Testing of a force sensor used to measure the briquetting process parameters of lignocellulosic materials

The study presents a control and measurement system for the drive parameters of screw compactor machine with open working chamber for shredded materials. The study demonstrates the construction and working principle of the force sensor for measuring the axial force at the compacting screw. The calibration method for the measuring system was presented together with example measurement results for compaction of broken up rye straw, oat straw and hay. The study results were analyzed for feasibility of use for the compaction of materials with specific thermomechanical properties. The conclusion presents the possible forms of application of the established solution in mass production

Designing of the Electromechanical Drive for Automated Hot Plate Welder Using Load Optimization with Genetic Algorithm

Drive and conveyor belts are widely used in the mining and processing industry. One of the types often used is the belt with a cross-section and a diameter of several millimeters, made of weldable thermoplastic elastomer. Their production process requires the joining of the ends to obtain a closed loop. This operation is often performed by butt welding using the hot plate method. Taking into account the industrial requirements, the authors made an effort to design the automated welding machine for this type of belt. The work that had been conducted was finished with the implementation of the device for serial belt production. One of the stages of the design process of the welding machine consisted of developing a solution for the electromechanical drive system. The paper presents a design and the selection of the key components of the drive system, in particular, the electrical executive elements. Firstly, on the basis of the functional requirements of individual working mechanisms, the kinematic structure of the drives was developed, and the influence of the workload on power consumption was described. Then, using known technological parameters, experimental research of the plasticization operation was performed. On the basis of the results obtained, a mathematical model of the correlation between the plasticization force and technological parameters was derived. Using the derived model, the optimization of the technological parameters was made by using a genetic algorithm. The work led to the choice of an effective electric motor, which is the main component of the designed drive system

Butt Welding of Round Drive Belts

The on-going rapid development of industry encourages development of new production technologies and designing of machines that use inventive mechanical engineering solutions, a big demand for parts of such machines being a natural consequence. Polymeric power transmission belts are a good example of that. This paper proposes an improvement in the process of production of such belting. Their production includes cutting to length and splicing of elastic round belts to obtain endless belts of the specified length. This is the key phase of the whole production process. A number of splicing methods are available using different physical phenomena. One of them is butt welding technique. In this process heat is applied on the material through an additional heating element called the heat platen. The effect depends on several factors, including preparation of the work pieces. Due to its characteristics the process is often carried out by hand. The need for automated manufacturing was created by important factors associated with manufacturing on an industrial scale: cost, time and quality. The proposed butt welding machine, complete with a control system is an answer to this need. The practical benefits include improved repeatability of splices, time savings and less work load for the operator

Shaping the parameters of cylindrical belt surface in the joint area

Most of the industrial machines use round-shaped drive belts for power transfer. They are often a few millimetres in diameter, and made of thermoplastic elastomer, especially polyurethane. Their production process requires the bonding step, which is often performed by butt welding, using the hot plate method. The authors have undertaken to design an automatic welding machine for this purpose. Consequently, it is required to carry out a process analysis of hot plate welding, which entails describing the dependency between technological parameters (temperature, pressure force, time) and the quality of the joint, especially the outer surface of the belt around the weld. To analyse this process in a proper way, it is necessary to describe the physical phenomena that occur in the material, during particular operations of the hot plate welding process. One of the most troublesome phenomena occurring during the welding process is removing of the flash. These round rings, placed around the weld, which remains after the joining process, are unacceptable in the finished component. The authors took an effort to design the necessary equipment for removing of the flash after welding, using some simple parts that cut off excessive material. The paper shows the three possible solutions for flash removal. They were verified experimentally, and afterwards, the best solution was chosen. Additionally, a number of analytical calculations were carried out in order to determine the maximum force value required for this operation. Results of the analytical calculations were compared with experimental results

