JP7747686B2 - How to center the main shaft of a kneading machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for centering the main shaft of a kneading machine.

Conventionally, kneaders have been known that include a main shaft driven by a drive unit, multiple agitator blades connected to the main shaft for integral rotation, and a body with a circular inner periphery that hermetically encloses the multiple agitator blades with a predetermined radial gap between them. Some kneaders of this type have two main shafts aligned parallel to one another, making alignment of the main shafts and body extremely important.

Therefore, the relative position of the main shaft and the fuselage is determined by measuring the gap between them.

For example, the gap inspection device described in Patent Document 1 is used to inspect the gap between the blade tip, which is the tip of the blade portion formed on a rotor placed in a kneading chamber, and the inner wall of the kneading chamber (body).

Patent No. 6235379

With conventional measurement methods using gap gauges, there is a risk of misalignment because the gap measurement results vary depending on the skill of the person performing the measurement. Misalignment can cause various problems, such as abnormal noise and reduced mixing efficiency.

On the other hand, with a gap inspection device like the one in Patent Document 1, after the agitator blade is installed, a light source must be attached to the agitator blade to inspect the gap, which is tedious, and even if it is found that the gap is too large, it is difficult to correct because the agitator blade has already been installed.

The present invention was made in light of these issues, and its purpose is to make it possible to easily and reliably center the main shaft relative to the body.

To achieve the above objective, this invention uses multiple circular jigs with an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the body.

Specifically, the first invention is directed to a method for centering a main shaft with a body in a kneader having a main shaft driven by a drive unit, a plurality of agitating blades coupled to the main shaft so as to rotate integrally with the main shaft, and a body having a circular inner circumferential surface that hermetically covers the plurality of agitating blades with a predetermined radial gap therebetween,
This method is
Fixing at least the lower half of the body in place on the base of the kneader;
A plurality of circular jigs having the same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the body are fixed to the main shaft at intervals in the axial direction, and the main shaft is placed on at least the lower half of the body to center the main shaft.

With the above configuration, multiple circular jigs can be placed on the body while fixed to the main shaft at intervals, thereby aligning the central axis of the body with the central axis of the main shaft, making it easy and reliable to center the main shaft relative to the body before fixing the stirring blades to the main shaft.

In a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention,
The drive unit includes an electric motor and a gearbox.
The output shaft of the gear box is connected to the main shaft via a joint while adjusting the position of the gear box relative to the base so that the output shaft of the gear box is aligned with the main shaft.

With the above configuration, if the main shaft is reliably centered on the body fixed to the base, it becomes extremely easy to center it with the output shaft of the gearbox on the drive side.

In a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention,
The main shaft has a key for fixing the plurality of stirring blades so as to rotate integrally,
The circular jigs are fixed to the spindle by fitting the keys into key grooves formed in the circular jigs.

With the above configuration, the circular jig can be easily and reliably fixed to the main shaft using the key that secures the agitator blade, ensuring reliable centering. After centering is complete, the circular jig can be removed from the main shaft and the key groove of the agitator blade can be fitted onto the key.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention,
The wear amount of the body is measured from the gap between the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of circular jigs and the inner peripheral surface of the body.

With the above configuration, the outer diameter of the circular jig is the same as the inner diameter of the regular fuselage, so where gaps occur, the inner diameter is larger than the regular dimension, indicating that the inner surface is suffering from wear, deformation, chipping, or other defects. This not only allows for centering, but also makes it possible to take the necessary measures to address any defects on the inner circumferential surface of the fuselage that are revealed by the gaps.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the spindle is centered by fixing multiple circular jigs, each with an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the body, at intervals in the axial direction, to the spindle and placing them on at least the lower half of the body, thereby enabling easy and reliable centering of the spindle relative to the body.

