US20020039605A1 - Method for making pipe insulation - Google Patents
Method for making pipe insulation Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20020039605A1 US20020039605A1 US10/010,431 US1043101A US2002039605A1 US 20020039605 A1 US20020039605 A1 US 20020039605A1 US 1043101 A US1043101 A US 1043101A US 2002039605 A1 US2002039605 A1 US 2002039605A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- core
- curing
- forming
- support
- air
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C53/00—Shaping by bending, folding, twisting, straightening or flattening; Apparatus therefor
- B29C53/80—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
- B29C53/8008—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations specially adapted for winding and joining
- B29C53/8016—Storing, feeding or applying winding materials, e.g. reels, thread guides, tensioners
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C53/00—Shaping by bending, folding, twisting, straightening or flattening; Apparatus therefor
- B29C53/56—Winding and joining, e.g. winding spirally
- B29C53/566—Winding and joining, e.g. winding spirally for making tubular articles followed by compression
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C35/00—Heating, cooling or curing, e.g. crosslinking or vulcanising; Apparatus therefor
- B29C35/02—Heating or curing, e.g. crosslinking or vulcanizing during moulding, e.g. in a mould
- B29C35/04—Heating or curing, e.g. crosslinking or vulcanizing during moulding, e.g. in a mould using liquids, gas or steam
- B29C35/045—Heating or curing, e.g. crosslinking or vulcanizing during moulding, e.g. in a mould using liquids, gas or steam using gas or flames
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C53/00—Shaping by bending, folding, twisting, straightening or flattening; Apparatus therefor
- B29C53/80—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
- B29C53/84—Heating or cooling
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29K—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR MOULDS, REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS
- B29K2105/00—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped
- B29K2105/06—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped containing reinforcements, fillers or inserts
- B29K2105/08—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped containing reinforcements, fillers or inserts of continuous length, e.g. cords, rovings, mats, fabrics, strands or yarns
- B29K2105/0854—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped containing reinforcements, fillers or inserts of continuous length, e.g. cords, rovings, mats, fabrics, strands or yarns in the form of a non-woven mat
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29L—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES
- B29L2023/00—Tubular articles
- B29L2023/22—Tubes or pipes, i.e. rigid
- B29L2023/225—Insulated
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/41—Winding, unwinding
- B65H2301/414—Winding
- B65H2301/41419—Starting winding process
- B65H2301/41426—Starting winding process involving suction means, e.g. core with vacuum supply
Definitions
- This invention relates to manufacturing pipe insulation and more particularly to an apparatus and method for making pipe insulation.
- an insulating material such as mineral fiber is first formed into a cylindrical shape. After the insulation product has been formed, it is typically hardened in this shape by curing. After curing, it may be necessary or desirable to sand the exterior of the hardened cylindrical product in order to provide a regular, smooth exterior.
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,009 discloses an apparatus for forming hollow cylinders of resin-impregnated mineral mats suitable for use' as insulation for systems of pipes or conduits.
- the apparatus includes a mandrel about which the mat is wrapped.
- the winding of the mat on the mandrel is executed pneumatically, in that the hollow mandrel has perforations on its surface, and the interior of the mandrel is placed under reduced pressure.
- Prior apparatus such as that disclosed by Levecque may suffer from a number of disadvantages.
- the mineral fiber used for insulation is somewhat resilient. If, as is typically the case, the mineral fiber is no longer subjected to compression after forming, then there may be some expansion of the compressed mineral fiber before curing. The expanded mineral fiber will then be cured, resulting in an insulation product that may be of lower density than desired. Further, it is very desirable that the insulation product have a hard and smooth inside core as well as uniform wall thickness and outside diameter, as this greatly facilitates fitting the insulation on pipes.
- the concentricity and outside diameter are as important as the inside diameter of the pipe since segments are cut and rotated 180 degrees to form segmented elbows; if the insulation product is not concentric or the outside diameter changes, then the inside diameter of each segment will not line up. Typically, however, the insulation is removed from the forming mandrel before being fully cured. Accordingly, some of the expansion, which may well be uneven, may occur on the inner surface of the insulation product as well as the outer surface of the insulation product, resulting in a cured inside core that is less hard and smooth than the core was at the end of the forming stage of manufacture.
- the insulation product may also differ in thickness at different points along its length as a result of differential expansion.
- Prior art apparatus such as the Soikkeli apparatus may suffer from a number of disadvantages.
- the movable endless belt used by Soikkeli to hold and compress the insulating material next to the core may not provide equal pressure on the insulating material all the way around the core.
- the mineral fiber may not be contacted by the endless belt at all, resulting in uneven thickness and density of the insulation material after forming.
- the forming radius provided by the endless belt cannot be separately controlled; instead this forming radius is determined by the tension in the endless belt and the resistance of the insulation product to compression. This, in turn, may make it more difficult to produce high tolerance insulation product, especially when forming low density outer layers of insulation.
- High tolerance insulation product is desirable for, among other applications, fabricating segmented sections of insulation to fit curved pipe.
- the apparatus for manufacturing pipe insulation would include a roll forming apparatus that provides substantially uniform compression to all exposed portions of the insulating material around its circumference. It is also desirable that the rolling apparatus be easily and precisely adjustable to accommodate changes in the diameter of the insulating material and core. In order to integrate the forming of the insulation product with subsequent stages of manufacture, such as curing and sanding, it is desirable that the core with the formed insulating material wrapped thereround be easily transportable to the subsequent curing stage.
- An object of an aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved insulation manufacturing apparatus.
- a roll forming apparatus for rolling a selected material around a cylindrical core.
- the apparatus comprises a core support, a roll support means, and a material supply means.
- the core support is for supporting the cylindrical core.
- the core support has an associated core rotation means for rotating the core about a core rotation axis at a controllable rotation rate.
- the roll support means supports a plurality of forming rolls positioned to surround the core about the core rotation axis.
- the roll support means has a roll control means operable to both radially position the plurality of forming rolls relative to the core rotation axis and to constrain the plurality of forming rolls to be equally spaced from the core rotation axis, in order to provide integrated adjustment of the plurality of forming rolls to control a radial dimension of a substantially symmetrical forming space defined by the plurality of forming rolls.
- the material supply means is for supplying the selected material to the core at a material supply rate, and has an associated material supply control means for controlling the material supply rate.
- an apparatus for receiving a selected curable material and for retaining the selected curable material during a forming stage and a curing stage.
- the selected curable material is formed into a desired configuration during the forming stage, and is heated during the curing stage to harden the selected material in the desired configuration.
- the apparatus includes a core mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation, a curing means for heating the selected curable material to at least a curing temperature to harden the selected curable material in the selected configuration, and a vacuum means in fluid communication with the fluid communication means.
- the core has an associated core rotation means for rotating the core about an axis of rotation, an outer permeable surface for receiving and retaining the selected curable material, and a fluid communication means for receiving air flow from the outer permeable surface.
- the vacuum means is operable to draw a forming core air flow through the fluid communication means, the outer permeable surface of the core and the selected curable material retained on the core during forming of the selected curable material retained on the core.
- the forming core air flow has a temperature below the curing temperature.
- the vacuum means is also operable to draw a curing core air flow through the outer permeable surface and the fluid communication means of the core and the selected curable material retained on the core during curing of the selected curable material retained on the core.
- An object of another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved insulation manufacturing method.
- a method of forming and curing a selected curable material in a desired configuration comprises the steps of (a) supplying the selected curable material to the core, (b) forming the selected curable material retained on the core, and (c)curing the selected curable material retained on the core.
- the method also comprises drawing a core air flow through a permeable surface of a core and through the selected curable material on the core to retain the selected curable material on the core and to compress the selected permeable material to the core.
- the core air flow has an air temperature below a curing temperature of the selected curable material during steps (a) and (b).
- FIG. 1 in a perspective view illustrates a vacuum core and a core support of an insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 in a perspective view illustrates the vacuum core and the core support of the insulation making apparatus of FIG. 1 in which the core support has been partially cut-away to show a vacuum duct;
- FIG. 3 in a sectional view, illustrates a roll forming apparatus of an insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 4 in a sectional view, illustrates the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3 wherein the apparatus has been adjusted to roll a core wrapped with insulating material;
- FIG. 5 in a sectional view, illustrates, the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3 in which the apparatus has been adjusted to roll a core with insulating material of small diameter;
- FIG. 6 in a sectional view, illustrates a forming roll of the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3;
- FIG. 7 in a sectional view, illustrates the geometry of the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3;
- FIG. 8 in a perspective view illustrates a curing oven of the insulation making apparatus of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 9 in a cut-away perspective view illustrates the curing oven of FIG. 8;
- FIG. 10 in a sectional view of FIG. 9, illustrates the curing oven of FIGS. 8 and 9;
- FIG. 11 in a plan view, illustrates a preferred layout of the pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 12 to 15 in different cut-away plan views, illustrate different portions of a duct network connected to the vacuum core of FIG. 1 and the curing oven of FIG. 8.
- FIG. 1 there is illustrated in a perspective view a core support 21 and a core 22 of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- the core 22 is supported by the core support 21 at a horizontal swivel joint 38 .
