The present disclosure relates to a sound reduction device for use in a mechanical processing method of a component or a joining method, in particular in a pulse-like joining method, of at least two components. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a joining method for joining at least a first and a second component, in particular a pulse-like joining method, in which a sound insulation and thus a reduced noise exposure is achieved by means of the sound reduction device. In addition, the present disclosure relates to a machining method for machining a component, for example a separating or milling method, in which a reduced noise exposure of the environment can be achieved by means of the sound reduction device.
Various machining methods, for example of sheet metal, are known in the industry, which can only be realized with a relatively high noise emission. Such machining methods include, for example, the sawing or generally separating of large-area sheet metal components. Furthermore, joining methods are known, such as the high-speed bolt setting according to EP 1 926 918 B2, in which also a high noise exposure for the environment occurs. This is because, for the joining of at least two parts, a bolt is fired into the part group, while the bolt striking the parts, a portion of its kinetic energy is transformed into component vibrations and thus noise for the environment. Although this joining method is applicable to various types of connections especially in the automobile construction, the high noise exposure of the environment is a significant drawback. Therefore, production units are currently surrounded with sound-proof booths with a cost-intensive effort. On the one hand, this reduces the noise exposure of the environment, but on the other hand leads to an increased space requirement and additional production costs while adhering to the noise protection conditions in the production line.
In the known machining methods and joining methods, a mechanical vibration is generated in the parts, which in turn causes the structure-borne noise to occur. The structure-borne noise, which is converted by the part into airborne sound, depends on the material used and the construction of the part(s) besides the machining or joining method used. In addition, the arrangement of the parts with respect to the surrounding medium has an influence during the joining or machining. Since the part geometry is compulsory in vehicle construction, for example, it is not possible to reduce the body noise by changing the configuration of the part. Therefore, in the vehicle industry, for example, the noise exposure is realized by a complete enclosure of machine and part to be machined. In contrast to this, in the construction industry, for example, large-area parts are used in sandwich constructions. These sandwich constructions comprise area-like constructional parts made of vibrating materials such as, for example, metal. In order to support the noise generation, noise reflection and a noise insulation behavior in constructional parts used in this way, the part is coated on one or both sides with a viscoelastic material. The structure-borne sound produced in the part is damped by the damping properties of the viscoelastic coating material. Since large-area parts can be prefabricated in the construction industry or in the construction of wagons, without the need for further mechanical or thermal loading, the processing of large-area sandwich structures is suitable. If, however, it is necessary to thermally load such sandwich structures, for example during the thermal drying of cathodically dip-coated (KTL) body parts at 180° C., the above-described viscoelastic boom coatings of these constructional parts would be thermally or chemically destroyed. Therefore, in the automobile industry, the sound-absorbing housing of production stations has hitherto been preferred.
With respect to the known prior art, it is thus the object of at least certain implementations of the present disclosure to provide a device and a method alternatively to the sound-absorbing housing of machining or production stations, by means of which a reduced noise pollution of the environment can be achieved while avoiding the sound-absorbing housing.
The above problem may be solved by a sound reduction device for use in a mechanical machining method or a joining method, in particular in a pulse-like joining method, according to the independent patent claim 1, by a joining method for connecting at least a first and a second part, in particular a pulse-like joining method, according to claim 8, as well as by a machining method according to independent claim 11. Advantageous embodiments and developments of the present disclosure result from the dependent claims, the description of the detailed embodiments and the accompanying drawings.
The sound reduction device for use in a mechanical machining method or a joining method, in particular in a pulse-like joining method, has the following features: a clamping device by means of which at least one part to be machined or a plurality of parts to be connected to one another can be clamped releasably at a plurality of clamping points between components cooperating with each other so that the machining or the joining is ensured, and wherein a number of engagement points with respective engagement components is provided, by means of which the part can be engaged in at least one vibration-sensitive part portion at least on one side, so that a part vibration can be damped compared to a part vibration without the engagement components. Preferably, the at least one part or the plurality of parts can be fastened to a base by means of a number of clamping points with corresponding fastening components.
