result in a sum error, and thus almost unlimited packet lengths can be achieved. Due to the defined length and axial positioning with respect to the needles when gluing, the previous subsequent processing at the front ends can be avoided.

A third advantage is that rods with a very small outer diameter can be used, namely with such outer diameters that are sufficient only for the required bending stiffness of these rods, since no inner cavity is required for pushing through an expanding element.

Since no mechanical forces act on the components in the area of the passages, the remaining width between the edge of the component and the passage in the component can be selected to be very small and, overall, a small width of the component can be achieved.

Since, as a rule, the distances between the individual components of the package must be very small, that is between 0.3 and 3 mm, it is important to use an application method for the adhesive which ensures the wetting of the annular contact point or joint between the outer circumference of the Rod and the outer surfaces of the components ensures. This ring-shaped contact point is preferably not only wetted over its entire circumference, but also the outer circumference of the rod is wetted over the entire length of the distance between the two components, and in particular the entire distance between the two adjacent components should be glued around the rods be filled in order to achieve a connection that is as durable as possible, and of course with all the existing rods in a package. To achieve a component that is as flat as possible, these will generally be two rods spaced apart in the longitudinal extent of the component.

For this purpose, the adhesive must either be very thin when it is applied, or it must be applied to the adhesive point with appropriate pressure. Furthermore, a high surface tension of the adhesive is positive in order to ensure that as large an area as possible on both sides of the contact point is contacted by the adhesive due to the surface tension. In particular, the use of such glue is advantageous, which can be thick or at about 20 ° C and then paste applied when heated to about 150 ° C to 200 ^C C are very fluid and at the same time very fast cure.

To further promote the adhesive effect, it is also positive if the adhesive can penetrate into the passage of the components between the component and the rod. This is possible above all if there are corresponding cavities between the outside diameter of the rod and the inside diameter of the passage in the component, for example by the size and / or the contour of the cross section of the rod do not match that of the passage and are accordingly smaller.

This can be brought about in a targeted manner, for example by the grooves on the outer circumference of the rod extending in the longitudinal direction of the rod, while the passage has a smooth contour, or conversely the inner circumference of the passage has radially outwardly directed depressions, while the outer diameter of the rod has a smooth contour, regardless of whether the basic contour is round, square, elliptical or the like, a round contour generally being preferred for manufacturing reasons.

Another possibility is to effect a non-positive or positive connection between the rod outer diameter and the inner diameter of the passage in addition to the gluing before gluing. This is possible, for example, in that the passages aligned with one another have a pear-shaped contour, and the rod is pushed into the wide end of this contour and then shifted in the direction of the narrow end, in order then to become jammed in it due to the wedge effect which arises. In the case of two passages and rods, this shifting can take place with the corresponding orientation of the passages.

c) working examples

An embodiment according to the invention is described in more detail below using the figures as an example. Show it:

1: a perspective view of a completed package,

2: the positioned needles before the package is created, Figures 3: detailed views of the package before gluing, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the bars, and

Fig. 4: a detailed view of the completed package from above, that is, on the

Main level of the package.

The figures show an embodiment in which the components are the needles 1a, 1b, 1c of a textile processing machine, for example a knitting machine.

1 shows the finished package 13, consisting of a plurality of needles 1a, 1b, 1c, ... which are spaced apart from one another, the planes of which are parallel to one another and which are aligned with one another. The elongated needles 1a, 1b, 1c have at the free end of one half, the functional area 19, the recess required for the later function, and in the other half, the connecting area 23, two passages 6 arranged in the longitudinal course of the needle 1, where a rod 3 is inserted over all needles 1 through each of the passages and glued to all needles 1. This can best be seen in the detailed view of FIG. 4.

This detailed illustration shows how the adhesive extends in an arc shape from the outer surface 21 of one needle over the outer surface of the rod 3 to the outer surface 21 of the opposite needle with a U-shaped outer contour, which results in a mechanically very stable connection of the individual needles on the rods . Only when the surface tension of the adhesive is very low compared to the distance 20 of the needles does the adhesive of one annular contact point not reach the adhesive of the other annular contact point, as shown in the right half of FIG. 4.

Depending on the distance between the two rods, the adhesive 9 can additionally cover the entire space, as shown in the lower of the two distances 20 fill between the bars 3, which also helps to stabilize the adhesive bond.

As shown on the left rod 3, the adhesive 9 should preferably also penetrate into the passage 6 of the respective component from the outer surfaces 21 between the rod 3 and the needle 1, preferably so far that the entire space between the rod 3 and the passage 6 is filled with glue 9, and thus ideally there is a one-piece, continuous block of hardened glue 9 per finished package 13. Since the penetration into the passages 6 depends on the capillary action of the adhesive, that is to say its viscosity in comparison with the size of the free space still present in the passage, adhesives with a high viscosity are preferred.

The adhesive is preferably applied with the package 13 lying horizontally from above in the application direction 24, so that the adhesive flows downward around the rods 3 due to the force of gravity.

Either the excess glue can drip downwards, or the curing speed of the glue is adjusted so that the glue sinks to the lowest point on the circumference of the rods 3 or to the lower edge 7 of the needles 1, but then already solidifies is that there is no further sinking and draining.

