US3715840A - Apparatus and method for finishing workpieces - Google Patents

Apparatus and method for finishing workpieces Download PDF

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Publication number
US3715840A
US3715840A US00103266A US3715840DA US3715840A US 3715840 A US3715840 A US 3715840A US 00103266 A US00103266 A US 00103266A US 3715840D A US3715840D A US 3715840DA US 3715840 A US3715840 A US 3715840A
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Prior art keywords
belt
downwardly
chamber
workpieces
upwardly
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Expired - Lifetime
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US00103266A
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English (en)
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R Davidson
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Grav I Flo Corp
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Grav I Flo Corp
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
    • B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
    • B24B31/00—Machines or devices designed for polishing or abrading surfaces on work by means of tumbling apparatus or other apparatus in which the work and/or the abrasive material is loose; Accessories therefor
    • B24B31/05—Machines or devices designed for polishing or abrading surfaces on work by means of tumbling apparatus or other apparatus in which the work and/or the abrasive material is loose; Accessories therefor involving a container formed as a conveyor belt

Definitions

  • a tumbling machine having an endless belt arranged so that the top run of the belt defines with a pair of side walls a V-shaped tumbling chamber in which the mixture of abrasive media and the workpieces are loaded so that at one side of the chamber the workpieces are caused to travel upwardly to a high point, then flow down towards the opposite side of the chamber where they are again conveyed by the belt around the apex of the V.
  • the object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus and method for obtaining a high quality finish on workpieces in a minimum amount of time.
  • the invention contemplates the finishing of workpieces by tumbling them with an abrasive or polishing media in a chamber having fixed side walls and a V-shaped bottom wall formed by the top run of an endless belt driven in one direction such that the mass of workpieces and finishing media are caused to travel in said chamber in a manner which promotes a high metal removal rate with a minimum of impingement and a maximum of rubbing or burnishing action.
  • the machine of the present invention is further characterized by the provision of simple and expedient means for discharging the workpieces and the finishing media from the machine by merely reversing the direction of belt travel and drawing the top run of the belt taut.
  • FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a finishing machine according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a top view thereof.
  • FIG. 3 shows the machine as viewed from the discharge end thereof.
  • FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the machine.
  • FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the mass of media and workpieces are caused to travel in the machine of the present invention.
  • FIG; 6 is a fragmentary perspective view within the chamber of themachine showing the endless belt and the mass of finishing mediaand workpieces.
  • the base 10 of the machine comprises, a U-shaped stanchion having a pair of laterally spaced upright supports 12 (FIG. 3) on whichthe. spaced apart side walls 14 of the machine housing are mounted. As shown in FIG. 1, each side wall 14 has a downwardly sloping upper edge 16 and two generally converging side edges 18', 20.
  • the machine housing includes a bottom wall 22 extending between the lower portions of side walls 14 and forming a drain trough at the lower end of the machine which slopes downwardly into a sump 24.
  • Two drive pulleys 26,28 are journalled between side walls 14 at opposite ends of themachine and adjacent the upper edges of the side walls.
  • An endless belt 30 is trained around pulleys 26,28 and around a pair of idler pulleys 32.
  • a belt tightener in the form of pivotally supported arm 34 carrying a roller 36 at its free end is also provided. The belt tightener is adapted to'be actuated by a hydraulic cylinder 38 between the two positions shown in FIG. 1.
  • a wear plate 42 On the inner surface of one side wall 14 there is fixedly secured a wear plate 42.
  • a second wear plate 44 is mounted on the other side wall 14 for adjustment toward and away from wear plate 42 so that the two wear plates are engaged by the opposite side edges of endless belt 30 and wear plate 44 can be adjusted laterally to compensate for wear in the width dimension of belt 30.
  • a generally V-shaped belt guide 46 which is narrower than belt 30 is secured to the two side walls 14 and extends between the two wear plates 42,44.
  • the two legs of the V-shap'ed belt guide are designated 48, 50 and the rounded apex of the V is designated 52.
  • the upper edges of the wear plates 42,44 are designed 51 and in FIG. 4 the opposite side edges of the wear plates are designated 53,55.
  • leg 48 of guide plate 46 extends along a line generally tangent to pulley 26 and leg 50 extends along a line generally tangent to pulley 28.
  • Leg 48 is more steeply inclined than leg 50.
  • leg 48 is inclined to the vertical at an angle of about 22
  • leg 50 is inclined to the vertical at an angle of about 4. As will be explained hereinafter, these angles can b varied within a limited range depending upon the speed at which the belt is driven.