Known components of different constructions can usually be divided into different portions. An outer edge portion of the component is suitable to fasten the part or a plurality of parts to a base. Such an edge fastening is space-saving and also requires a limited constructional effort, since part regions have to be bridged not constructionally complex in order to achieve a fastening in the inner region of a part or a part stack. In addition, parts, such as supporting structures or covering sheet elements from the vehicle industry, have areal sections which are susceptible to part vibration during a joining or machining process. This means that vibrations generated by machining methods and joining methods are picked up especially by these areal portions and are converted into structure-borne sound. This structure-borne sound causes a noise pollution of the environment. According to the present disclosure, the sound reduction device provides in addition to the fastening components of the clamping point also a number of engagement points with respective engagement components. These engagement components represent mechanical, movable constructions which can be arranged in abutment in a punctual or an areal manner in selected part portions on the part by means of an engagement surface. Such an engagement of the at least one engagement component in one of the above-mentioned areal portions of the part reduces the mechanical vibration of the part and thus the structure-borne sound of this part portion. The engagement components of the engagement points preferably engage one-sided or two-sided on a part or a stack of parts in order to realize an insulation of the structure-borne sound of the part or of the stack of parts. According to different embodiments of the present disclosure, as described in more detail below, the following condition are varied in order to achieve an optimal insulation of the structure-borne sound: the number of engagement points, their arrangement, the size of the engagement point which engages or abuts the part, as well as the material of which the end part of the engagement component engaging the part consists.
According to an embodiment of the sound reduction device, the number of clamping points can be arranged in an edge area of a part, while the vibration-sensitive part area can be engaged by the engagement components with an area in the range from 100 cm2 to 10 m2. It has been recognized that straight component regions starting from a surface area of 100 cm2 promote the formation of structure-borne sound of a part to be machined or to be joined. Therefore, it is preferred to hinder part regions with a minimum size of 100 cm2 to 10 m2 by the engagement of one or a plurality of engagement components in its structure-borne sound generating vibration. In this way, the noise emission of the part is reduced.
According to a further embodiment of the sound reduction device, the part can be engaged with 1 to 3 engagement components per standard area of 100 cm2 of the vibration-sensitive part portion. This means that, for an areal segment of 100 cm2 of the vibration-sensitive part region, preferably 1 to 3 engagement components are provided to engage the part surface and to reduce thereby vibrations of the part. Preferably, the 1 to 3 engagement components are arbitrarily distributed in the areal segment having a size of 100 cm2. According to one embodiment, two or three engagement components are arranged linearly side by side and equally spaced in the vibration-sensitive part portion of the above-stated size. It is also preferred to provide more than three engagement components in the specified areal portion.
According to a further embodiment, the engagement component has an engagement surface engaging the part which is made of metal or plastic or a hybrid consisting of metal core and plastic cover or bitumen or silicone. The engagement components preferably abutting on the part surface repress the vibrations being present in the part and thus the structure-borne sound. Depending on the part configuration, it is preferred to provide the engagement surfaces of the engagement component engaging the component from different materials. Depending on the type of material, by means of these material-specific engagement surfaces vibrations of the component can be selectively dampened.
According to a further embodiment of the sound reduction device, at least one engagement component comprises a sound damping layer, which can be pressed on one side onto the at least one part in at least a part portion such that a sound energy emitted by the part can be repressed. Correspondingly, the engagement component is equipped not only with a punctual engagement surface but with a larger sound damping layer. This sound damping layer preferably has a size of >1 cm2 and can be adapted to the size of the vibration-sensitive part portion. The more surface of the vibration-sensitive part portion is covered by one or more sound damping layers, the more effective the structure-borne sound produced by the part can be damped. It is understood that the above-mentioned engagement components of the engagement points in their different embodiments are only temporarily placed on the component surface, on one or both sides, or pressed onto them, respectively.
According to a further embodiment of the sound reduction device, the above-mentioned sound damping layer consists of a material which is characterized by a loss or dissipation factor din the range of 0.05≦d≦1. The loss factor d describes the repressing capacity of the material of the sound damping layer for a vibration in a part which causes a structure-borne sound. This loss factor d is determinable on the basis of the DIN EN ISO 6721-3, which is referred to hereby. In DIN EN ISO 6721-3 a test device, the configuration of a sample body, the performance of a measurement, the evaluation and display of the measurement results as well as the calculation of the bending loss factor d are described. From this description, it is possible to assign the particular loss factor d to certain preferred configurations.
