US3514906A

US3514906A - Cut-off machine

Info

Publication number: US3514906A
Application number: US685621A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles T Everett
Original assignee: Everett Industries Inc
Current assignee: Everett Industries Inc
Priority date: 1967-11-24
Filing date: 1967-11-24
Publication date: 1970-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 1987-06-02

Description

June 2, 1970 CUT-OFF MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 24. 1967 A T TORNzE r5 T i .T mm M T M Z mm H C NNN m w m June 2, 1970 c. "r. EVERETT 3,514,906

CUT-OFF MACHINE Filed Nov. 24. 19s? :2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l ne. 2.

INVENTOR. CHARLES T EVERETT j/dim M/ Qw A TTORNE Y6 United States Patent M vs. C1. 51-99 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An abrasive cut-off machine for disposition in an enclosed space and having a hollow, substantially totally enclosed base on which a rotatably mounted, abrasive cut-off Wheel is transversely movable toward and away from stock to be severed. The base has an opening ad jacent the cut-off wheel for receiving waste products of the cutting operation and a high volume air moving device has its inlet communicating with the interior of the base and its outlet communicating with the exterior of the enclosed space in which the machine is disposed. The air moving device creates below atmospheric pressure within the base for drawing the Waste products of the cutting operation into the base through the base opening and such device discharges smoke and fumes to the exterior of the space in which the machine is disposed while solid particles are trapped within the base for removal at appropriate intervals.

PREAMBLE The time honored device for severing a metal rod or tube to a desired length has been a metal saw. Such a device, however, even when power operated, is slow. Moreover, some of the harder metal alloys cannot be cut with a saw. For high speed, accurate cutting, a device which employs a rapidly rotating abrasive disk has been found quite satisfactory in many respects since such a device will satisfactorily cut virtually all materials, even many nonmetallic materials, leaving a smooth, virtually machined surface.

A device using an abrasive cutting disk, however, creates considerable solid debris along with smoke and odors, especially when non-metallic materials are being cut. In an attempt to control the undesirable products of abrasive disk cutting, abrasive disk machines have flooded the cutting operation with water. While this expedient controls the solid debris, it has little effect on smoke and odors which are still discharged into the space in which the machine is located. Additionally, a wet cutting process is notoriously sloppy since it is virtually impossible to prevent splashing of the water and thus the area about the machine becomes wet. The wet area can, of course, constitute a hazard from electrical shock or loss of footing. Finally, since the splashed water contains the solid debris in suspension, such debris is scattered about the machine and can create a health hazard when the water dries and the fine particles are free to escape into the atmosphere.

In contrast, the present invention provides for dry,- abrasive disk cutting with none of the disadvantages of prior art dry or wet devices. These advantages Will readily become apparent from a study of the following description and from the drawings appended hereto.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part of this application there is shown, for purpose of illustration, an embodiment which the invention may assume, and in these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of apparatus embodying the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view similar to FIG. 1 but of the 3,514,906 Patented June 2, 1970 opposite side of the apparatus, parts on the near side being removed to show the underlying structure and certain operating parts being shown in another position from that of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view generally corresponding to the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference to the drawings, the apparatus illustrating the invention comprises a hollow base 10 having respective upper and lower walls 11 and 12, respective front and

rear walls

13 and 14, and respective side walls 15 and 16. Mounted on the base top wall 11 adjacent the rear wall 14 and the side wall 16 are a pair of spaced apart, upstanding pivot stands 17 which pivotally support an arm 18 therebetween. Arm 18 has a rear portion 18.1 on which an electric motor 19 is mounted and a front portion 18.2 whose free end terminates in a rotatable shaft 20. Mounted on shaft 20 on the near side of arm 18, as viewed in FIG. 2, is an abrasive cut-olf wheel 21. On the far side of arm 18, shaft 20* carries a pulley which is connected with the motor 19 by a suitable drive belt 22 enclosed in a protective guard 23. Carried by arm 18 and partially enclosing cut-off wheel 21 is a semi-circular guard or housing 24 whose lower portion is open to expose the wheel. With the construction thus far disclosed, it will be understood that the arm 18 is tiltable about the pivot provided by the stands 17 to swing the cut-off wheel 21 toward and away from the base top 11.

