UNIVERSAL ROLLER SWAGING MACHINE WITH TOOL WEAR MONITOR
A roller swaging machine is provided for swaging first and second work pieces together. The roller swaging machine may include a base, a work piece support assembly, a tool carriage assembly, a spline feed assembly, and a linear sensor. In an embodiment, a tool carriage assembly may be configured to support an expander tool having a tapered mandrel, the spline feed assembly may be configured to be coupled to the tapered mandrel of the expander tool, and the linear sensor may be configured to measure axial movement of the tapered mandrel.
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The present disclosure relates to roller swaging machines, including a roller swaging machine that is configured to calculate a target post swage inner diameter (PSID), swage work pieces to the target PSID, and monitor expander tooling wear.
BACKGROUNDRoller swaging machines are commonly used to secure an end fitting onto a tube using a mechanical connection. For example, the end fitting is loosely placed over an end of the tube, and an expander tool is inserted within the end of the tube. The expander tool includes a plurality of rollers that are supported around a tapered mandrel. The tapered mandrel is rotated and advanced along its axis relative to the rollers. Advancement of the tapered mandrel causes the rollers to radially expand and engage an inner circumference of the tube. As a result, the rollers force the tube to radially expand into contact with the end fitting, thereby forming a mechanically sealed connection between the tube and the end fitting.
However, consistent quality of swaged connections can be somewhat difficult to achieve as a result of varying dimensions of work pieces (i.e., tolerances) and tooling wear of the tapered mandrel and rollers. As such, it would desirable to provide a roller swaging machine that is configured to calculate a target post swage inner diameter (PSID) based on the actual dimensions of the work pieces, swage the work pieces to the target PSID, and monitor expander tooling wear.
SUMMARYA roller swaging machine is provided for swaging first and second work pieces together. The roller swaging machine may include a base, a work piece support assembly, a tool carriage assembly, a spline feed assembly, and a linear sensor. In an embodiment, a tool carriage assembly may be configured to support an expander tool having a tapered mandrel, the spline feed assembly may be configured to be coupled to the tapered mandrel of the expander tool, and the linear sensor may be configured to measure axial movement of the tapered mandrel.
Various aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the various embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Referring now to the drawings,
As generally illustrated in
The roller swaging machine 10 may further include a work piece support assembly 20, a tool carriage assembly 30, and a spline feed assembly 40. In embodiments, the roller swaging machine 10 may also include a programmable logic controller (PLC) and a graphical user interface (GUI) 50. Aspects and features of the foregoing components are described further below. It should be fully appreciated, however, that the roller swaging machine is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, but may include any other components and/or configurations of components suitable for swaging work pieces together.
Referring now to
Referring now to the embodiments illustrated in
Referring now to
The spline feed assembly 40 may also include a linear sensor 48. The linear sensor 48 can be configured to detect and measure the axial movement (e.g., a stroke length) of the tapered mandrel on the expander tool as it is advanced relative to the rollers, such as described further below. In an embodiment, the linear sensor 48 may comprise a linear variable differential transducer (LVDT). It should be appreciated, however, that the linear sensor 48 can, instead of or additionally, comprise another sensing or detection device that is capable of measuring the axial movement of the tapered mandrel. Some potential features or purposes of a linear sensor are discussed further below.
The roller swaging machine 10 may also include a programmable logic controller (PLC) or other type of on-board computer. In embodiments, the PLC can include a computing system that is capable of receiving inputs, performing computing functions, and providing outputs. The PLC may also include memory that is capable of storing information or data. A user interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI) 50, may also be provided to, among other things, display information to an operator and/or to provide a means for an operator to input information into the PLC. The GUI 50 may comprise a touch screen interface or other suitable user interface. It should be fully appreciated that the roller swaging machine 10 may include various other electrical and/or computing components associated with a desired function or application.