- the horizontal swivel joint 38 supports the core 22 at an elevated and generally horizontal orientation, while permitting rotation of the core 22 about an axis of rotation 28 .
- the core support 21 includes a rotary drive 44 having a drive pinion 46 . In operation, the rotary drive 44 rotates the drive pinion 46 , which, in turn, rotates the core gear-ring 48 and the core 22 .
- mineral fiber or other selected curable material 24 is supplied to the core 22 by any suitable means such as a conveyor. While the selected curable material 24 is being supplied to the core 22 , the core 22 rotates around the axis of rotation 28 thereby wrapping the selected curable material 24 around the core 22 .
- the core 22 is partially hollow, and a partial vacuum is maintained in the interior of the core 22 in order to provide suction through perforations 26 in the surface of the core 22 . Suction provided via the perforations 26 helps to hold the selected curable material 24 on the core 22 .
- Vacuum duct 32 is connected to the interior of core 22 at the horizontal swivel joint 38 .
- the connection of the vacuum duct 32 and the interior of the core 22 is sealed at the horizontal swivel joint 38 by a horizontal end seal 36 in order to maintain the partial vacuum in the interior of the core 22 while permitting rotation of the core 22 relative to the vacuum duct 32 .
- Vacuum duct 32 is, in turn, connected to a vacuum exhaust duct 34 .
- the partial vacuum inside the vacuum duct 32 and the core 22 is maintained by a partial vacuum in vacuum exhaust duct 34 .
- Vacuum exhaust duct 34 and vacuum duct 32 are of relatively large diameter and have relatively smooth inside walls in order to minimize any pressure drop and provide optimal suction to the perforations 26 of core 22 .
- Core support 21 is mounted on a support platform 41 for pivoting about pivot axis 30 .
- Vacuum exhaust duct 34 is connected to core support 21 by a vertical swivel joint 42 and the vacuum exhaust duct 34 does not pivot with core support 21 .
- the connection of the vacuum duct 32 and the vacuum exhaust duct 34 is maintained and sealed at the vertical swivel joint 42 by vertical end seal 40 in order to maintain the partial vacuum in the vacuum duct 32 while permitting the vacuum duct 32 to turn relative to the vacuum exhaust duct 34 .
- FIG. 3 there is illustrated in a sectional view a roll forming apparatus 50 of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- the roll forming apparatus 50 comprises forming rolls 54 , support arms 56 , support arm pivot pins 68 , and a roll forming apparatus frame 53 .
- the roll forming apparatus 50 surrounds a core 22 that is mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation 28 .
- Each support arm 56 is pivotably secured to the roll forming apparatus frame 53 by a unique one of the support arm pivot pins 68 .
- Each of the support arm pivot pins 68 is fixed to the roll forming apparatus frame 53 at a common fixed radial distance, shown as R f in FIG. 7, from the axis of rotation 28 .
- Each support arm 56 supports a single forming roll 54 spaced a common fixed arm distance, shown as D f in FIG. 7, from the support arm pivot pin 68 for such support arm 56 .
- the support arms 56 may pivot about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 to change the spacing of the forming rolls 54 from the axis of rotation 28 .
- the rotation arms 56 include two proximal support arms 56 a , two intermediate support arms 56 b and two distal support arms 56 c.
- Each proximal support arm 56 a is adjacent to a different intermediate support arm 56 b , which intermediate support arm 56 b , is, in turn, adjacent to a different distal support arm 56 c.
- the support arms 56 can be divided into two groups of adjacent support arms 56 , each group comprising a proximal support arm 56 a , an intermediate support arm 56 b and a distal support arm 56 c.
- the roll forming apparatus 50 includes a plurality of rod linkages 62 ; each rod linkage links adjacent support arms 56 within a group such that the support arms 56 in a group are constrained to pivot together by equal amounts about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 . Specifically, within each group the distal support arm 56 c is linked by an associated rod linkage 62 c to the intermediate support arm 56 b , and the intermediate support arm 56 b is linked by an associated rod linkage 62 b to the proximal support arm 56 a.
- the roll forming apparatus 50 includes two support arm drivers 90 , each of which is linked to a different proximal support arm 56 a .
- the support arm drivers 90 are operable to pivot the proximal support arms 56 a about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 .
- each of the support arm drivers 90 is linked to a slide block 92 by a separate one of two driver linkages 96 .
- the slide block 92 is driven by a servo-driven ball screw (not shown)
- the servo-driven ball screw moves the slide block 92 , thereby moving the drive linkages 96 together, and operating the support arm drivers 90 together to pivot the proximal support arms 56 a together by equal amounts about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 .
- each support arm pivot pin 68 is spaced by the common fixed radial distance R f from the axis of rotation 28 .
- Each support arm 56 forms a common angle W, shown in FIG. 7, with a line taken along the common fixed radial distance R f separating the associated support arm pivot pin 68 for such support arm 56 from the axis of rotation 28 .
- the common angle W is common to all the support arms 56 because the two support arm drivers constrain the proximal support arms 56 a to be oriented at the common angle W, and the rod linkages 62 constrain the remaining support arms to be at the common angle W.
- the two support arm drivers 90 are operable to change the common angle W by pivoting the two proximal support arms 56 a about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 , and the remaining support arms 56 are constrained to pivot together by the rod linkages 62 .
- the common angle W changes but remains common to all the support arms 56 .
- the forming rolls 54 are constrained to be a common variable rolling radius from the axis of rotation 28 .
- the common variable rolling radius is shown as R v in FIG. 7.
- the core 22 is supported by a core mount 21 , which is operable to rotate the core 22 about the axis of rotation 28 .
- the core 22 as well as a surrounding layer of a selected curable material 24 occupy a cylindrical rolling space defined by the forming rolls 54 to have a radius substantially equal to the common variable rolling radius R V less the radius of the forming rolls 54 .
- the core 21 is also pivotable about a pivot axis 30 perpendicular to the axis of rotation 28 , and outside the cylindrical rolling space, such that the core 22 can be pivoted into and out of the cylindrical rolling space.
- FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 show the roll forming apparatus 50 in different positions, in which the common variable rolling radius R v is changed to define a cylindrical rolling space of varying dimensions.
- the common variable rolling radius R v of the forming rolls 54 from the axis of rotation 68 is maximized.
- the forming rolls 54 at the ends of the distal support arms 56 c are spaced from one another at a maximum distance, thereby defining a gap 86 through which the core 22 can be pivoted into or out of the cylindrical rolling space in which the core 22 is centered around the axis of rotation 28 .
- the roll forming apparatus 50 is shown with the support arms 56 pivoted about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 by the support arm drivers 90 and the rod linkages 62 , to reduce the common variable rolling radius R V and the dimensions of the cylindrical rolling space.
- the dimensions of the gap 86 are similarly reduced such that the core 22 and the surrounding layer of selected curable material 24 will not fit through the gap.
- the roll forming apparatus 50 is shown with the support arms 56 pivoted about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 by the support arm drivers 90 and the rod linkages 62 , to reduce the common variable rolling radius and the dimensions of the cylindrical rolling space still further, such that the forming rolls 54 overlap.
- the features of the forming rolls 54 that permit the forming rolls to overlap are shown in FIG. 6.
- FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a forming roll 54 .
- the forming roll 54 comprises a small diameter portion 60 and a large diameter portion 58 .
- the large diameter portion 58 is secured to the small diameter portion 60 by a radial portion 59 .
- the large diameter portion 58 extends no more than halfway across the total width provided by the forming roll 54 , while the small diameter portion 58 extends across the entire width of the forming roll 54 , but is partially covered by the large diameter portion 60 .
- Forming rolls 54 that are adjacent have an opposite configuration in that the large diameter portions 58 of adjacent forming rolls 54 are offset from each other so that adjacent forming rolls 54 can overlap.
- the forming rolls 54 supported by the proximal support arm 56 a and the distal support arm 56 c of one group of support arms 56 has the same configuration as the forming roll 54 supported by the intermediate support arm 56 b of the other group of support arms 56 .
- the remaining three support arms have the opposite configuration.
- the two forming rolls 54 at the ends of the two distal support arms 56 c are oppositely configured, such that the large diameter portion 58 of the forming roll 54 mounted on the end of one of the distal support arms 56 c is aligned with the small diameter portion 60 of the forming roll 54 mounted on the end of the other distal support arm 56 c.
- the forming rolls 54 are not prevented from being positioned close to one another by their large diameter portions 58 as these large diameter portions 58 can overlap, which permits greater reduction of the common variable rolling radius as shown in FIG. 5, thereby permitting smaller diameter insulating product to be formed.
- the forming rolls 54 are made of nickel-plated aluminum in order to maximize rolling hardness while minimizing weight.
- the forming rolls 54 can overlap permits larger diameter forming rolls 54 to be used for rolling smaller diameter insulation product then would otherwise be possible. Larger diameter forming rolls 54 are preferable to smaller diameter forming rolls as smaller diameter forming rolls provide a correspondingly smaller area of contact with the selected curable material 24 . If equal force is provided to the selected curable material 24 through smaller forming rolls, this increases the pressure placed on the selected curable material 24 , which, in turn, increases the likelihood of fiber damage.