1 is a plan view showing a kneader according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, showing the fuselage in which the main shaft is disposed. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2A. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the state in which the lower half of the fuselage is fixed onto the base. FIG. 10 is an enlarged right side view showing the state in which the lower half of the fuselage is fixed onto the base. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which a spindle fitted with a plurality of circular jigs is placed. FIG. 10 is an enlarged right side view showing the state in which the spindle fitted with a plurality of circular jigs is placed. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the state in which the output shaft of the gearbox is coupled to the main shaft on the base. 1A and 1B are enlarged views showing a circular jig, in which FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a right side view.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

- Configuration of the kneading machine -
FIG. 1 shows a mixer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mixer 1 comprises a base 2 that is placed on the ground of a factory or the like, and a drive unit 3 and a body unit 4 that are provided at fixed positions on the base 2.

The drive unit 3 includes, for example, an electric motor 5 and a gearbox 6 to which the driving force of the electric motor 5 is transmitted via an input shaft 6b. In this embodiment, a pair of output shafts 6a extend from the gearbox 6, and each output shaft 6a is connected to a main shaft 8 via a joint 7. The joint 7 is, for example, a spline coupling, and the main shaft 8 and output shaft 6a can be connected by moving them horizontally relative to each other. Note that the output shaft 6a of the gearbox 6 and the main shaft 8 may be integral, rather than being separated. The kneader 1 of this embodiment is a twin-shaft continuous kneader in which a pair of output shafts 6a and main shafts 8 are provided in parallel.

As shown in Figures 2A and 2B, the body 4 has a body 10 divided into two halves, upper and lower, with a circular inner circumferential surface. Inside the body 10, a main shaft 8 driven by the drive unit 3 is enclosed and connects multiple agitator blades 9 for integral rotation. The main shaft 8 has a key 8a, e.g., a square pillar-shaped key, extending axially to secure the multiple agitator blades 9 for integral rotation.

In this embodiment, the upper and lower halves of the body 10 are divided by a horizontal plane. For example, when the opening/closing handle 11a of the body opening/closing mechanism 11 is rotated, the rotation shaft 11c is rotated via the worm reducer 11b, and the upper body 10 is rotated by a pair of arms 11d connected to the rotation shaft 11c.

The main shaft 8 is housed in the body 10 in a sealed manner so that the inner circumferential surface 10a of the body 10 is spaced a predetermined radial distance from the multiple agitator blades 9. This predetermined distance must be maintained precisely, as the material to be kneaded (not shown) may be kneaded by grinding it between the outer periphery of the agitator blades 9 and the inner circumferential surface 10a of the body 10. For this reason, the centering process described below is extremely important.

- Method for centering the main shaft of a kneading machine -
Next, a method for centering the main shaft 8 of the kneader 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

First, prepare multiple circular jigs 20 as shown in Figures 4A, 4B, and 6. As shown enlarged in Figure 6, the circular jigs 20 are disk-shaped with an outer diameter the same as the inner diameter of the body 10, and have a main shaft through hole 21 in the center through which the main shaft 8 can be inserted. This main shaft through hole 21 is formed with a jig-side key groove 22 into which a key 8a fits to fix the stirring blade 9 attached to the main shaft 8 so that it rotates integrally. The shape of the circular jig 20 is not limited to this; for example, the jig-side key groove 22 may be absent, or multiple jig-side key grooves 22 may be provided.

Next, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, at least the lower half of the body 10 is fixed in place on the base 2 of the kneader 1.

Next, multiple circular jigs 20 are inserted into the spindle 8, the keys 8a are fitted into the jig-side keyways 22, and the jigs are fixed with an appropriate axial spacing. It is recommended that the axial positions of the circular jigs 20 of a pair of spindles 8 be offset to prevent them from coming into contact with each other. There is no particular limit to the number of circular jigs 20, but in this embodiment, three circular jigs 20 are used for one spindle 8.

