Electric heating – Metal heating – Of cylinders
Patent
1908-11-01
1990-03-27
Shaw, Clifford C.
Electric heating
Metal heating
Of cylinders
228 175, B23K 1132, B23K 3704
Patent
active
049122924
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to an alignment tool for a metal cylindrical can welding machine, wherein a flat metal can body blank is formed into a cylinder and then seam welded. The tool has at least one elongated bar component having two longitudinally extending opposite sides, each side having a longitudinally extending groove and the grooves guide the edges of the can blank into a position for seam welding by electrical seam welding rollers.
In forming metal cylindrical cans out of sheet metal blanks, known machines use a plurality of rollers to roll a flat blank into a cylindrical form with overlapping edges, which are subsequently seam welded, to complete the cylindrical can. In order to guide the two edges during the final movement into the welding rollers, the machines use a guiding component, which is commonly referred to as a Z-bar or Z-rail, and which has two opposite sides with grooves which guide the edges from a spaced apart position into a closely aligned, slightly overlapping position for welding. These Z-bars can be sub-divided into sections. An example of these known devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,140, whose disclosure is incoporated by reference thereto.
Since the electrical welding is a resistant welding type arrangement, problems can occur because of arcing between the parts, the sections of the Z-bars and other equipment. This sparking will create dirt or bits of metal which can contaminate surfaces of the products being produced, cause undue wear of bearings of various guide bushings for rollers that are used in forming the can blanks and create undue wear in the Z-bar itself.
Due to the fact that the two edges of the blank entering into the guide tool, which comprises a plurality of Z-bar portions, may have the edges originally spaced apart but moving towards a closely adjacent overlapping position, it is desirable to form these Z-bar portions in segments or sections. Thus, it is common for the guiding tool to include a crossover bar in which the edges move from being spaced apart a substantial distance to a close overlapping position, followed by a Z-bar section, where the edges continue to be held in the desired position. The guiding tool, finally, has a head piece, which holds the edges just prior to entering the welding rollers.
To overcome problems with arcing, it has been proposed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,879, to construct each of the Z-bars in two or three component parts, with the center component which has the grooves for guiding the edges of the blank being formed of a tungsten carbide material. This provides a guiding tool which is non-arcing and can be electrically isolated. This guiding tool will eliminate some of the problem with sparking.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a Z-bar which is, in most part, electrically and magnetically inert and is less expensive to manufacture than the full carbide Z-bars.
In order to accomplish these goals, the present, invention is directed to an improvement in an alignment tool for a metal cylindrical can welding machine, wherein flat metal can body blanks are formed into cylindrical blanks with overlapping edges, which are seam welded, the tool having at least one elongated bar component having two longitudinally extending opposite sides, each side having a longitudinally extending groove, said grooves guiding the edges of the can blanks into a position for the seam welding. The improvement comprises the bar component having elongated slots in each opposite side, an insert being secured in each of the slots and being of a material different than the material of the bar, said longitudinally extending grooves being provided in said inserts.
Since the opening or inlet mouth of the first component of the tool, such as the crossover Z-bar, has a large offset between the two edges and an enlarged throat portion, it is desirable to use an insert or entry block at the inlet of the crossover bar, which is formed of a material, such as tungsten carbide, that can absorb shocks of the
REFERENCES:
patent: 4540879 (1985-09-01), Haerther et al.
Elpatronic AG
Shaw Clifford C.
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