According to a further embodiment of the sound reduction device, it is used in combination with a pulse-like joining method, with a high-speed bolt setting, by means of which the parts to be connected are fixed and a sound energy emitted by the parts to be joined is repressed. Such a high-speed bolt setting is described in the European patent EP 1 926 918 B2, which is referred to for the technical details of this method.
The present disclosure also comprises a joining method for joining at least a first and a second part, in particular a pulse-like joining method, comprising the following steps: releasably fixing the at least two parts by means of a clamping device with which a plurality of parts to be connected to each other are clamped at a plurality of clamping points between fastening components cooperating with each other, respectively, wherein the plurality of clamping points fixes the plurality of parts to a base so that a joining of the parts is ensured, and at least one-sided engaging of at least one engagement component in at least a vibration-sensitive part portion of the at least two parts at least at an engagement point so that part vibration can be damped compared to a part vibration without the engagement component, and joining the at least two parts.
According to the above joining method, first of all the at least two parts are fixed temporarily and releasably to the base by means of the fastening components of the clamping device. These fastening components correspond to the above-described fastening components of the clamping points of the sound reduction device. After the at least two components have been releasably fixed, at least one engagement component is moved in such a way that it engages in a vibration-sensitive part portion of the at least two parts. This engagement of the engagement component realizes a repressing of possible vibrations of the at least two parts so that occurring structure-borne sound is reduced during the joining of the at least two parts. The here mentioned engagement components correspond to the above-described engagement components of the sound reduction device. Subsequently, the at least two parts are joined, wherein different joining methods are used. These joining methods include the group of pulse-like joining methods such as, for example, the high-speed bolt setting (see above) and the impulse punch riveting. Further joining methods are the punch riveting with semi-hollow punch rivet or solid punch rivet, the blind riveting with pulling off of the tension bolt, the clinching and the inserting of a flow-form-screw. In contrast to the introduction of the flow-form-screw, it is thus preferred to use pulse-like joining methods in which the joining element is inserted almost without any rotation into the at least two parts. Furthermore, joining methods are used in which a punch occurs and/or in which a rotation of the joining element is also provided.
According to the disclosure, in the joining method, the number of clamping points is arranged in an edge portion of a part, whereas the engagement components of the engagement points engage in at least an areal portion in the size from 100 cm2 to 10 m2. Furthermore, the joining method comprises the following step: applying at least one sound damping layer to the part surface by means of the at least one engagement component such that an amount of emitted sound energy during the joining method is less than a sound energy amount without using the sound damping layer. With regard to the design of the sound damping layer, reference is made to the above.
The present disclosure further comprises a machining method for at least one part, comprising the following steps: releasably fixing the at least one part by means of a clamping device by means of which the at least one part is clamped at a plurality of clamping points between fastening components cooperating with each other, wherein the plurality of clamping points fasten the at least one part to a basis so that a machining of the at least one part is ensured, and at least one-sided engagement of at least one engagement component in at least one vibration-sensitive part portion of the at least one part at at least one engagement point, so that a part vibration can be dampened compared to a part vibration without the engagement component, and machining the at least one part.
Representative embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It shows:
Referring to
Referring again to
Preferably, and with respect to the vibration-sensitive part portion 30 having a unit of area of 100 cm2 one to three, preferably one or two, engagement components 24 are arranged engaging the part surface. These engagement components 24 are preferably equally distributed over the unit of area and are arranged regularly. Accordingly, three to nine engagement components 24 preferably engage a vibration-sensitive part portion 30 of a size of approximately 300 cm2, since it consists of three units of area of 100 cm2 each.
According to
Although the components B1 and B2 are temporarily fixed at the clamping points and optionally have a mechanical support (not shown) adjacent to or in the joining portion, these clamping points 12 are not sufficient to prevent the structure-borne sound of the parts B1, B2 during the joining process by a setting device S sufficiently. As can be seen from
With regard to a reduced noise emission during the joining and machining of the parts B1, B2, it is preferred to arrange a joining zone as close as possible to the clamping points 12, wherein the joining zone is the region into which the bolts 40 are set. In this way, a part vibration can already be reduced by the clamping points 12.