Mounted on the top 11 of the base 10' beneath the cutoff wheel 21 is a V-shaped anvil 25 for supporting a workpiece W to be cut. Anvil 25 is provided with a slot 25.1 for receiving the wheel when the latter is lowered to cutting position. Although not shown, a suitable clamp may be provided to securely hold the workpiece in position on the anvil and a handle 26 is attached to the arm 18 so that an operator may lower the wheel to cutting position.

Formed in the top wall 11 of the base 10 intermediate the anvil 25 and the rear wall 14 of the base is an elongated opening 27 which is aligned with the rotational axis of the cut-off wheel 21. Disposed about the opening 27 is an upstanding housing 28 having a rear wall 28.1 and opposed side walls 28.2, 28.3 being proportioned to telescopically receive the wheel housing therebetween. Housing 28 is also open adjacent the anvil 25 and the adjoining housing side walls 28.2, 28.3 are turned outwardly for a purpose to appear.

In addition to the opening 27 in the base top 11, an opening 29 is formed in the front wall 13 of the base adjacent the anvil 25 and in alignment with the rotational axis of the cut-off wheel 21. Disposed about the opening 29 is an upstanding housing 30 having an inclined lower wall 30.1, a front wall 30.2, and opposed side walls 30.3, 30.4. Similar to housing 28, housing 30 is open at the top to receive the wheel housing 24 and the spacing between the housing side walls 30.3, 30.4 is such that the wheel housing is telescopically received therebetween.

Attached to the base side wall 15 is a blower assembly 31 having an inlet 32 aligned with a circular aper;

ture 33 in the wall 15 and an outlet 31.1 adapted to communicate exteriorly of the space in which the apparatus is located. Normally, with the apparatus disposed within a building, outlet 31.1 will communicate with the exterior of such building. It is to be noted that the base aperture 33 is spaced away from the base openings 2,7, 29 and well above the base lower wall 12 for a purpose to appear. Preferably, the upper part of the base interior will be divided from side-to-side by a depending bafile plate 34. The lower margin of such plate, however, is spaced well above the base lower wal for reasons to appear.

A blower assembly having a rated moving capacity of no less than about 800 cubic feet per minute has been found to operate satisfactorily and when such blower assembly is operating, air will be evacuated from the interior of the base and discharged to the exterior via the blower outlet 31.1. Air under normal atmospheric pressure will, of course, enter the base via the

openings

27, 29 and, because of the relatively small area of these openings, such entering air will be traveling at quite high velocity. Upon entry of such air into the relatively large hollow base, the velocity of the air will decrease, it will pass under the bafile plate 34, and be discharged to the outside through the blower outlet.

Assuming operation of the blower assembly to evacuate the base as above described, assuming a workpiece has been clamped to the anvil 25 with the arm 18 titled to elevate the cut-oil wheel from workpiece engagement as shown in FIG. 1, and further assuming rotation of the cut-off wheel in a clockwise direction in the position of parts seen in FIG. 1 (counterclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2), the cutting operation will proceed as follows:

By means of the handle 26, the operator will tilt the arm 18 to lower the cut-oil wheel to engagement with the underlying workpiece as viewed in FIG. 2 and will progressively lower the wheel until the workpiece has been severed. During the cutting operation, a considerable amount of debris is generated. The debris may consist of solid particles cut from the workpiece, solid abrasive particles torn from the cut-off wheel, and smoke and odors caused by deterioration of the bonding agent used in the construction of the cut-off wheel.

The larger and heavier portions of the debris aforesaid will travel generally tangentially of the wheel 21 from its place of engagement with the workpieces as shown by arrows 35 in FIG. 2. Much of such debris will travel directly through the opening 27, some will strike the wheel guard 24 and be deflected through the opening, while some will impinge upon the rear wall 28.1 of the base housing 28 and thereafter gravitate into the base through the opening 27. In any event, the high velocity air flow through the opening 27 will insure that substantially all of the debris moving in the general direction of the arrows 35 will be drawn through such opening.