- Each of the forming rolls 54 has a coaxial drive sprocket 55 that engages a roller chain 84 to permit the forming rolls 54 to be driven by the roller chain 84 .
- the roller chain 84 extends around a path defined by idler sprockets 82 and drive sprockets 88 as well as by the coaxial drive sprockets 55 of the forming rolls 54 .
- At least one of the idler sprockets 82 is coupled to a tension weight 80 that takes up the slack of the roller chain 84 when the forming rolls 54 are pivoted inwardly as shown in FIG. 5.
- Selected curable material 24 is supplied to the core 22 by an inclined conveyor 74 .
- the inclination of the inclined conveyor 74 is controlled by a conveyor servo-driver 78 (shown in FIG. 4) that automatically controls the inclination of the inclined conveyor 74 to discharge the selected curable material 24 off a discharge end 76 of the inclined conveyor 74 and onto the core 22 and any selected curable material 24 previously deposited onto the core 22 .
- the rate at which selected curable material 24 is supplied to the inclined conveyor 74 and from there to the core 22 is controlled by a weighing conveyor 70 .
- the rotational speed of the core 22 is controlled by the servomotor 44 (shown in FIG.
- the rotation speed of the core 22 is a function of the feed rate of the selected curable material 24 from the inclined conveyor 74 and also of the current diameter of the selected curable material 24 formed around the core 22 .
- the forming rolls 54 can be advanced or retracted relative to the current depth of the selected curable material 24 on the core 22 . Advancing the forming rolls 54 to increase the forming space will reduce compression of the selected curable material 24 . Retracting the forming rolls 54 to decrease the forming space will compress the selected curable material 24 as the forming rolls 54 put more pressure on the selected curable material 24 .
- the rate at which the selected curable material 24 is supplied by the inclined conveyor 74 , the core rotation speed, and forming roll 54 rotational speed can all be integrally and precisely controlled, a high degree of control over the forming of the insulation product is possible.
- the heat flux at the inside annulus will be much greater than at the outer circumference. Accordingly, having a higher density at the internal core and a lower density at the outer diameter will provide a higher thermal resistance per unit area than at the circumference, providing an optimal overall thermal performance for given total mass of insulation.
- the rotational speed of the core 22 can be reduced relative to the rate at which selected curable material 24 is deposited on the core 22 , resulting in more selected curable material 24 being deposited per unit area. Then the cylindrical rolling space can be reduced to compress the selected curable material 24 , while the rotational speed of the forming rolls 54 is reduced to accommodate the slower rotation of the core 22 . Accordingly, the fact that all of the foregoing feed characteristic and rotational speeds can be precisely and integrally controlled, permits a superior product to be obtained.
- FIG. 8 there is illustrated a curing oven 110 of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.
- the curing oven 110 is operable to cure the selected curable material 24 wrapped around the core 22 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
- Curing oven 110 comprises a rear opening (not shown), which is opened and closed by an end door 116 , and a main opening (not shown) that is opened and closed by a main door 118 .
- the curing oven 110 is disposed adjacent to the core support 21 at the side of the curing oven 110 that includes the rear opening and the rear door 116 .
- the core support 21 is operable to pivot the core 22 into the curing oven 110 .
- the sealing plate 39 of the core support 21 is arranged to be identical in size to the end door 116 so that it closes and seals the rear opening when the core 22 is pivoted into the curing oven 110 .
- the curing oven can then be sealed shut by closing the main door 118 using main door cylinders 126 to close the main door 118 , and main door clamps 128 to clamp the main door 118 shut.
- a seal is maintained by a main door seal 130 when the main door 118 is shut and clamped by main door cylinders 126 and main door clamps 128 respectively.
- a top seal actuated by an air cylinder 122 is brought to bear on the top surface of the sealing plate 39 of the core support 21 .
- an end seal operated by cylinders 120 , and a bottom seal actuated by cylinder 124 complete the sealing of the rear opening by the rear door 116 or the sealing plate 39 of the core support 21 .
- curing air which has been heated to above a curing temperature for the selected curable material 24 , is directed into the oven 110 via the curing inlet 112 .
- curing air from the oven inlet 112 is first received into a louvered air distribution chamber 132 .
- the louvered distribution chamber 132 has an elongated slot 134 along the length of a roof 113 of the curing oven 110 adjacent to the main door 118 .
- the elongated slot 134 distributes the curing air along the length of the core 22 and the selected curable material 24 wrapped around the core 22 .
- the oven outlet 114 is also disposed on the roof 113 of the curing oven 110 but is disposed towards the back side of the oven 110 .
- the placement of the oven outlet 114 and the elongated slot 134 of the louvered air distribution chamber 132 on opposite sides of the roof of the curing oven induces a rotary curing airflow around the core 22 in the curing oven 110 .
- the airflow rotates around the core 22 in the same direction as the core 22 did when the selected curable material 24 was being wrapped around the core 22 . This rotation of the airflow tightens, rather than loosens, the spooling of the wound selected curable material 24 on the core 22 .
- the oven 110 is sealed enables a positive pressure to be built up within the oven 110 .
- a partial vacuum is maintained within the core 22 by airflow through the vacuum conduit 32 and vacuum exhaust duct 34 .
- the combination of the positive pressure within the oven 110 and the partial vacuum within the core 22 generates a significant hot or curing air static pressure across the selected curable material 24 wrapped around the core 22 .
- the resulting flow of curing air through the selected curable material 24 and the perforations 26 of the core 22 maintain the selected curable material 24 in the compressed configuration effected during forming by preventing expansion of the selected curable material 24 and also provides effective heat transfer due to the velocity of hot air passing through the selected curable material 24 .
- the compression of the selected curable material 24 under vacuum is maintained until the selected curable material 24 is cured, in order to maintain the desired compression.
- the oven 110 is kept as small as possible while still accommodating the core 22 and the selected curable material 24 wrapped therearound, in order to permit the selected curable material 24 to be cured as rapidly as possible.
- the curing oven 110 can be preheated prior to receiving the core 22 .
- a bypass valve 172 can be switched in conjunction with a hot air supply valve 170 and an oven pre-heat return valve 176 being closed to allow the air to bypass the oven 110 entirely.
- This allows the end door 116 and the main door 118 of the oven 110 to be opened and for the core support 21 to pivot the core 22 into the curing position within the oven 110 , at which point the main door 118 of the curing oven 110 can be closed to seal the core 22 within the oven 110 .
- the sealing plate 39 of the core support 21 seals the rear opening of the oven 110 shut.
- the above-described structure of the oven 110 also permits self-cleaning.
- an empty core moves into the oven 110 and hot air that is heated to above the normal operating temperature is ducted into the curing oven 110 via the oven inlet 112 and the elongated slot 134 of the louvered air distribution chamber 132 .
- This high temperature cleans the interior of the oven 110 and the ducts without requiring the ducts to be dismantled, thereby improving the availability and economics of the apparatus.
- the pipe insulation making apparatus includes two cores 22 and two ovens 110 .
- Each of the two cores 22 is supported by separate core supports 21 .
- the core supports 21 pivot the cores 22 from a single forming position, designated 22 a in FIG. 11, in which the selected curable material around each of the two cores 22 is formed by the roll forming apparatus 50 at different times.
- the core supports 21 are spaced on each side of the forming station. After forming, each core 22 is pivoted 180 degrees, through an intermediate position at 90 degrees designated 22 b in the drawings, to a curing position 22 c within the curing ovens 110 .
- FIGS. 12 to 15 there are illustrated different portions of a duct system of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.
- the duct system is operable to provide forming airflow to both of the vacuum cores 22 during forming, and to provide curing airflow to both of the ovens 110 and both of the cores 22 during curing in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 12 and 13 in different cut-away plan views, illustrate mainly those portions of the duct system 135 that provide the curing airflow to the ovens 110 and the cores 22 during curing.
- FIG. 14, in a further cut-away plan view illustrates mainly those portions of the duct system 135 that draw the forming airflow from the cores 22 during forming.
- FIG. 15 is a cut-away perspective view of the duct system.
- Each of the core supports is adjacent to a different curing oven 110 ; each curing oven 110 is positioned to be on the opposite side of the adjacent core support 21 from the forming station.
- the core support 21 pivots the core 22 through 180° and into the adjacent oven 110 , at which point the sealing plate 39 of the core support 21 will seal the end opening of the adjacent oven 110 .
- the main door 118 then closes to seal the core 22 and the formed selected curable material 24 wrapped around the core 22 into the curing oven 110 for curing.
- the forming station is then free for the other core 22 to be pivoted into position in the forming station to receive and form new selected curable material 24 .
- the partial vacuum within each core 22 and the positive pressure within each oven 110 during curing are maintained by hot air recirculation fans 140 .
- the hot air recirculation fans 140 force hot curing air into the combustion box 142 via recirculation outlet lines 154 .
- the hot curing air is heated to a temperature above the curing temperature for the selected curable material 24 .
- the positive pressure generated by the hot air recirculation fan 140 forces the heated curing air out of the combustion box 142 and into the hot air recirculation lines 144 .