  • Pulleys 26,28 are keyed to shafts each having a s rocket 56 on one end thereof.
  • the output shaft of a s eed reducer unit 58 has a pair of sprockets 60 keyed t ereto.
  • a pair of chains 62 are trained around both p ir of sprockets 60 and 56 so as to rotate the two pulle s 26,28 at the same speed and in the same direction.
  • B It 30 is driven by the frictional engagement of pulleys 26,28 with the belt.
  • Speed reducer unit 58 is preferably ad ustable so as to vary the speed of the belt as desired.
  • FIG. 5 ⁇ he diagrammatic showing in FIG. 5 illustrates the copfiguration of the top run 300 of belt 30 and the botto l run30b of the belt while the machine is in operation
  • the locations of drive pulleys 26,28 and idler pulley'sL32 are determined in relation to the length of belt 30 and the size of the load which the machine is designed to handle such that the upper run 30a of the belt assumes a configuration which generally parallels the shape of guide plate 46 and such that the upper run of the belt will be spaced slightly from guide plate 46 as indicated by the clearance space 64in FIG. 4.
  • FIG. 5 actually illustrates the dynamic, not the static, condition of the belt.
  • guide plate 46' is merely to prevent the top run 30a of the belt from swaying. Under ideal operating conditions guide plate 46 will be spaced throughout its extent from the underside of the top run 30a of the belt.
  • the workpieces being processed are illustrated as dished-shaped discs 66 and the polishing media or chips are in the form of cones 68 molded from a mixture of a binder, such as a synthetic resin or a ceramic, and abrasive.
  • a binder such as a synthetic resin or a ceramic
  • abrasive such as a ceramic
  • the use of such preformed synthetic chips, as distinguished from natural stone chips, is very desirable because natural stone chips tend to splinter whereas the synthetic chips merely wear down in size and are therefore not apt to become wedged between the edges of belt 30 and wear plates 42,44.
  • finishing operations it is desirable to have angled cleats 70 on the belt to assist in elevating the mass by means of the upwardly travelling portion of the top run of the belt.
  • Nozzle 72 is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is located above and slightly inwardly of the upper end of the portion of the belt run travelling upwardly.
  • the nozzle is utilized for.directing a spray of water or water containing a nonabrasive detergent over the mass of workpieces and abrasive media as it reaches the upper end of the upward travel.
  • nozzle 72 is connected by a conduit 74 with the outlet of a pump 76 having its inlet connected to sump 24 above the bottom thereof.
  • the water spray issuing from nozzle 72 cleans the parts and media and then drains into the sump through the drain holes 54 at the lower end of belt guide 50.
  • the spray nozzle 72 also clears the belt of abrasive chips and workpieces that might otherwise adhere to the belt and become discharged over pulley 26. i
  • the machine In operation the machine is charged with a loa I of workpieces to be finished and an abrasive media, S i-ICII as the preformed chips 68.
  • an abrasive media S i-ICII as the preformed chips 68.
  • pulleys 26,28 When pulleys 26,28 are driven in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. the mass assumes the configuration show in FIG. 5.
  • the moving mass be considered as divided into several areas or zones lhe most active zone, designated A, may be referred tip as the slide zone wherein the parts and media gra i ate from the vicinity of high point 78 to the vicinity of low point 80 adjacent the downwardly travelling portion of the belt.
  • the downward slope of the slide area 80 depends upon the shape and surface characteristics of the media and parts.
  • the slide area inclines downwardly at a fixed angle of between 25 to 35.
  • the second most active zone in the mass is designated B in FIG. 5 and comprises a layer of the mass adjacent the upper run of the belt. This portion of the mass is active not only because it is being positively driven by the belt, but also because the side walls of the chamber in which the mass is located, namely, wear plates 42,44, remain stationary while the belt is carrying the mass, thus causing additional friction between the layer of the material at each of the sides of the chamber and the material in the center of the mass.
  • the next most active zone is designated C in FIG. 5 and comprises the annular teardrop shape portion surrounding zones A and B. This activity, that is, the relative movement between the parts and the media, in this area is less than in areas A and B.
  • the center area D may be referred to as the dead cone since there is considerably less activity in this zone than in the other zones. However, the parts do not remain stagnant in area D. workpieces and media continually work into and out of this area from and into the other areas represented in FIG. 5.
  • area D is relatively small in comparison to the size of the mass. This may be explained by the fact that substantial activity occurs in areas B and C as a result of the drag effect on the parts and media by the stationary wear plates while the mass is being positively driven by the belt.
