Patent Application
20120180613
This invention relates to a blade for cutting all types of wire, including wire having an aluminum-based core. The wire cutting blade of the present invention can be used in a wire cutting machine or other wire cutting implement and is able to cut wire more efficiently and effectively than prior art blades.
The conventional wire cutting machine includes a cutting head that consists of a pair of cooperating cutting blades. After wire is fed to the cutting head, at least one of the cutting blades operates to sever the wire at a cut point. Examples of such machines include automated wire cutting machines made by Artos Engineering, Schleuniger, and Komax.
The present invention provides an improved wire cutting blade which cuts wire effectively, and, especially wire including aluminum, and has a longer functional lifespan such that it can perform more cutting cycles than prior art blades. Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the disclosure herein, including the drawings.
An object of the present invention is to provide a wire cutting blade which is capable of reducing the accumulation of wire particles on the blade surfaces which might otherwise interfere with the cutting process and reduce the operating life of the wire cutting blade.
In an embodiment, the wire cutting blade has a blade body with a cutting edge and a cutting face extending from the cutting edge. The blade body has a slidable surface for engagement with an opposing surface which allows relative movement between the blade body and the opposing surface to permit the cutting edge to cut the wire. The cutting face and slidable surface preferably are polished to provide a high degree of finish, and a coating is preferably applied to the cutting edge, cutting face and/or slidable surface to reduce cold rewelding. A hollow in the blade body holds one or more cut wire particles to reduce interference by the cut wire particles with the cutting edge, cutting face and/or slidable surface. The hollow preferably functions to reduce the number of particles compressed between the slidable surface and the opposing surface, thereby allowing the cutting blade to cut and/or slide substantially unimpeded during the cutting process.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is particularly desirable when cutting aluminum-based wire. Specifically, the present invention decreases accumulation of aluminum material on the working parts of the wire cutting blade that could otherwise build up. The preferred embodiment reduces melting of wire particles to the working parts of the wire cutting blade due to the properties of aluminum and similar materials. The present invention significantly inhibits the buildup of wire particles on the blade cutting edge and cutting surface, as well as the blade slidable surface. Blades incorporating the present invention can functionally operate for a much longer time than prior art blades.
The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the disclosure. In the drawings:
The embodiments disclosed are exemplifications and are not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated and described herein.
Wire with high aluminum content tends to have increased “granular” properties than other types of wire, allowing wire particles to break off during the wire cutting process and accumulate on the cutting edge and cutting surface. In some circumstances, the aluminum particles or particulate bond to the cutting blade, sometimes referred to as cold reweld. Eventually, the increasing volume of accumulated material could reach the point of impeding the cutting process by preventing the blade from sliding against an opposing surface. The accumulation could eventually cause a cutter head operation of a wire cutting machine to stop.
The back face 11 has a slidable surface 20 which includes a portion of the blade body 10 that slides against an opposing surface during a cutting action. The back face 11 has a hollow 41, which is a cavity in the blade body 10 spaced from the cutting edge 32. The hollow 41 collects at least a portion of the wire particles or particulate which may accumulate during the cutting process. The hollow 41 retains the collected wire particles or particulate in a loose state which can be readily removed as necessary, such as wiped off or blown off by compressed air. The hollow 41 has a first end 42 adjacent to the cutting edge 32, preferably positioned as close as possible to the cutting edge 32 without significantly degrading the strength of the cutting edge 32. The hollow 41 extends towards the far end 15 of the blade body 10 to a second end 43. The hollow 41 has a depth sufficient to allow collection and containment of dispersed wire particles or particulate to minimize interference with the cutting edge 32, cutting face 31 and/or slidable surface 20 during the cutting process. The hollow 41 preferably has a width at least equal to the largest wire core diameter being processed by the wire cutting blade 90.
As best shown in
The geometry of the cutting end 16 may play a role in causing wire particles or particulate to accumulate on the wire cutting blade 90. With blades having V-shaped cutting ends, a narrow cutting angle will tend to compress the aluminum material over a smaller area creating a denser accumulation. Thus, the cutting end 16 illustrated in
Preferably, in order to reduce the accumulation of wire particles or particulate at or near the cutting edge 32, cutting face 31 and slidable surface 20 during the cutting process, the cutting face 31 and the slidable surface 20 are polished. It is preferred to polish portions of the blade to a high degree of finish, such as a mirror finish, in order to reduce roughness which might otherwise rasp-off aluminum particles from the conductor core during the cutting process and gall the surface of the blade. Additionally, the cutting edge 32, cutting face 31 and slidable surface 20 preferably have a coating to reduce cold rewelding and triboelectric effects from the wire particles. Such coating may include any one of a number of materials which reduce cold rewelding of the particulate material to the body metal. Such coating may also exhibit a low to mid-range friction coefficient and is wear resistant to provide extended life. In a preferred embodiment, the coating includes a metal nitride, such as Zirconium Nitride, although other metals could be used together with other materials similar to Nitrides, such as, for example, Carbo-Nitride. In a preferred embodiment, a coating of Zirconium Nitride of one to four microns with a friction coefficient against steel (dry) of 0.5 has been found to be highly desirable. The coating can be deposited by conventional vapor disposition techniques, including physical vapor deposition (PVD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
The wire cutting blade 90 provides a mounting structure 50 for removably attaching the wire cutting blade 90 to a wire cutting machine or implement, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,272 which is incorporated herein. The mounting structure 50 can consist of various configurations for mating with a blade mounting fixture of any type of wire cutting machine or implement. For example, the mounting structure 50 depicted in
Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.