- Each of the hot air recirculation lines 144 communicates with different oven inlets 112 such that heated curing air is discharged into each oven 110 via its oven inlet 112 , louvered air distribution chamber 132 , and elongated slot 134 .
- a minimal amount of curing air is discharged from each oven 110 into oven hot air outlet lines 150 .
- a partial vacuum is maintained in oven hot air outlet lines 150 by the hot air recirculation fans 140 in order to draw some small portion of the curing air out of the ovens 110 and into the oven hot air outlet lines 150 .
- the oven hot air outlet lines 150 are connected to the hot air recirculation fans 140 such that the curing air from the oven hot air outlet lines 150 is redirected to the combustion box 142 via the hot air recirculation fans 140 and the recirculation outlet lines 154 .
- Most of the heated curing air that is released into each oven 110 via its oven inlet 112 is drawn through the selected curable material 24 and into the cores 22 via the perforations 26 .
- the spent curing air within the cores 22 is then drawn back to the recirculation fans via turret outlet lines 152 .
- the hot air recirculation lines 154 then channel this air, together with the curing air received from the oven hot air outlet lines 150 , back to the combustion box 142 .
- duct system 135 includes a bypass valve 172 for each curing oven 110 for redirecting all the heated curing air in the hot air recirculation lines 144 into oven hot air outlet lines 150 via oven bypass lines 148 , without this curing air passing through the ovens 110 , when each core 22 is being pivoted into its oven 110 after preheating of the oven 110 .
- the hot air supply valves 170 in the hot air recirculation lines 144 and the oven pre-heat return valves 176 in the hot air outlet lines 150 are also closed.
- the bypass valves 172 will remain partially open during the cure cycle to maximize the fan static pressure built up within the ovens 110 .
- cooler air outlet line 158 communicates with both turret hot air outlet lines 150 . Air from cooler air outlet line 158 is drawn back to hot air recirculation fans 140 . This air is then sent along with spent curing air to the combustion box 142 via the recirculation outlet lines 154 for heating and incineration removal of the smokes obtained from the selected curable material 24 .
- the cooler air outlet line 158 has a cooler return valve 174 that is a variable valve and serves to limit the volume and maximize the heat recovery from the air flow from the cooler as well as permitting optimal incineration.
- a cooler discharge line 162 for discharging excess cooling air includes a cooler discharge valve 180 .
- cooling air that cannot be returned to the hot air recirculation system in the above-described manner is filtered before discharge in order to remove the smokes obtained from the selected curable material 24 during curing.
- Exhaust from the combustion fuel used to maintain the temperature in combustion box 142 is discharged via exhaust stack line 156 through a variable exhaust valve 182 (shown in FIG. 12) that serves to optimize system pressure and flow.
- FIGS. 14 and 15 the cold air duct work of the duct system 135 is illustrated.
- forming air fan 164 generates a partial vacuum in turret cold air outlet lines 160 .
- Turret cold air lines 160 communicate with cores 22 via vacuum exhaust ducts 34 and vacuum ducts 32 to maintain a partial vacuum in the interior of the cores 22 .
- Hot core suction valves 178 in turret hot air outlet lines 152 are closed and cold core suction valves 184 in turret cold air outlet lines 160 are open to direct the forming air flow into the cold air outlet lines 160 .
- FIG. 15 there is illustrated a cut-away perspective view of the duct system 135 .
- the vacuum exhaust duct 34 of each of the two core supports 21 leads to a juncture of one turret hot air outlet line 152 and one turret cold air outlet line 160 .
- the turret hot air outlet line 152 is connected to the vacuum exhaust duct 34
- the turret cold air outlet line 160 is connected to the vacuum exhaust duct 34 .
- Turret cold air outlet line 160 leads to forming air fan 164 , which provides the partial vacuum in turret cold air outlet 160 , vacuum exhaust duct 34 , vacuum duct 32 and the inside of core 22 .
- the spent forming air is discharged through a cold air exhaust conduit 166 to a suitable filter system.
- the turret hot air outlet lines 152 lead to the hot air recirculation fans 140 , as do the oven hot air outlet lines 150 .
- curing air is redirected to the recirculation outlet lines 154 and from there to the combustion box 142 and the hot air recirculation line 144 as described above.
Abstract
A roll forming apparatus for rolling a selected material around a cylindrical core. The apparatus comprises a core support, a roll support means, and a material supply means. The core support is for supporting the cylindrical core. The core support has an associated core rotation means for rotating the core about a core rotation axis at a controllable rotation rate. The roll support means supports a plurality of forming rolls positioned to surround the core about the core rotation axis. The roll support means has a roll control means operable to both radially position the plurality of forming rolls relative to the core rotation axis and to constrain the plurality of forming rolls to be equally spaced from the core rotation axis, in order to provide integrated adjustment of the plurality of forming rolls to control a radial dimension of a substantially symmetrical forming space defined by the plurality of forming rolls. The material supply means is for supplying the selected material to the core at a material supply rate, and has an associated material supply control means for controlling the material supply rate.
Description
- This invention relates to manufacturing pipe insulation and more particularly to an apparatus and method for making pipe insulation.
- In order to manufacture a cylindrical insulation product suitable for insulating pipes, an insulating material such as mineral fiber is first formed into a cylindrical shape. After the insulation product has been formed, it is typically hardened in this shape by curing. After curing, it may be necessary or desirable to sand the exterior of the hardened cylindrical product in order to provide a regular, smooth exterior.
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,009 (Levecque) discloses an apparatus for forming hollow cylinders of resin-impregnated mineral mats suitable for use' as insulation for systems of pipes or conduits. The apparatus includes a mandrel about which the mat is wrapped. The winding of the mat on the mandrel is executed pneumatically, in that the hollow mandrel has perforations on its surface, and the interior of the mandrel is placed under reduced pressure. After the mat has been formed on the mandrel, it is ejected therefrom and travels through a heating compartment that heats the mat to a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient period of time to cure the mat.
- Prior apparatus such as that disclosed by Levecque may suffer from a number of disadvantages. Typically, the mineral fiber used for insulation is somewhat resilient. If, as is typically the case, the mineral fiber is no longer subjected to compression after forming, then there may be some expansion of the compressed mineral fiber before curing. The expanded mineral fiber will then be cured, resulting in an insulation product that may be of lower density than desired. Further, it is very desirable that the insulation product have a hard and smooth inside core as well as uniform wall thickness and outside diameter, as this greatly facilitates fitting the insulation on pipes. The concentricity and outside diameter are as important as the inside diameter of the pipe since segments are cut and rotated180 degrees to form segmented elbows; if the insulation product is not concentric or the outside diameter changes, then the inside diameter of each segment will not line up. Typically, however, the insulation is removed from the forming mandrel before being fully cured. Accordingly, some of the expansion, which may well be uneven, may occur on the inner surface of the insulation product as well as the outer surface of the insulation product, resulting in a cured inside core that is less hard and smooth than the core was at the end of the forming stage of manufacture. The insulation product may also differ in thickness at different points along its length as a result of differential expansion.
- Prior apparatus for winding insulating ply around a cylindrical core have been devised. U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,314 (Soikkeli), issued on Sep. 1, 1992, discloses such a prior apparatus in which an insulating material is wound around the core and a movable endless belt is bent around both the core and the insulating material in order to compress and form the insulating material around the core.
- Prior art apparatus such as the Soikkeli apparatus may suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, the movable endless belt used by Soikkeli to hold and compress the insulating material next to the core may not provide equal pressure on the insulating material all the way around the core. Indeed, at some points, the mineral fiber may not be contacted by the endless belt at all, resulting in uneven thickness and density of the insulation material after forming. Further, in the Soikkeli apparatus the forming radius provided by the endless belt cannot be separately controlled; instead this forming radius is determined by the tension in the endless belt and the resistance of the insulation product to compression. This, in turn, may make it more difficult to produce high tolerance insulation product, especially when forming low density outer layers of insulation. High tolerance insulation product is desirable for, among other applications, fabricating segmented sections of insulation to fit curved pipe.
- Thus, a method and apparatus for manufacturing pipe insulation in which the insulation, is kept on the mandrel or core throughout both the curing stage and the forming stage, and in which the desired shape and density of the insulation product can be retained throughout the forming stage and the curing stage, is desirable. Preferably, the apparatus for manufacturing pipe insulation would include a roll forming apparatus that provides substantially uniform compression to all exposed portions of the insulating material around its circumference. It is also desirable that the rolling apparatus be easily and precisely adjustable to accommodate changes in the diameter of the insulating material and core. In order to integrate the forming of the insulation product with subsequent stages of manufacture, such as curing and sanding, it is desirable that the core with the formed insulating material wrapped thereround be easily transportable to the subsequent curing stage.
- An object of an aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved insulation manufacturing apparatus.
- In accordance with this aspect of the present invention there is provided a roll forming apparatus for rolling a selected material around a cylindrical core. The apparatus comprises a core support, a roll support means, and a material supply means. The core support is for supporting the cylindrical core. The core support has an associated core rotation means for rotating the core about a core rotation axis at a controllable rotation rate. The roll support means supports a plurality of forming rolls positioned to surround the core about the core rotation axis. The roll support means has a roll control means operable to both radially position the plurality of forming rolls relative to the core rotation axis and to constrain the plurality of forming rolls to be equally spaced from the core rotation axis, in order to provide integrated adjustment of the plurality of forming rolls to control a radial dimension of a substantially symmetrical forming space defined by the plurality of forming rolls. The material supply means is for supplying the selected material to the core at a material supply rate, and has an associated material supply control means for controlling the material supply rate.