This can be achieved, for example, by applying the adhesive in the heated state, and by the colder metal of the individual parts cooling down considerably in the course of the flow and thus reducing its flowability.

A further possibility is to have the slower curing adhesive rotate the entire package about a rotation axis 25 for a defined period of time after the adhesive has been applied from above, that is to say in the application direction 24, as is shown, for example, in FIGS parallel to the directions of the rods 3 and in the package plane, in one such a direction that the direction of movement of the rods at the beginning of the rotation compensates for the movement of the adhesive caused by gravity, that is to say in FIGS. 1 and 2 the rods 3 initially move downwards.

Since it is essential for the function of the finished and glued package that the needles 1 in their functional area 19, in particular on their eyelets, assume the correct position, that is, above all the correct distance from one another, the individual needles are shown in FIG already glue, and in particular already fixed in a holding device 16 before the rods 3 are inserted. This has upwardly open, parallel grooves 17, the width of which corresponds to the thickness of the needles to be inserted, and a longitudinal stop 10, against which the individual needles are to rest, and which thereby correctly positions the needles in relation to one another in their longitudinal extent. The needles are held in height by resting on the base of the groove 17, against which they are attached, for example, by means of a hold-down device 22 which is attached from the open side of the groove, ie from above in FIG. 2b. The side view of FIG. 2b also shows that the entire connecting area 23, in which the passages 6 for the rods 3 are located, lies outside the holding device from the holding device. Depending on the design of the functional area 19 - z. B. in the illustrated thickened head of the needles 1 in Figures 2a, 2b - the head protrude in a corresponding free space of the holding device under the needles, so that an application of the needles on the bottom of the grooves 17 only in the area between the eyelet of the functional area and the passages of the connection area is given.

As can be seen from the top view of the needles 1a, 1b, 1c,... Of FIG. 2a received in the holding device 16, the rods 3 are then preferably pushed from the same side or from the opposite side through the passages 6 aligned with one another, and fixed in the end position by a holding device, not shown, before applying the adhesive. FIGS. 3a and 3b show enlarged detailed representations in the same direction of view as FIG. 2b, but with rods 3 already inserted and not yet glued. FIG. 3a shows that very small widths 8 between the edges 7 and the passages 6 of the Needles 1 are possible due to the lack of mechanical stress in connection with the rods, namely widths down to less than 1 mm, even to less than 0.5 mm.

As can be seen in the left passage 6 of FIG. 3a, both the passage 6 and the rod 3 have a round cross section, but the diameter 4 of the rod 3 is smaller. This creates a gap between the two into which the adhesive can penetrate from the outer surfaces of the needle 1. The gap is usually eccentric unless the rod 3 can be positioned exactly in the center of the passage 6, which is usually not possible:

Because when manufacturing the individual needles 1, which are very thin and fine, not all needles are 100% flat and 100% straight. However, since the alignment of the needles is necessary above all in the functional area 19, and is also achieved there by the holding device 16, slightly curved needles can result in the individual, corresponding passages 6 of the package not being 100% aligned with one another , and therefore the diameter of the passages by up to 10%, up to 5% maximum, must be chosen larger than that of the rods 3 in order to be able to push the rod 3 into the needles of a package that are correctly positioned in the functional area 19.

The right-hand illustration of the rod in FIG. 3a shows possibilities for creating cavities for the penetration of the adhesive between the inner periphery of the aperture and the outer periphery of the rod, even when the rod 3 and passages 6 are in good alignment and practically without play. For this purpose - in the left half of the rod 3 '- depressions 14, which are directed radially outwards from the passage 6 and penetrate the needle 1 in their entire thickness, are arranged, but not in the area of the narrow remaining area between the edge 7 and the passage 6, that is, the remaining width 8, so as not to weaken them additionally.

The rod 3 ', however, has a smooth outer contour. Both contours have a round shape. Deviating from the round basic shape is also the solution shown in the right half of the rod 3 ". If, on the other hand, the inner contour of the passage 6 is a smooth inner contour, the outwardly directed lateral surface of the rod 3" has grooves 15 which are continuous in the longitudinal direction.

3b shows a solution for connecting rods 3 and needles 1 in a force-locking manner to one another in addition to the adhesive before the adhesive is applied. This takes place in that the passages 6 have a conically tapering, pear-shaped shape, into which the rod 3, which preferably has a round contour, can only be inserted into the thick end of the pear-shaped passage 6 '.