Next, as shown in Figures 4A and 4B, with multiple circular jigs 20 fixed to the spindle 8, the spindle 8 is placed on the lower half of the body 10. At this time, the amount of wear on the body 10 is measured from the size of the gap between the outer surfaces of the multiple circular jigs 20 and the inner surface 10a of the body 10. For example, if the gap is large in only one area, it can be determined that the inner surface 10a of the body 10 is unevenly worn. In this case, measures such as build-up repair can be performed.

Then, as shown in Figure 5, the gearbox 6 is moved horizontally while adjusting its position relative to the base 2 so that the output shaft 6a of the gearbox 6 is aligned with the main shaft 8, and the output shaft 6a and main shaft 8 are connected via the coupling 7.

In this way, by reliably centering the main shaft 8 on the body 10 fixed to the base 2, it becomes extremely easy to align it with the output shaft 6a of the gearbox 6 on the drive unit 3 side.

Furthermore, by fitting the jig-side key grooves 22 formed on the multiple circular jigs 20 into the keys 8a of the main shaft 8, the multiple circular jigs 20 are fixed to the main shaft 8, making it possible to easily and reliably center the main shaft 8 relative to the body 10 before fixing the stirring blades 9 to the main shaft 8.

In this embodiment, the circular jig 20 can be easily fixed using the key 8a that secures the agitator blade 9, ensuring reliable centering. After centering is complete, the circular jig 20 can be removed and the blade-side key groove 9a of the agitator blade 9 can be fitted into the key 8a of the main shaft 8.

In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the circular jig 20 is the same as the inner diameter of the normal body 10. Therefore, in the area where a gap exists, the inner diameter of the body 10 is larger than the normal dimension, indicating that the inner surface is suffering from wear, deformation, chipping, or other defects. This not only allows for centering, but also allows for the necessary measures to be taken to address defects in the inner surface of the body 10 based on the size of the gap.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the spindle 8 is centered by fixing a plurality of circular jigs 20, each having an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the body 10, at intervals in the axial direction to the spindle 8 and placing them on at least the lower half of the body 10. This allows for easy and reliable centering of the spindle 8 relative to the body 10.

Note that the above embodiments are essentially preferred examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, its applications, or uses.

For example, even if the main shaft 8 and output shaft 6a are integrated, by similarly aligning the main shaft 8 with the body 10, it is easy to connect the main shaft 8 with the drive unit 3.

1. Mixer
2 base
3 Drive unit
4. Body
5 Electric motor
6 Gearbox
6a Output shaft
6b Input shaft
7. Joints
8 Main shaft
8a key
9. Stirring blade
9a Blade side keyway
10. Torso
10a Inner peripheral surface
11. Body opening and closing mechanism
11a Opening and closing handle
11b Worm reducer
11c pivot shaft
11d Arm
20 Circular jig
21 Main shaft through hole
22 Jig side keyway

Claims (4)

A method for centering a main shaft with respect to a body in a kneader having a main shaft driven by a drive unit, a plurality of agitating blades coupled to the main shaft so as to rotate integrally with the main shaft, and a body having a circular inner circumferential surface that hermetically covers the plurality of agitating blades with a predetermined radial gap therebetween, comprising:
Fixing at least the lower half of the body in place on the base of the kneader;
A method for centering the main shaft of a kneading machine, characterized in that a plurality of circular jigs having the same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the body are fixed to the main shaft at intervals in the axial direction, and the main shaft is placed on at least the lower half of the body to center the main shaft. The drive unit includes an electric motor and a gearbox.
2. The method for centering the main shaft of a kneader according to claim 1, wherein the output shaft and the main shaft are connected via a coupling while adjusting the position of the gearbox relative to the base so as to align the output shaft of the gearbox with the main shaft. The main shaft has a key for fixing the plurality of stirring blades so as to rotate integrally,
3. The method for centering the main shaft of a kneading machine according to claim 1, wherein the circular jigs are fixed to the main shaft by fitting the keys into key grooves formed in the circular jigs. 3. The method for centering the main shaft of a kneader according to claim 1, wherein the wear amount of the body is measured from a gap between the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of circular jigs and the inner peripheral surface of the body.