- In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for receiving a selected curable material and for retaining the selected curable material during a forming stage and a curing stage. The selected curable material is formed into a desired configuration during the forming stage, and is heated during the curing stage to harden the selected material in the desired configuration. The apparatus includes a core mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation, a curing means for heating the selected curable material to at least a curing temperature to harden the selected curable material in the selected configuration, and a vacuum means in fluid communication with the fluid communication means. The core has an associated core rotation means for rotating the core about an axis of rotation, an outer permeable surface for receiving and retaining the selected curable material, and a fluid communication means for receiving air flow from the outer permeable surface. The vacuum means is operable to draw a forming core air flow through the fluid communication means, the outer permeable surface of the core and the selected curable material retained on the core during forming of the selected curable material retained on the core. The forming core air flow has a temperature below the curing temperature. The vacuum means is also operable to draw a curing core air flow through the outer permeable surface and the fluid communication means of the core and the selected curable material retained on the core during curing of the selected curable material retained on the core.
- An object of another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved insulation manufacturing method.
- In accordance with this aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming and curing a selected curable material in a desired configuration. The method comprises the steps of (a) supplying the selected curable material to the core, (b) forming the selected curable material retained on the core, and (c)curing the selected curable material retained on the core. During steps (a), (b) and (c), the method also comprises drawing a core air flow through a permeable surface of a core and through the selected curable material on the core to retain the selected curable material on the core and to compress the selected permeable material to the core. The core air flow has an air temperature below a curing temperature of the selected curable material during steps (a) and (b).
- A detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention is provided herein below with-reference to the following drawings, in which:
- FIG. 1 in a perspective view illustrates a vacuum core and a core support of an insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
- FIG. 2 in a perspective view illustrates the vacuum core and the core support of the insulation making apparatus of FIG. 1 in which the core support has been partially cut-away to show a vacuum duct;
- FIG. 3, in a sectional view, illustrates a roll forming apparatus of an insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
- FIG. 4, in a sectional view, illustrates the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3 wherein the apparatus has been adjusted to roll a core wrapped with insulating material;
- FIG. 5, in a sectional view, illustrates, the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3 in which the apparatus has been adjusted to roll a core with insulating material of small diameter;
- FIG. 6, in a sectional view, illustrates a forming roll of the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3;
- FIG. 7, in a sectional view, illustrates the geometry of the roll forming apparatus of FIG. 3;
- FIG. 8 in a perspective view illustrates a curing oven of the insulation making apparatus of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 9 in a cut-away perspective view illustrates the curing oven of FIG. 8;
- FIG. 10 in a sectional view of FIG. 9, illustrates the curing oven of FIGS. 8 and 9;
- FIG. 11, in a plan view, illustrates a preferred layout of the pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; and
- FIGS.12 to 15, in different cut-away plan views, illustrate different portions of a duct network connected to the vacuum core of FIG. 1 and the curing oven of FIG. 8.
- Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated in a perspective view a
core support 21 and acore 22 of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Thecore 22 is supported by thecore support 21 at a horizontal swivel joint 38. The horizontal swivel joint 38 supports the core 22 at an elevated and generally horizontal orientation, while permitting rotation of the core 22 about an axis ofrotation 28. Thecore support 21 includes arotary drive 44 having adrive pinion 46. In operation, therotary drive 44 rotates thedrive pinion 46, which, in turn, rotates the core gear-ring 48 and thecore 22. - In operation, mineral fiber or other selected
curable material 24 is supplied to the core 22 by any suitable means such as a conveyor. While the selectedcurable material 24 is being supplied to thecore 22, thecore 22 rotates around the axis ofrotation 28 thereby wrapping the selectedcurable material 24 around thecore 22. Thecore 22 is partially hollow, and a partial vacuum is maintained in the interior of the core 22 in order to provide suction throughperforations 26 in the surface of thecore 22. Suction provided via theperforations 26 helps to hold the selectedcurable material 24 on thecore 22. - Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated the
core 22 and thecore support 21 of FIG. 1; thecore support 21 as shown in FIG. 2 has been partially cut-away to reveal avacuum duct 32.Vacuum duct 32 is connected to the interior ofcore 22 at the horizontal swivel joint 38. The connection of thevacuum duct 32 and the interior of thecore 22 is sealed at the horizontal swivel joint 38 by ahorizontal end seal 36 in order to maintain the partial vacuum in the interior of the core 22 while permitting rotation of the core 22 relative to thevacuum duct 32.Vacuum duct 32 is, in turn, connected to avacuum exhaust duct 34. The partial vacuum inside thevacuum duct 32 and thecore 22 is maintained by a partial vacuum invacuum exhaust duct 34.Vacuum exhaust duct 34 andvacuum duct 32 are of relatively large diameter and have relatively smooth inside walls in order to minimize any pressure drop and provide optimal suction to theperforations 26 ofcore 22. -
Core support 21 is mounted on asupport platform 41 for pivoting aboutpivot axis 30.Vacuum exhaust duct 34 is connected tocore support 21 by a vertical swivel joint 42 and thevacuum exhaust duct 34 does not pivot withcore support 21. The connection of thevacuum duct 32 and thevacuum exhaust duct 34 is maintained and sealed at the vertical swivel joint 42 byvertical end seal 40 in order to maintain the partial vacuum in thevacuum duct 32 while permitting thevacuum duct 32 to turn relative to thevacuum exhaust duct 34. - Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated in a sectional view a
roll forming apparatus 50 of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Theroll forming apparatus 50 comprises formingrolls 54, support arms 56, support arm pivot pins 68, and a roll formingapparatus frame 53. Theroll forming apparatus 50 surrounds a core 22 that is mounted for rotation about an axis ofrotation 28. Each support arm 56 is pivotably secured to the roll formingapparatus frame 53 by a unique one of the support arm pivot pins 68. Each of the support arm pivot pins 68 is fixed to the roll formingapparatus frame 53 at a common fixed radial distance, shown as Rf in FIG. 7, from the axis ofrotation 28. Each support arm 56 supports a single formingroll 54 spaced a common fixed arm distance, shown as Df in FIG. 7, from the supportarm pivot pin 68 for such support arm 56. The support arms 56 may pivot about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 to change the spacing of the formingrolls 54 from the axis ofrotation 28. - The rotation arms56 include two
proximal support arms 56 a, twointermediate support arms 56 b and twodistal support arms 56c. Eachproximal support arm 56 a is adjacent to a differentintermediate support arm 56 b, whichintermediate support arm 56 b, is, in turn, adjacent to a differentdistal support arm 56 c. Accordingly, the support arms 56 can be divided into two groups of adjacent support arms 56, each group comprising aproximal support arm 56 a, anintermediate support arm 56 b and adistal support arm 56 c. Theroll forming apparatus 50 includes a plurality of rod linkages 62; each rod linkage links adjacent support arms 56 within a group such that the support arms 56 in a group are constrained to pivot together by equal amounts about their respective support arm pivot pins 68. Specifically, within each group thedistal support arm 56 c is linked by an associatedrod linkage 62 c to theintermediate support arm 56 b, and theintermediate support arm 56 b is linked by an associatedrod linkage 62 b to theproximal support arm 56 a. - The
roll forming apparatus 50 includes twosupport arm drivers 90, each of which is linked to a differentproximal support arm 56 a. Thesupport arm drivers 90 are operable to pivot theproximal support arms 56 a about their respective support arm pivot pins 68. Turning to FIG. 5, each of thesupport arm drivers 90 is linked to aslide block 92 by a separate one of twodriver linkages 96. Theslide block 92 is driven by a servo-driven ball screw (not shown) The servo-driven ball screw moves theslide block 92, thereby moving thedrive linkages 96 together, and operating thesupport arm drivers 90 together to pivot theproximal support arms 56 a together by equal amounts about their respective support arm pivot pins 68. - As stated above, each support
arm pivot pin 68 is spaced by the common fixed radial distance Rf from the axis ofrotation 28. Each support arm 56 forms a common angle W, shown in FIG. 7, with a line taken along the common fixed radial distance Rf separating the associated supportarm pivot pin 68 for such support arm 56 from the axis ofrotation 28. The common angle W is common to all the support arms 56 because the two support arm drivers constrain theproximal support arms 56 a to be oriented at the common angle W, and the rod linkages 62 constrain the remaining support arms to be at the common angle W. The twosupport arm drivers 90 are operable to change the common angle W by pivoting the twoproximal support arms 56 a about their respective support arm pivot pins 68, and the remaining support arms 56 are constrained to pivot together by the rod linkages 62. As the support arms 56 are pivoted together about support arm pivot pins 68, the common angle W changes but remains common to all the support arms 56. As a result, the forming rolls 54 are constrained to be a common variable rolling radius from the axis ofrotation 28. The common variable rolling radius is shown as Rvin FIG. 7. - The
core 22 is supported by acore mount 21, which is operable to rotate the core 22 about the axis ofrotation 28. In the position shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the core 22 as well as a surrounding layer of a selectedcurable material 24 occupy a cylindrical rolling space defined by the formingrolls 54 to have a radius substantially equal to the common variable rolling radius RV less the radius of the forming rolls 54. Thecore 21 is also pivotable about apivot axis 30 perpendicular to the axis ofrotation 28, and outside the cylindrical rolling space, such that the core 22 can be pivoted into and out of the cylindrical rolling space. - FIGS. 3, 4, and5 show the