  • the slope of the upwardly travelling portion of the belt and the speed of the belt are controlled so that as the parts approach the high end of the slide zone A they gently flow around the high point A and gravitate smoothly down toward the low point 80. If the slope of the upwardly travelling portion of the belt is too steep the workpieces roll out of the mass media too freely in the vicinity of high point 78 and simply roll down the slide area A over the mass of abrasive media. This produces relatively little work on the workpieces and prolongs the duration of the finishing cycle. On the other hand, if the slope of the upward travelling portion of the belt is not great enough, the parts tend to churn and remain too long in the high point area 78 where the work being performed on the parts is substantially less than in the slide area A. An inclination of about 22 for this portion of the belt is preferred but inclinations between 17 to 27 are possible.
  • the slope of the downwardly travelling portion of the top run of the belt is determined such that the slope of the slide zone intersects the plane of the belt at an included angle of less than 90. This has been found to be desirable to avoid impingement and build-up of the parts and media around the low point of the slide zone A. lmpingement should be avoided as much as possible in order to obtain the best quality finish. In the machine of this invention impingement is also avoided by reason of the fact that the downwardly travelling portion of the belt is at a fixed angle (as distinguished from a changing angle as in the case of a straight sided tumbling barrel) and the belt speed can be controlled so that the workpieces flow or fold smoothly into the portion of the mass being driven downwardly by the belt. While an inclination of about 44 to the vertical is preferred, inclinations of between about 40 to 50 are possible.
  • Slide zone A in a machine of the present invention is substantially greater than the slide area of a tumbling barrel designed to accommodate the same size load and at the same time the size of the inactive area D in the machine of the present invention is substantially smaller than the size of the tumbling barrel designed to accommodate the same load. It follows, of course, that the slide area of a given tumbling barrel can be increased by increasing the diameter of the barrel but it must be remembered that as the diameter of the barrel increases the size of the inactive areain the barrel also increases.
  • the tumbling machine had an actagon shaped cylinder I6 inches long and 30 inches across the flats, and, thus, had an optimum capacity of about 3.l cubic feet.
  • the vibratory finishing machine also had a 3.1 cubic foot capacity.
  • the tumbling barrel was rotated at 20 r.p.m. and the frequency of the vibratory finishing machine was 2,100 r.p.m. with an amplitude of oneeighth inch.
  • the machine according to the present invention had a width of 8 inches and a radius of inches at the lower rounded end of the V-shaped belt.
  • the two drive pulleys 26,28 had a diameter of 10 inches and were driven at 58 r.p.m. producing a lineal speed of the belt of about l,800 feet per minute.
  • a polishing compound can be added to the mass in order to obtain a smooth, high luster finish on the workpieces.
  • the successive operations can be performed without removing the mass from the machine or without even stopping the operation of the machine.
  • said guide means includes means on the underside of the top run of the belt for maintaining the apex of the V- shaped top run of the belt in a generally fixed position between said rollers.
  • a machine as called for in claim 1 including belt tightening means for optionally removing said slack from the top run of the belt to cause said top run of the belt to extent substantially straight in a downwardly inclined angle between said upper and lower rollers.
  • a machine as called for in claim 8 including means for driving the belt such that said straight top run is travelling downwardly in the direction from said upper to said lower roller to discharge the contents of said chamber.
  • a method of finishing workpieces which comprises, charging a mixture of abrasive media and workpieces into a chamber having fixed side walls and a generally V-shaped bottom wall defined by the upper run of an endless belt causing the major portion of said upper run of the belt to assume an angle substantially more steeply inclined to the vertical at one side of the V than at the other side ofthe V and driving said belt in a direction such that the upper run thereof is travelling upwardly at the more steeply inclined side thereof and downwardly at the less steeply inclined side thereof thereby causing said mass to flow in said chamber in a path extending upwardly in a direction generally parallel to the more steeply inclined, upwardly travelling portion of said bottom wall, then downwardly across said chamber toward the less steeply inclined, downwardly travelling portion of the bottom wall, then downwardly in the direction of travel of the less steeply inclined, downwardly moving portion of the bottom wall and around the apex of the V to the upwardly travelling portion ofthe bottom wall.
  • a machine as called for in claim 1 including means disposed adjacent the upper roller and the upper run of the belt an operable to prevent the workpieces and media in the chamber from being carried upwardly over the top roller as the belt travels thereover and for assisting the workpieces and media to flow in said path downwardly across said chamber.
  • a machine as called for in claim 16 wherein said last-mentioned means comprises nozzle means for directing pressurized liquid streams against the top run of the belt in said chamber and adjacent the upper roller.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Finish Polishing, Edge Sharpening, And Grinding By Specific Grinding Devices (AREA)
  • Apparatuses For Bulk Treatment Of Fruits And Vegetables And Apparatuses For Preparing Feeds (AREA)
US00103266A 1970-12-31 1970-12-31 Apparatus and method for finishing workpieces Expired - Lifetime US3715840A (en)