It is also preferred to arrange one to ten clamping points per standard length of 1 m of the part B1; B2 to releasably fasten the part B1; B2, for example, in the flange portion.
According to
According to a further embodiment, the sound reduction device comprises a number of engagement points 22 arranged in or adjacent to or next to the vibration-sensitive part portions 30. The engagement points 22 are preferably positioned in the vibration-sensitive part portions 30. At the engagement points 22 the component surface is engaged by mechanical engagement components 24. This engagement of the engagement component 24 takes place at the part B1; B2 preferably on one side or on both sides. By the engaging of the engagement component 24, component vibrations are damped or reduced.
In order to achieve an optimal damping result by this engagement, the engagement area of the engagement component 24 engaging the part B1; B2 is made of metal or plastic or a hybrid consisting of metal core and plastic cover or bitumen or silicone or rubber or of damping cardboard.
According to a further embodiment, the engagement surfaces of the engagement component 24 are formed as areal sound damping layers 26. These sound damping layers 26 are preferably adapted in size to the vibration-sensitive part portion 30. According to different embodiments of the disclosure their size varies between 1 cm2 and 2 m2, preferably between 4 cm2 and 0.4 m2.
In addition to the number of engagement components, which comprise one to three engagement components 24 or engagement points 22 per unit of area of 100 cm2 in the vibration-sensitive part portion 30, the shape of the sound damping layer 26 can also be adjusted. Here it is preferred to adapt the shape of the sound damping layer 26 to the shape of the part or to form the sound damping layer 26 as large as possible.
According to a further embodiment, the engagement surface of the engagement component 24 and the sound damping layer 26 are made of a viscoelastic material. This viscoelastic material is characterized by the loss factor d in the range of 0.05≦d≦1. The loss factor d describes the damping behavior of the contact area or sound damping layer 26, which is applied as a coating to the part B1; B2. The loss factor d is a measure of the proportion of kinetic energy introduced into the parts B1, B2, which is converted into heat within the material. Therefore the loss factor d is a material parameter, which can be taken from tables. In addition, the loss factor d is defined in DIN EN ISO 6721-3, which is hereby incorporated by reference in order to determine the loss factor. The structure-borne sound damping described by the loss factor d describes the conversion of the oscillation energy of the part B1; B2 by internal friction of the material of the sound damping layer 26 or the engagement surface of the engagement component 24 into heat.
While on the one hand, the material used for the damping layer 26 can be characterized by the loss factor d, the following materials are on the other hand preferred as damping layer 26 according to the disclosure: plastics, hybrids consisting of metal core and plastic cover, bitumen, silicone, rubber and damping cardboard.
During a joining method for connecting at least a first part and a second part B1, B2 or during a machining process of one or more parts B1, B2, a releasable fixing of the part or parts B1; B2 takes place in step I first. This fixing is realized by the clamping device 10 discussed above with the plurality of fastening components 14, 16 at the clamping points 12. Due to the present part geometry of the parts B1, B2, the vibration-sensitive part portions 30 are recognizable on account of their size (see above). Therefore, in the next step II, an at least one-sided engagement of the engagement surface of the engagement component 24 occurs adjacent to, in or next to these vibration-sensitive part portions 30. As soon as the engagement components 24 engage the parts B1, B2 by means of their engagement surfaces or by means of sound damping layers 26, an additional damping of possibly occurring vibrations of the components and thus a damping of the structure-borne sound is provided. Therefore, the joining of the at least two parts B1, B2 takes place in step IV or the machining of the at least one part B1 in step V.
Certain embodiments or components or features of components have been noted herein as being “preferred” and such indications are to be understood as relating to a preference of the applicant at the time this application was filed. Such embodiments, components or features noted as being “preferred” are not required for implementation of the inventions disclosed herein unless otherwise indicated as being required, or unless specifically included within the claims that follow.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2015 000 196.5 | Jan 2015 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2015/080869 | 12/21/2015 | WO | 00 |