roll forming apparatus 50 in different positions, in which the common variable rolling radius Rv is changed to define a cylindrical rolling space of varying dimensions. In FIG. 3, the common variable rolling radius Rv of the formingrolls 54 from the axis ofrotation 68 is maximized. In this position, the formingrolls 54 at the ends of thedistal support arms 56 c are spaced from one another at a maximum distance, thereby defining agap 86 through which thecore 22 can be pivoted into or out of the cylindrical rolling space in which thecore 22 is centered around the axis ofrotation 28. - In FIG. 4, the
roll forming apparatus 50 is shown with the support arms 56 pivoted about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 by thesupport arm drivers 90 and the rod linkages 62, to reduce the common variable rolling radius RV and the dimensions of the cylindrical rolling space. The dimensions of thegap 86 are similarly reduced such that thecore 22 and the surrounding layer of selectedcurable material 24 will not fit through the gap. In FIG. 5, theroll forming apparatus 50 is shown with the support arms 56 pivoted about their respective support arm pivot pins 68 by thesupport arm drivers 90 and the rod linkages 62, to reduce the common variable rolling radius and the dimensions of the cylindrical rolling space still further, such that the formingrolls 54 overlap. The features of the forming rolls 54 that permit the forming rolls to overlap are shown in FIG. 6. - FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a forming
roll 54. The formingroll 54 comprises asmall diameter portion 60 and alarge diameter portion 58. Thelarge diameter portion 58 is secured to thesmall diameter portion 60 by aradial portion 59. Thelarge diameter portion 58 extends no more than halfway across the total width provided by the formingroll 54, while thesmall diameter portion 58 extends across the entire width of the formingroll 54, but is partially covered by thelarge diameter portion 60. - Forming rolls54 that are adjacent have an opposite configuration in that the
large diameter portions 58 of adjacent formingrolls 54 are offset from each other so that adjacent formingrolls 54 can overlap. Specifically, the forming rolls 54 supported by theproximal support arm 56 a and thedistal support arm 56 c of one group of support arms 56 has the same configuration as the formingroll 54 supported by theintermediate support arm 56 b of the other group of support arms 56. The remaining three support arms have the opposite configuration. Thus, the two formingrolls 54 at the ends of the twodistal support arms 56 c are oppositely configured, such that thelarge diameter portion 58 of the formingroll 54 mounted on the end of one of thedistal support arms 56 c is aligned with thesmall diameter portion 60 of the formingroll 54 mounted on the end of the otherdistal support arm 56 c. As a consequence of this configuration of the forming rolls 54, the forming rolls 54 are not prevented from being positioned close to one another by theirlarge diameter portions 58 as theselarge diameter portions 58 can overlap, which permits greater reduction of the common variable rolling radius as shown in FIG. 5, thereby permitting smaller diameter insulating product to be formed. Preferably, the forming rolls 54 are made of nickel-plated aluminum in order to maximize rolling hardness while minimizing weight. - The fact that the forming
rolls 54 can overlap permits largerdiameter forming rolls 54 to be used for rolling smaller diameter insulation product then would otherwise be possible. Largerdiameter forming rolls 54 are preferable to smaller diameter forming rolls as smaller diameter forming rolls provide a correspondingly smaller area of contact with the selectedcurable material 24. If equal force is provided to the selectedcurable material 24 through smaller forming rolls, this increases the pressure placed on the selectedcurable material 24, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of fiber damage. - Each of the forming rolls54 has a
coaxial drive sprocket 55 that engages aroller chain 84 to permit the formingrolls 54 to be driven by theroller chain 84. Theroller chain 84 extends around a path defined byidler sprockets 82 and drivesprockets 88 as well as by thecoaxial drive sprockets 55 of the forming rolls 54. At least one of theidler sprockets 82 is coupled to atension weight 80 that takes up the slack of theroller chain 84 when the forming rolls 54 are pivoted inwardly as shown in FIG. 5. - Selected
curable material 24 is supplied to the core 22 by aninclined conveyor 74. The inclination of theinclined conveyor 74 is controlled by a conveyor servo-driver 78 (shown in FIG. 4) that automatically controls the inclination of theinclined conveyor 74 to discharge the selectedcurable material 24 off adischarge end 76 of theinclined conveyor 74 and onto thecore 22 and any selectedcurable material 24 previously deposited onto thecore 22. The rate at which selectedcurable material 24 is supplied to theinclined conveyor 74 and from there to thecore 22 is controlled by a weighingconveyor 70. The rotational speed of thecore 22 is controlled by the servomotor 44 (shown in FIG. 1), and is based on the weight of the selected curable material as measured by the weighingconveyor 70. The rotation speed of thecore 22 is a function of the feed rate of the selectedcurable material 24 from theinclined conveyor 74 and also of the current diameter of the selectedcurable material 24 formed around thecore 22. - As the radial positioning of the forming rolls54 is not a function of the current combined diameter of the
core 22 and the selectedcurable material 24 being formed on thecore 22, the formingrolls 54 can be advanced or retracted relative to the current depth of the selectedcurable material 24 on thecore 22. Advancing the formingrolls 54 to increase the forming space will reduce compression of the selectedcurable material 24. Retracting the formingrolls 54 to decrease the forming space will compress the selectedcurable material 24 as the formingrolls 54 put more pressure on the selectedcurable material 24. - As the inclination of the
inclined conveyor 74, the rate at which the selectedcurable material 24 is supplied by theinclined conveyor 74, the core rotation speed, and formingroll 54 rotational speed can all be integrally and precisely controlled, a high degree of control over the forming of the insulation product is possible. Specifically, given a large ratio of outside diameter of the insulation product to inside diameter of the insulation product, the heat flux at the inside annulus will be much greater than at the outer circumference. Accordingly, having a higher density at the internal core and a lower density at the outer diameter will provide a higher thermal resistance per unit area than at the circumference, providing an optimal overall thermal performance for given total mass of insulation. In order to increase the density of the insulation product at the inner annulus, the rotational speed of the core 22 can be reduced relative to the rate at which selectedcurable material 24 is deposited on thecore 22, resulting in more selectedcurable material 24 being deposited per unit area. Then the cylindrical rolling space can be reduced to compress the selectedcurable material 24, while the rotational speed of the forming rolls 54 is reduced to accommodate the slower rotation of thecore 22. Accordingly, the fact that all of the foregoing feed characteristic and rotational speeds can be precisely and integrally controlled, permits a superior product to be obtained. - Referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated a curing
oven 110 of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. The curingoven 110 is operable to cure the selectedcurable material 24 wrapped around thecore 22 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Curingoven 110 comprises a rear opening (not shown), which is opened and closed by anend door 116, and a main opening (not shown) that is opened and closed by amain door 118. - The curing
oven 110 is disposed adjacent to thecore support 21 at the side of the curingoven 110 that includes the rear opening and therear door 116. In operation, when themain door 118 and therear door 116 are opened, thecore support 21 is operable to pivot the core 22 into the curingoven 110. The sealingplate 39 of thecore support 21 is arranged to be identical in size to theend door 116 so that it closes and seals the rear opening when thecore 22 is pivoted into the curingoven 110. The curing oven can then be sealed shut by closing themain door 118 usingmain door cylinders 126 to close themain door 118, and main door clamps 128 to clamp themain door 118 shut. A seal is maintained by amain door seal 130 when themain door 118 is shut and clamped bymain door cylinders 126 and main door clamps 128 respectively. A top seal actuated by anair cylinder 122 is brought to bear on the top surface of the sealingplate 39 of thecore support 21. In the same way, an end seal operated bycylinders 120, and a bottom seal actuated bycylinder 124 complete the sealing of the rear opening by therear door 116 or the sealingplate 39 of thecore support 21. - When the
core 22 is sealed inside the curingoven 110, curing air, which has been heated to above a curing temperature for the selectedcurable material 24, is directed into theoven 110 via thecuring inlet 112. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, curing air from theoven inlet 112 is first received into a louveredair distribution chamber 132. Thelouvered distribution chamber 132 has an elongatedslot 134 along the length of aroof 113 of the curingoven 110 adjacent to themain door 118. Theelongated slot 134 distributes the curing air along the length of thecore 22 and the selectedcurable material 24 wrapped around thecore 22. Theoven outlet 114 is also disposed on theroof 113 of the curingoven 110 but is disposed towards the back side of theoven 110. The placement of theoven outlet 114 and theelongated slot 134 of the louveredair distribution chamber 132 on opposite sides of the roof of the curing oven induces a rotary curing airflow around thecore 22 in the curingoven 110. The airflow rotates around thecore 22 in the same direction as the core 22 did when the selectedcurable material 24 was being wrapped around thecore 22. This rotation of the airflow tightens, rather than loosens, the spooling of the wound selectedcurable material 24 on thecore 22. - The fact that the