Subsequently, the rod 3 inserted through all the needles can be displaced transversely to its longitudinal direction 10 in the direction of the thinner end of the passage 6 ', jamming in the passage 6'. Preferably, the two identical passages 6 'with the thin ends facing each other will be arranged in the needles 1, so that the displacement of the rods 3 in the passages can occur against each other and simultaneously. In this case, since mechanical forces act on the edge 8 of the needles 1, this is only possible with needles that can be made so wide that a sufficiently wide edge 8 remains. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1a, 1b, 1c needles

3 stick

4 outer diameters

6 passage

7 edge

8 width

9 glue

10 longitudinal direction

11 transverse direction

13 package

L length package

LA output length rod

14 wells

15 channels

16 holding device

17 grooves

18 stop

19, 19 'functional area 0 distance 1 outer surface 2 hold-down device 3 connection area 4 application direction 5 axis of rotation

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. A method for connecting a plurality of spaced-apart components in the longitudinal direction (10) with one another, in particular needles (10), the main planes of which lie transversely to the longitudinal direction (10), to form a package (13), characterized in that a) the individual Components are positioned at the correct distance (20) from one another, b) at least one rod (3) is inserted in the longitudinal direction (10) in at least one aligned passage (6) of the components, in particular needles (1a, 1b, 1c), the outer diameter (4) of the rod (3) is only slightly smaller than the passage (6), and c) the package is glued in the area of the penetrations of the components by the rod (3).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the rod (3) made of metal, in particular chromium-nickel steel or carbon steel, in particular hardenable carbon steel.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer diameter (4) of the rod is from 0.5 mm.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the components, in particular needles, have a plurality of passages (2a, 2b, 2c).

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that in the case of more than two passages (2a, 2b, 2c, ...) the passages are not in one plane.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the passage (6) of the component is larger, in particular at least a few hundredths of a mm larger, than the outer diameter (4) of the rod (3).

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance (20) between the individual components is between 0.1 and 5, in particular between 0.4 and 3 mm, and the adhesive (9) is fluid, in particular with a viscosity of at most 370 dPas, in particular at most 340 dPas, in particular at most 300 dPas.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the low-viscosity adhesive is applied in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction (10) and transverse to the transverse direction (11) on the package and in particular from the top to the bottom of the package by gravity around The outer surface of the rod runs around.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive is applied in the region of the distance (10) between the components on the outer surface (21) of the rod over its entire length of the distance (20) as well as on the two adjacent Areas of the outer surfaces (21) of the two adjacent components.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive (9) in the passage (6) of the components between the rod (3) and the component is introduced.

11. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive is applied in such an amount and in particular has such a high surface tension that the distance (20) between the individual components around the entire circumference of your rod (3) around to the edges (7) of the components with adhesive (9) is filled.

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that after at least partial curing of the adhesive (9) of the projecting over the edges (7) of the components is removed.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a fast-curing adhesive, in particular within a maximum of 240 seconds, in particular a maximum of 180 seconds, in particular a maximum of 100 seconds, is used as the adhesive and the package after the application of the adhesive, in particular by a defined period of time after the application of the adhesive, at such a speed about an axis of rotation until the adhesive has hardened, which is transverse to the direction of application of the adhesive.

14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a two-component adhesive is used as the adhesive.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the hardener is a solvent-free hardener based on polyaminoamide and the binder is a solvent-free binder based on an epoxy resin.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the adhesive is applied at room temperature above the adhesive points and then heated to at least 100 ° C, preferably 150 ° C to 200 ° C and is initially very thin by the heating and to the Adhesive point drops, but also stares at the same time.

17. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive is cured warm, in particular at at least 150 ° C, but the application takes place in particular at room temperature (20 ° C).

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that the adhesive is a lacquer.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that the adhesive is applied by immersion.

20. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the components are positioned before gluing to each other by receiving in a holding device (16), which in particular only positions the functional area (19) of the components to each other and wherein the passages (6) for Bars (3) are arranged outside the functional area (19).

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that the rods are positioned in the radial direction when gluing, so that the lateral processing is omitted.

22. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding device (16) in the transverse direction (11) has grooves (17) and in the longitudinal direction (10) and transverse to the transverse direction (11) extending stop (16) for the free end of the functional area (19) of the components, and in particular the components in the grooves (17) are held by a hold-down device (22) during gluing.

23. Package of a plurality of spaced-apart, firmly connected components, in particular needles (1a, 1b, 1c), the main planes of which are arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction (10), in particular produced by the method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized that the components lying next to one another are penetrated by at least one common rod (3) which runs in the direction (10) on which the components lying next to one another are firmly seated, and in the region of the distance (20) between the passages (6) of the individual components, both the outer diameter of the rod and the adjacent areas of the outer surfaces (21) of the two adjacent components are wetted with adhesive.

24. Package according to claim 23, characterized in that the adhesive has penetrated in the passage of the components between the rod and the component.

25. Package according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized in that the outer contour of the rod (3) and / or the passage (6) of the components is round.

26. Package according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer contour of the rod (3) in the longitudinal direction (10) has grooves (15).

27. Package according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized in that the contour of the passage (6) of the components has radially outwardly facing depressions (14).

28. Package according to claim 27, characterized in that the depressions (14) are only present in the regions of the circumference of the passage (6) which are remote from the edges (7) of the components.

29. Package according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized in that the passage (6) has a conically tapering contour in the transverse direction (11), which has the same orientation in all components of the package (13) and the stand (3) one Has outer diameter (4) which fits into the wider end of the passage (6).

30. Use of several packages adjoining one another in the longitudinal direction according to one of claims 23 to 29 as a bed in a knitting machine, in particular as a flat bed in a flat bed knitting machine, in particular as a segmented bed.