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US10326670A 1970-12-31 1970-12-31

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US (1) US3715840A (fr)
BE (1) BE773768A (fr)
CA (1) CA938449A (fr)
DE (1) DE2147476A1 (fr)
FR (1) FR2120669A5 (fr)
GB (1) GB1323499A (fr)
IT (1) IT940937B (fr)
NL (1) NL7115007A (fr)

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4023521A (en) * 1975-07-11 1977-05-17 Sam Stein Associates, Inc. Tumble batter and breader machine
US4115960A (en) * 1977-04-28 1978-09-26 Advanced Plastics Machinery Corporation Method and apparatus for deflashing
US4333276A (en) * 1980-03-26 1982-06-08 Goff James R Tumbling apparatus
USRE30977E (en) * 1977-04-28 1982-06-22 Finmac Incorporated Method and apparatus for deflashing
US5733172A (en) * 1995-05-23 1998-03-31 Sintobrator, Ltd. Dry barrel finishing machine having a device to wet media
US6277011B1 (en) * 1994-11-19 2001-08-21 Jean-Claude Adrien Moreillon Deburring, burnishing and polishing machine with conveyor belt drive
WO2003070015A1 (fr) * 2002-02-19 2003-08-28 Frito-Lay North America, Inc. Tambour culbutant d'assaisonnement a geometrie variable
US6928459B1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2005-08-09 International Business Machines Corporation Plurality of file systems using weighted allocation to allocate space on one or more storage devices
US20080126451A1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2008-05-29 International Business Machines Corporation Allocating space on data storage devices in proportion to weights associated with the devices
US20080276961A1 (en) * 2005-01-27 2008-11-13 Jacques Henri Bielle Cleaning Machine
US8292065B1 (en) * 2011-05-12 2012-10-23 Meridian Manufacturing Group Cross cleated conveyor belt for a tubular conveyor
US8770390B2 (en) 2012-08-23 2014-07-08 Woodhaven Capital Corp. Belt conveyor

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4141184A (en) * 1977-08-09 1979-02-27 Vidal Henri C Terraced dwellings
FR2682630B1 (fr) * 1991-10-21 1996-01-26 Laujon Pierre Dispositif pour modifier l'etat de surface d'objets ou la granulometrie de produits poudreux.
FR2912941B1 (fr) * 2007-01-29 2009-08-21 Marie Rose Laujon Machine de traitement de surface comportant une bande a conformation controlee
DE102007019316A1 (de) * 2007-04-24 2008-11-06 Rösler Holding GmbH & Co. KG Gleitschliffanlage