Referring now to
As briefly described above, a linear sensor 48 may be configured to detect and/or measure axial movement of the tapered mandrel 61. The linear sensor 48, therefore, can be configured or calibrated to help determine a direct relationship between axial movement of the tapered mandrel 62 and radial expansion of the rollers 64. In an embodiment, the linear sensor 48 can be calibrated by supporting a first ring gage 66 having a known first diameter on the work piece support assembly 20 (see, e.g.,
Referring now to
If the diameter control mode is selected, then a linear sensor 48 may then be calibrated at step 72, such as generally described above. After the linear sensor 48 is calibrated, a spring back correction factor may be set. The spring back correction factor may, for example, comprise the difference in a target PSID calculated by the roller swaging machine 10 (such as described below) and an actual PSID that may be measured (such as by an operator). Spring back may be a result of the resiliency in the material of the work pieces and can occur after the swaging process has been performed. In other words, if spring back is present, then the actual PSID may be less than the target PSID. To set the spring back correction factor, the operator may enter a target PSID into the system (e.g., into a GUI) and swage the work pieces. An operator can then measure or obtain an actual PSID and enter that into the system (e.g., into a GUI). The difference between the target PSID and the actual PSID can provide a relevant spring back correction factor.
After the set up and calibration steps are complete, a GUI (such as GUI 50) may prompt an operator to input preliminary swage information. Such information may include, but is not limited to, a desired PSID, an actual outer diameter of a first work piece (e.g., tube), an actual wall thickness of a first work piece (e.g., tube), and/or an actual inner diameter of a second work piece (e.g., end fitting). Based on the information that is inputted into the system, a PLC can be configured to calculate a target PSID at step 74, such as will be generally explained below. The roller swaging machine 10 may then swage the work pieces to the target PSID, at step 76, by sensing and utilizing a stroke length of the tapered mandrel 62. Swaging the work pieces to the target PSID can ultimately achieve the desired PSID.
After the work pieces have been swaged, in embodiments, the system may prompt an operator to measure the actual PSID of the swaged work pieces and enter the dimension into the system. The system can display the acceptable range for the target PSID and enable the operator to accept, reject, or re-swage the work pieces. A PLC may also be configured to store the swaging data for any or all swage operations that are performed. These steps can be repeated any number of times for additional swages.
Referring now to
A corrected PSID may then be calculated by the PLC at step 84. The corrected PSID is the desired PSID entered at step 80, which may then be corrected based on the actual dimensions that influence groove fill entered at step 82. If other than nominal values are entered for the actual dimensions at step 82, then the desired PSID may be adjusted accordingly. The desired PSID is adjusted by the amount above or below nominal in order to achieve a swaged connection that would be equivalent to a swaged connection using work pieces having nominal dimensions. For example, if the outer diameter or the wall thickness of the first work piece (e.g., tube) is larger than nominal, the then desired PSID will be reduced by the amount above nominal to obtain the corrected PSID. If the inner diameter of the second work piece (e.g., end fitting) is larger than nominal, then the desired PSID will be increased by the amount above nominal to obtain the corrected PSID. Conversely, if the inner diameter of the second work piece (e.g., end fitting) is smaller than nominal, then the desired PSID will be decreased by the amount below nominal to obtain the corrected PSID.
The target PSID may then be calculated by the PLC at step 86. To calculate the target PSID, the corrected PSID may be adjusted by a spring back correction factor. For example, when a value is entered for a spring back correction factor, the corrected PSID can be increased by that amount to compensate for spring back. As described above, swaging the work pieces to the target PSID ultimately achieves a desired PSID.
Referring now to
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and various modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A roller swaging machine comprising:
- a base;
- a work piece support assembly supported on or above the base;
- a tool carriage assembly supported on or above the base, the tool carriage assembly configured to support an expander tool having a tapered mandrel;
- a spline feed assembly supported on or above the base, the spline feed assembly configured for connection to the tapered mandrel of the expander tool; and
- a linear sensor configured to measure axial movement of the tapered mandrel.
2. The roller swaging machine of claim 1, wherein the work piece support assembly interchangeably supports a work piece adaptor configured to secure a first work piece relative to a second work piece.