While the larger and heavier debris portions will move along the path 35 as above disclosed, the smaller and lighter debris potrions will tend to travel in a counter-clockwise direction within the housing 24 with the rotating wheel 21. Such debris portions will, however escape from the wheel housing as shown by the arrows 36 and be diverted by the base housing 30 through the opening 29. Here again, the high velocity air moving through such opening will insure that virtually all debris portions moving along the path 36 will be drawn through the opening 29.

It is to be noted that since the wheel housing 24 is a relatively close fit between the side walls of the

base housings

28, 30, a considerable quantity of air will be drawn into the

openings

27, 29 through the space between the base top wall 11 and the intermediate, lower portion of the wheel housing 24. This large air movement will, of course, tend to prevent escape of debris in a direction axially of the workpiece being severed.

As the air moves through the

base openings

27, 29 into the relatively large space within the base 10, the velocity of the air will decrease whereupon the larger and heavier debris particles will drop to the floor of the base. The air within the base, now devoid of such large debris particles, will pass beneath the bafile plate 34 and be discharged to the exterior via the blower outlet 31.1 carrying with it all smoke, odors, and some of the vary fine debris particles. As will be evident, the bafile plate insures that air entering the base through the

base openings

27, 29 will not pass directly to the blower inlet 32 which could result in a reduction in the amount of debris which falls out of the air stream and is collected in the bottom of the base.

At suitable intervals, the base may be emptied of its collected debris by first removing an access panel, not shown, in the lower portion of one of the base upstanding walls. With such panel removed, the collected debris may be removed by a shovel or the like for disposition in any convenient manner.

While the use of a baffle plate 34 has herein been disclosed, it is to be understood that such baffle may be omitted so long as the air inlet of the blower assembly is spaced from the place where the debris enters the base and most importantly, is offset from the plane of rotation of the cut-off wheel so that high speed debris travel caused by the cutting operation does not carry such debris directly to the blower assembly inlet.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiment is illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. An abrasive cut-off machine for disposition in an enclosed space and providing a rotatably mounted cutoff wheel transversely movable toward and away from cutting relation with stock to be severed, the improvement comprising an anvil for supporting the stock to be severed and positioned in the path of wheel transverse movement,

means providing a pair of inlet openings on opposite sides of said anvil and in the plane of said cut-off wheel,

a housing enclosing said cut-01f wheel for confining the waste products produced by the cutting operation and said housing being open adjacent said anvil for communication with said openings,

and a high volume air moving device having its inlet communicating with said pair of inlet openings and its outlet communicating with the exterior of said enclosed space, said air moving device creating below atmospheric pressure at said inlet openings for drawing waste products of the cutting operation such as smoke, fumes and particles through said openings and for discharging at least some of said waste products to the exterior of said space.

2. The construction of claim 1 wherein at least one of said inlet openings is elongated in the plane of wheel rotation.

3. The construction of claim 1 wherein said cut-off wheel is mounted on a hollow, substantially totally enclosed base,

wherein said inlet openings are formed in said base,

and wherein the inlet of said air moving device communicates with the interior of said base.

4. The construction of claim 3 wherein one of said inlet openings is at least partially outlined by a base housing which is open adjacent said cut-off wheel,

and wherein said base housing is proportioned to receive said wheel housing in telescoping relation.

5. The construction of claim 3 wherein siad anvil is at the top of said base and adjacent one side thereof,

and wherein one of said inlet openings is formed in the top of said base and the other is formed in said base one side.

6. The construction of claim 5 wherein said other in- 5 let opening is at least partially outlined by a base housing which is open adjacent said cut-off wheel,

and wherein such base housing is proportioned to receive said wheel housing in telescoping relation. 7. The construction of claim 5 wherein both of said inlet openings are at least partially outlined by respective 5 base housings which are open adjacent said cut-01f wheel, and wherein said base housings are proportioned to receive said wheel housings in telescoping relation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 776,156 11/1904 Venderbush 51273 2,384,414 9/1945 Antrirn 51273 X 6 2,565,510 8/1951 Martin 51273 2,683,958 7/ 1954 Schneible 51273 2,763,972 9/ 1956 White 51-273 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,133,999 7/ 1962 Germany.

LESTER M. SWINGLE, Primary Examiner 0 D. G. KELLY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.