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1224191A (en) * 1914-08-04 1917-05-01 Wenger & Co Machine for polishing metallic bodies.
GB559869A (en) * 1942-09-01 1944-03-08 Ti Group Services Ltd Apparatus for use in the pickling, washing or analogous dipping operations on tubes,bars and the like
US2523304A (en) * 1945-05-04 1950-09-26 American Laundry Mach Co Conveyer type washing machine
US2538242A (en) * 1948-03-11 1951-01-16 Frederic B Stevens Inc Apparatus for processing workpieces
FR1168448A (fr) * 1957-01-18 1958-12-08 Machine à nettoyer les tubes
US3161997A (en) * 1960-08-10 1964-12-22 Gunther W Balz Finishing and polishing method

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1224191A (en) * 1914-08-04 1917-05-01 Wenger & Co Machine for polishing metallic bodies.
GB559869A (en) * 1942-09-01 1944-03-08 Ti Group Services Ltd Apparatus for use in the pickling, washing or analogous dipping operations on tubes,bars and the like
US2523304A (en) * 1945-05-04 1950-09-26 American Laundry Mach Co Conveyer type washing machine
US2538242A (en) * 1948-03-11 1951-01-16 Frederic B Stevens Inc Apparatus for processing workpieces
FR1168448A (fr) * 1957-01-18 1958-12-08 Machine à nettoyer les tubes
US3161997A (en) * 1960-08-10 1964-12-22 Gunther W Balz Finishing and polishing method

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4023521A (en) * 1975-07-11 1977-05-17 Sam Stein Associates, Inc. Tumble batter and breader machine
US4115960A (en) * 1977-04-28 1978-09-26 Advanced Plastics Machinery Corporation Method and apparatus for deflashing
USRE30977E (en) * 1977-04-28 1982-06-22 Finmac Incorporated Method and apparatus for deflashing
US4333276A (en) * 1980-03-26 1982-06-08 Goff James R Tumbling apparatus
US6277011B1 (en) * 1994-11-19 2001-08-21 Jean-Claude Adrien Moreillon Deburring, burnishing and polishing machine with conveyor belt drive
US5733172A (en) * 1995-05-23 1998-03-31 Sintobrator, Ltd. Dry barrel finishing machine having a device to wet media
US6928459B1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2005-08-09 International Business Machines Corporation Plurality of file systems using weighted allocation to allocate space on one or more storage devices
US20080126451A1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2008-05-29 International Business Machines Corporation Allocating space on data storage devices in proportion to weights associated with the devices
US7934056B2 (en) 2000-07-18 2011-04-26 International Business Machines Corporation Allocating space on data storage devices in proportion to weights associated with the devices
US6644237B2 (en) * 2002-02-19 2003-11-11 Recot, Inc. Variable geometry seasoning tumbler
WO2003070015A1 (fr) * 2002-02-19 2003-08-28 Frito-Lay North America, Inc. Tambour culbutant d'assaisonnement a geometrie variable
US20080276961A1 (en) * 2005-01-27 2008-11-13 Jacques Henri Bielle Cleaning Machine
US7958900B2 (en) * 2005-01-27 2011-06-14 Marie Rose Laujon Scrubbing machine for cleaning instruments
US8292065B1 (en) * 2011-05-12 2012-10-23 Meridian Manufacturing Group Cross cleated conveyor belt for a tubular conveyor
US20120285801A1 (en) * 2011-05-12 2012-11-15 Meridian Manufacturing Group Cross cleated conveyor belt for a tubular conveyor
US8770390B2 (en) 2012-08-23 2014-07-08 Woodhaven Capital Corp. Belt conveyor

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA938449A (en) 1973-12-18
NL7115007A (fr) 1972-07-04
IT940937B (it) 1973-02-20
GB1323499A (en) 1973-07-18
FR2120669A5 (fr) 1972-08-18
DE2147476A1 (de) 1972-07-27
BE773768A (fr) 1972-01-31

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