3. The roller swaging machine of claim 1, wherein the tool carriage assembly is supported for movement along the base.
4. The roller swaging machine of claim 2, wherein the tool carriage assembly includes a locking mechanism configured to secure the tool carriage assembly in a selectable position relative to the base.
5. The roller swaging machine of claim 1, wherein the tool carriage assembly interchangeably supports a tooling adaptor configured to support the expander tool.
6. The roller swaging machine of claim 1, wherein the spline feed assembly is supported for movement along the base.
7. The roller swaging machine of claim 6, wherein the spline feed assembly includes a locking mechanism configured to secure the spline feed assembly in a selectable position relative to the base.
8. The roller swaging machine of claim 1, wherein the linear sensor is a linear variable differential transducer.
9. The roller swaging machine of claim 1, including an on-board computer or processor configured to control axial movement of the tapered mandrel based on an input from the linear sensor.
10. The roller swaging machine of claim 9, wherein the on-board computer or processor is configured to control radial expansion of the rollers based on the axial movement of the tapered mandrel measured in connection with the linear sensor.
11. A method for swaging work pieces together comprising:
- installing an expander tool on a tool carriage assembly of a roller swaging machine, the expander tool including a tapered mandrel supported for axial movement relative to a plurality of rollers;
- coupling a spline feed assembly provided on the roller swaging machine to the tapered mandrel of the expander tool;
- installing a first work piece relative to a second work piece on a work piece support assembly provided on the roller swaging machine;
- calibrating a linear sensor provided on the roller swaging machine to determine a relationship between axial movement of the tapered mandrel and an instantaneous outer diameter of the rollers; and
- swaging the first and second work pieces to a post swage inner diameter (PSID) based on the axial movement of the tapered mandrel.
12. The method of claim 11, including calculating a target PSID by adjusting a desired PSID of the first and second work pieces, and swaging the first and second work pieces to the target PSID.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the calculating the target PSID includes:
- providing a desired PSID;
- providing at least one actual dimension of the first or second work piece;
- adjusting the desired PSID based on the actual dimension of the first or second work piece to achieve a corrected PSID; and
- adjusting the corrected PSID based on a set or pre-determined spring back correction factor of the first and second work pieces.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the actual dimension of the first or second work piece can be at least one of a wall thickness of the first work piece, an outer diameter of the first work piece, and an inner diameter of the second work piece.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the desired PSID is adjusted by an amount that the actual dimension varies from a pre-determined nominal dimension of the first or second work piece.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the spring back correction factor can be determined by initially swaging the first and second work pieces to the target PSID, measuring the actual PSID, and calculating a difference between the target PSID and the actual PSID.
17. The method of claim 11, wherein the calibrating the linear sensor includes:
- installing a first ring gage with a first diameter on the work piece support assembly;
- measuring the axial movement of the tapered mandrel that is required for the rollers to achieve the first diameter;
- installing a second ring gage with a second diameter on the work piece support assembly;
- measuring the axial movement of the tapered mandrel that is required for the rollers to achieve the second diameter; and
- determining a relationship between the axial movement of the tapered mandrel and the outer diameter of the rollers.
18. The method of claim 11, including monitoring an actual PSID of the swaged work pieces to determine potential tooling wear on the expander tool.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the monitoring for potential tooling wear on the expander tool includes:
- measuring an actual PSID of the swaged work pieces;
- comparing the target PSID with the actual PSID of the swaged work pieces; and
- notifying an operator if the target PSID exceeds the actual PSID by a pre-determined threshold.
20. The method of claim 11, including monitoring a torque being applied to the tapered mandrel to ensure that the torque is within a pre-determined threshold to ensure a quality swage and detect failure modes.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 12, 2013
Publication Date: Oct 16, 2014
Applicant: EATON CORPORATION (Cleveland, OH)
Inventor: EATON CORPORATION
Application Number: 13/861,872
International Classification: B21D 39/10 (20060101);