Process analysis of the hot plate welding of drive belts

Most industrial machines use belt transmission for power transfer. These mechanisms often use the round belts of several milli-metres in diameter that are made of thermoplastic elastomers, especially polyurethane. Their production process calls for bonding the ma-terial, which is often performed by hot plate butt welding. In order to achieve proper design of an automatic welding machine, the authors analysed the hot plate welding process of round belts. This process consists of five phases. It is necessary to recognize all the physical phenomena that occur during welding, especially those connected with thermomechanical properties of material. This knowledge is neces-sary to determine the temperature distribution during each step of the process. The paper presents a standard welding cycle together with an explanation of the physical phenomena in each phase. An analysis of these fundamentals will be used to derivate the function of tem-perature distribution during all process phases. In addition, some assumptions for calculation of temperature distribution and some funda-mental physic correlations were presented

Testing of a torque sensor used to measure the parameters of the briquetting process of lignocellulosic materials

The study presents a control and measurement system for the drive parameters of screw compactor machine with open working chamber for shredded materials. The study demonstrates the construction and working principle of the torque sensor for measuring the torque of the motor driving the compacting screw. The calibration method for the measuring system was presented together with example measurement results for compaction of broken up rye straw, oat straw and hay. The study results were analyzed for feasibility of use for the compaction of materials with specific thermomechanical properties. The conclusion presents the possible forms of application of the established solution in mass production

Testing of a force sensor used to measure the briquetting process parameters of lignocellulosic materials

The study presents a control and measurement system for the drive parameters of screw compactor machine with open working chamber for shredded materials. The study demonstrates the construction and working principle of the force sensor for measuring the axial force at the compacting screw. The calibration method for the measuring system was presented together with example measurement results for compaction of broken up rye straw, oat straw and hay. The study results were analyzed for feasibility of use for the compaction of materials with specific thermomechanical properties. The conclusion presents the possible forms of application of the established solution in mass production

Process Analysis of the Hot Plate Welding of Drive Belts

Most industrial machines use belt transmission for power transfer. These mechanisms often use the round belts of several milli-metres in diameter that are made of thermoplastic elastomers, especially polyurethane. Their production process calls for bonding the ma-terial, which is often performed by hot plate butt welding. In order to achieve proper design of an automatic welding machine, the authors analysed the hot plate welding process of round belts. This process consists of five phases. It is necessary to recognize all the physical phenomena that occur during welding, especially those connected with thermomechanical properties of material. This knowledge is neces-sary to determine the temperature distribution during each step of the process. The paper presents a standard welding cycle together with an explanation of the physical phenomena in each phase. An analysis of these fundamentals will be used to derivate the function of tem-perature distribution during all process phases. In addition, some assumptions for calculation of temperature distribution and some funda-mental physic correlations were presented

Experimental Study on the Mechanical Behavior of Dry Corn Stalk Cutting

This work presents an experimental study of cutting corn stalks for thermal energy generation. The study was carried out for the values of blade angle in the range of α = 30–80°, distance between the blade and the counter-blade g = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 mm and the velocity of the blade V = 1, 4, 8 mm/s. The measured results were used to determine shear stresses and cutting energy. The ANOVA variance analysis tool was used to determine the interactions between the initial process variables and the responses. Furthermore, the blade load-state analysis was carried out, together with determining the knife blade strength characteristic, based on the determination criteria for the strength of the cutting tool. Therefore, the force ratio Fcc/Tx was determined as the determinant of strength, and its variance characteristic in the function of the blade angle, α, was used in the performed optimization. The optimization criteria entailed the determination of such values of the blade angle, α, for which the cutting force value, Fcc, and the coefficient of knife blade strength approached the minimum value. Hence, the optimized value of the blade angle, α, within the range 40–60° was determined, depending on the assumed weight parameters for the above-mentioned criteria

Simulation Test of the Cutting Process

Cutting is a production process commonly employed used in various industries. The aim of improving its efficiency entails the improvement of the durability of the cutting blade, increasing the accuracy in terms of the resulting item dimensions obtained after cutting, but also the quality of the obtained edge. The material factor for the above is the distribution of forces in the cutting edge and cut element system. Furthermore, the pursuit of minimized interaction of forces in this process is of significance, which has a positive impact both on the durability of the blade as well as the process energy consumption. The paper presents a simulation of the process of cutting a flat bar made of aluminium. The numerical model was built in the ABAQUS system. The model includes a knife-cut element. The purpose of performing simulation tests is to determine the cutting force, changes in its value and the nature of these changes when cutting with knives of different geometry and trajectory