oven 110 is sealed enables a positive pressure to be built up within theoven 110. At the same time, as described above in connection with the description of the core 22, a partial vacuum is maintained within thecore 22 by airflow through thevacuum conduit 32 andvacuum exhaust duct 34. The combination of the positive pressure within theoven 110 and the partial vacuum within thecore 22, generates a significant hot or curing air static pressure across the selectedcurable material 24 wrapped around thecore 22. The resulting flow of curing air through the selectedcurable material 24 and theperforations 26 of the core 22 maintain the selectedcurable material 24 in the compressed configuration effected during forming by preventing expansion of the selectedcurable material 24 and also provides effective heat transfer due to the velocity of hot air passing through the selectedcurable material 24. The compression of the selectedcurable material 24 under vacuum is maintained until the selectedcurable material 24 is cured, in order to maintain the desired compression. Theoven 110 is kept as small as possible while still accommodating the core 22 and the selectedcurable material 24 wrapped therearound, in order to permit the selectedcurable material 24 to be cured as rapidly as possible. - By closing
end door 116 andmain door 118, the curingoven 110 can be preheated prior to receiving thecore 22. Once theoven 110 has been preheated, abypass valve 172 can be switched in conjunction with a hotair supply valve 170 and an ovenpre-heat return valve 176 being closed to allow the air to bypass theoven 110 entirely. This allows theend door 116 and themain door 118 of theoven 110 to be opened and for thecore support 21 to pivot the core 22 into the curing position within theoven 110, at which point themain door 118 of the curingoven 110 can be closed to seal thecore 22 within theoven 110. The sealingplate 39 of thecore support 21 seals the rear opening of theoven 110 shut. - The above-described structure of the
oven 110 also permits self-cleaning. In order for theoven 110 to self-clean, an empty core moves into theoven 110 and hot air that is heated to above the normal operating temperature is ducted into the curingoven 110 via theoven inlet 112 and theelongated slot 134 of the louveredair distribution chamber 132. This high temperature cleans the interior of theoven 110 and the ducts without requiring the ducts to be dismantled, thereby improving the availability and economics of the apparatus. - Referring to FIG. 11, there is illustrated a preferred layout of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the pipe insulation making apparatus according to the preferred layout includes two
cores 22 and twoovens 110. Each of the twocores 22 is supported by separate core supports 21. The core supports 21 pivot thecores 22 from a single forming position, designated 22 a in FIG. 11, in which the selected curable material around each of the twocores 22 is formed by theroll forming apparatus 50 at different times. The core supports 21 are spaced on each side of the forming station. After forming, each core 22 is pivoted 180 degrees, through an intermediate position at 90 degrees designated 22 b in the drawings, to acuring position 22 c within the curingovens 110. - Referring to FIGS.12 to 15, there are illustrated different portions of a duct system of a pipe insulation making apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. The duct system is operable to provide forming airflow to both of the
vacuum cores 22 during forming, and to provide curing airflow to both of theovens 110 and both of thecores 22 during curing in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. FIGS. 12 and 13 in different cut-away plan views, illustrate mainly those portions of theduct system 135 that provide the curing airflow to theovens 110 and thecores 22 during curing. FIG. 14, in a further cut-away plan view, illustrates mainly those portions of theduct system 135 that draw the forming airflow from thecores 22 during forming. FIG. 15 is a cut-away perspective view of the duct system. - Each of the core supports is adjacent to a
different curing oven 110; each curingoven 110 is positioned to be on the opposite side of theadjacent core support 21 from the forming station. When the selectedcurable material 24 has been fully formed at the forming station, thecore support 21 pivots the core 22 through 180° and into theadjacent oven 110, at which point the sealingplate 39 of thecore support 21 will seal the end opening of theadjacent oven 110. Themain door 118 then closes to seal thecore 22 and the formed selectedcurable material 24 wrapped around thecore 22 into the curingoven 110 for curing. The forming station is then free for theother core 22 to be pivoted into position in the forming station to receive and form new selectedcurable material 24. - The partial vacuum within each core22 and the positive pressure within each
oven 110 during curing are maintained by hotair recirculation fans 140. The hotair recirculation fans 140 force hot curing air into thecombustion box 142 via recirculation outlet lines 154. In thecombustion box 142, the hot curing air is heated to a temperature above the curing temperature for the selectedcurable material 24. The positive pressure generated by the hotair recirculation fan 140 forces the heated curing air out of thecombustion box 142 and into the hot air recirculation lines 144. Each of the hotair recirculation lines 144 communicates withdifferent oven inlets 112 such that heated curing air is discharged into eachoven 110 via itsoven inlet 112, louveredair distribution chamber 132, andelongated slot 134. A minimal amount of curing air is discharged from eachoven 110 into oven hot air outlet lines 150. A partial vacuum is maintained in oven hotair outlet lines 150 by the hotair recirculation fans 140 in order to draw some small portion of the curing air out of theovens 110 and into the oven hot air outlet lines 150. The oven hotair outlet lines 150 are connected to the hotair recirculation fans 140 such that the curing air from the oven hot air outlet lines 150 is redirected to thecombustion box 142 via the hotair recirculation fans 140 and the recirculation outlet lines 154. Most of the heated curing air that is released into eachoven 110 via itsoven inlet 112 is drawn through the selectedcurable material 24 and into thecores 22 via theperforations 26. The spent curing air within thecores 22 is then drawn back to the recirculation fans via turret outlet lines 152. The hotair recirculation lines 154 then channel this air, together with the curing air received from the oven hot air outlet lines 150, back to thecombustion box 142. - As described above in connection with the description of the curing
oven 110 shown in FIG. 8,duct system 135 includes abypass valve 172 for each curingoven 110 for redirecting all the heated curing air in the hotair recirculation lines 144 into oven hotair outlet lines 150 viaoven bypass lines 148, without this curing air passing through theovens 110, when each core 22 is being pivoted into itsoven 110 after preheating of theoven 110. To facilitate this, the hotair supply valves 170 in the hotair recirculation lines 144 and the oven pre-heat returnvalves 176 in the hotair outlet lines 150 are also closed. Thebypass valves 172 will remain partially open during the cure cycle to maximize the fan static pressure built up within theovens 110. - After the selected
curable material 24 has been cured, it must be cooled. Preferably, air that has been used to cool the selectedcurable material 24 after curing is used as input air into theducting system 135 in order to retain the heat absorbed by this cooling air during cooling of the selectedcurable material 24. Referring to FIGS. 13 and 15, coolerair outlet line 158 communicates with both turret hot air outlet lines 150. Air from coolerair outlet line 158 is drawn back to hotair recirculation fans 140. This air is then sent along with spent curing air to thecombustion box 142 via therecirculation outlet lines 154 for heating and incineration removal of the smokes obtained from the selectedcurable material 24. The coolerair outlet line 158 has acooler return valve 174 that is a variable valve and serves to limit the volume and maximize the heat recovery from the air flow from the cooler as well as permitting optimal incineration. - As shown in FIG. 12, a
cooler discharge line 162 for discharging excess cooling air includes acooler discharge valve 180. Preferably, cooling air that cannot be returned to the hot air recirculation system in the above-described manner, is filtered before discharge in order to remove the smokes obtained from the selectedcurable material 24 during curing. Exhaust from the combustion fuel used to maintain the temperature incombustion box 142 is discharged viaexhaust stack line 156 through a variable exhaust valve 182 (shown in FIG. 12) that serves to optimize system pressure and flow. - Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the cold air duct work of the
duct system 135 is illustrated. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 14, formingair fan 164 generates a partial vacuum in turret cold air outlet lines 160. Turretcold air lines 160 communicate withcores 22 viavacuum exhaust ducts 34 andvacuum ducts 32 to maintain a partial vacuum in the interior of thecores 22. Hotcore suction valves 178 in turret hotair outlet lines 152 are closed and coldcore suction valves 184 in turret coldair outlet lines 160 are open to direct the forming air flow into the cold air outlet lines 160. - Referring to FIG. 15, there is illustrated a cut-away perspective view of the
duct system 135. Thevacuum exhaust duct 34 of each of the two core supports 21 leads to a juncture of one turret hotair outlet line 152 and one turret coldair outlet line 160. During curing, the turret hotair outlet line 152 is connected to thevacuum exhaust duct 34, while during forming, the turret coldair outlet line 160 is connected to thevacuum exhaust duct 34. Turret coldair outlet line 160 leads to formingair fan 164, which provides the partial vacuum in turretcold air outlet 160,vacuum exhaust duct 34,vacuum duct 32 and the inside ofcore 22. From the formingair fan 164, the spent forming air is discharged through a coldair exhaust conduit 166 to a suitable filter system. The turret hotair outlet lines 152 lead to the hotair recirculation fans 140, as do the oven hot air outlet lines 150. From the hotair recirculation fans 140, curing air is redirected to therecirculation outlet lines 154 and from there to thecombustion box 142 and the hotair recirculation line 144 as described above. - Other variations and modifications are possible. All such modifications or variations are believed to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
Claims (25)
1. A roll forming apparatus for rolling a selected material around a cylindrical core, the apparatus comprising:
(a) a core support for supporting the cylindrical core, said core support having an associated core rotation means for rotating said core about a core rotation axis at a controllable rotation rate;
(b) a roll support means for supporting a plurality of forming rolls positioned to surround said core about said core rotation axis, said roll support means having a roll control means operable to both radially position said plurality of forming rolls relative to said core rotation axis and constrain said plurality of forming rolls to be equally spaced from said core rotation axis, to provide integrated adjustment of said plurality of forming rolls to control a radial dimension of a substantially symmetrical forming space defined by said plurality of forming rolls; and,
(c) a material supply means for supplying the selected material to the core at a material supply rate, said material supply means having an associated material supply control means for controlling said material supply rate.
2. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein
said core support has an associated pivotal mount for pivoting said core support and the core mounted thereon about a core pivoting axis orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of said core support;
said plurality of forming rolls includes two adjacent gap rollers separated by a gap, said roll control means being further operable to
expand said gap to accommodate movement of the core into and out of said forming space, and
contract said gap to secure said core in said forming space for forming by said plurality of forming rolls; and, when said gap is expanded, said associated pivotal mount is operable to pivot said core support into and out of said forming space.
3. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein
said roll support means comprises a plurality of support arms for supporting said plurality of forming rolls, each support arm of said plurality of support arms being pivotably mounted; and,
said roll control means is operable to pivot each support arm of said plurality of support arms to expand and contract said radial dimension of said forming space, and to expand and contract said gap.
4. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein
said plurality of support arms are pivotably mounted on a plurality of support pivots, each support arm of said plurality of support arms being pivotably secured by a unique associated support pivot of said plurality of support pivots and each support pivot of said plurality of support pivots being spaced at a common support arm radius from said axis of rotation;
each forming roll of said plurality of forming rolls is mounted on a unique associated support arm of said plurality of support arms and is spaced from said unique associated support pivot for said unique associated support arm by a common roll distance; and,
said roll control means includes a support arm linking means for constraining said plurality of support arms to pivot together about said plurality of support pivots such that said plurality of forming rolls are collectively radially adjustable by said roll control means.
5. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising an aggregate control means for integrally controlling said associated core rotation means, said roll control means, and said associated material supply control means to accommodate changing rolling conditions.
6. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 5 further comprising a diameter measuring means for measuring a combined diameter of the core and the selected material rolled thereon.
7. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said aggregate control means is operable to adjustably control said controllable rotation rate via said core rotation means based on
said combined diameter of the core and the selected material received thereon as measured by said diameter measuring means; and,
said material supply rate.
8. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said roll control means is operable to control compression of the selected material on said drum by controlling said radial dimension of said forming space.
9. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said plurality of forming rolls comprises a plurality of interlocking rollers, each interlocking roller of said plurality of interlocking rollers
comprising an associated large diameter disc and an associated small diameter disc, and
having an adjacent interlocking roller in said plurality of interlocking rollers;
such that said associated large diameter disc of each interlocking roller of said plurality of interlocking rollers is offset relative to said associated large diameter disc of said adjacent interlocking to permit overlap to minimize said forming space.
10. The roll forming apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each roller of said plurality of forming rolls is made of nickel-plated aluminum.
11. An apparatus for receiving a selected curable material and for retaining the selected curable material during a forming stage and a curing stage, the selected curable material being formed into a desired configuration during the forming stage and being heated during the curing stage to harden the selected material in the desired configuration, the apparatus comprising:
a core mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation, the core having
an associated core rotation means for rotating the core about an axis of rotation,
an outer permeable surface for receiving and retaining the selected curable material, and
fluid communication means for receiving air flow from the outer permeable surface;
a curing means for heating the selected curable material to at least a curing temperature to harden the selected curable material in the selected configuration; and,
a vacuum means in fluid communication with the fluid communication means of the core for
drawing a forming core air flow through the fluid communication means, the outer permeable surface of the core and the selected curable material retained on the core during forming of the selected curable material retained on the core, the forming core air flow having a temperature below the curing temperature, and
drawing a curing core air flow through the outer permeable surface and the fluid communication means of the core and the selected curable material retained on the core during curing of the selected curable material retained on the core.
12. The apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein the curing means includes
a curing station for supplying a curing air supply around the core, and
air heating means for heating the curing air supply to at least the curing temperature; and, the vacuum means includes
a forming air outlet for receiving the forming core air flow from the fluid communication means,
a recirculation outlet for receiving the curing core air flow from the fluid communication means and for recirculating the curing core air flow back to the curing station, and
a valve means for controlling fluid communication between the forming air outlet and the fluid communication means and for controlling fluid communication between the recirculation outlet and the fluid communication means.
13. The apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein the vacuum means includes
an exhaust fan for discharging the forming core air flow via the forming air outlet; and,
a recirculation fan for recirculating the curing core air flow to the curing station via the recirculation outlet.
14. The apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein the valve means has
an associated forming setting, the valve means in the associated forming setting being operable to connect the forming air outlet to the fluid communication means, and to disconnect the recirculation air outlet from the fluid communication means;
an associated curing setting, the valve means in the associated curing setting being operable to connect the recirculation air outlet to the fluid communication means, and to disconnect the forming air outlet from the fluid communication means; and,
an associated distributed setting between the associated forming setting and the associated curing setting for providing continuous air flow through the core when the apparatus is changing from the forming stage to the curing stage, the valve means being operable to decrease fluid communication between the forming air outlet and the fluid communication means and to conjointly and proportionately increase fluid communication between the recirculation air outlet and the fluid communication means when the valve means is moving through the associated distributed setting from the associated forming setting to the associated curing setting.
15. The apparatus as defined in claim 14 further comprising
a forming station for forming the selected curable material retained on the core into the selected configuration; and,
a core support for supporting the core, the core support being pivotable about a pivot axis to pivot the core between the forming station and the curing station, the core support having a vacuum conduit for providing fluid communication from the fluid communication means of the core to the forming air outlet and the recirculation outlet, the valve means being operable to control fluid communication between the forming air outlet and the vacuum conduit and to control fluid communication between the recirculation outlet and the vacuum conduit.
16. The apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein the curing station comprises a curing oven for receiving the core and for supplying the curing core air flow to the core, the core support being operable to pivot the core into and out of the curing oven.
17. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 wherein
the curing oven has a rear opening, a main opening and a main door for closing and opening the main opening, the main opening extending lengthwise along the curing oven and the core support being operable to pivot the core into and out of the curing oven core when the main door is open;
the core support is positioned beside the rear opening of the curing oven and has a sealing plate dimensioned to close and seal the rear opening of the curing oven when the core is pivoted into the curing oven when the main door of the oven is open, the main door being closeable when the core is in the oven to seal the core and the selected material retained thereon in the oven for curing.
18. The apparatus as defined in claim 17 wherein
the curing oven comprises a curing air inlet for discharging the curing air supply into the curing oven, the curing air inlet being in fluid communication with the recirculation outlet; and
the air heating means is between the recirculation outlet and the curing air inlet to heat the curing air supply to at least the curing temperature.
19. The apparatus as defined in claim 18 wherein
the curing oven includes a rear door for closing the rear opening, and
the curing air inlet includes an associated bypass valve for disconnecting the curing air inlet from the curing oven and rerouting the curing air supply back to the air heating means.
20. The apparatus as defined in claim 18 wherein
the curing oven includes an oven air outlet for drawing an oven air outflow from the curing oven and for inducing a rotational air flow of the curing air supply around the core in the curing oven, the oven air outlet being in fluid communication with the air heating means and the curing air inlet to recirculate the oven air outflow back to the curing air inlet after the oven air outflow has been reheated; and,
the oven air outlet and the curing air inlet are located on a common side of the curing oven and are disposed on opposite sides of the core.
21. The apparatus as defined in claim 20 wherein the curing air inlet extends lengthwise along the common side and releases the curing air supply along substantially an entire length of the selected curable material retained on the core.
22. A method of forming and curing a selected curable material in a desired configuration comprising:
(a) supplying the selected curable material to the core;
(b) forming the selected curable material retained on the core;
(c) curing the selected curable material retained on the core; and,
(d) during steps (a), (b) and (c), drawing a core air flow through a permeable surface of a core and through the selected curable material on the core to retain the selected curable material on the core and to compress the selected permeable material to the core, the core air flow having an air temperature below a curing temperature of the selected curable material during steps (a) and (b).
23. The method as defined in claim 22 wherein
the core air flow comprises a forming core air flow and a curing core air flow;
step (c) comprises supplying a curing air supply around the core, some of the curing air supply being drawn in through the selected curable material and the permeable surface as the curing core air flow; and,
step (d) comprises
during steps (a) and (b), drawing the forming core air flow through the permeable surface of the core and through the selected curable material on the core,
heating the curing air temperature of the curing core air flow to at least the curing temperature of the selected curable material, and
during step (c), drawing the curing core air flow through the permeable surface of the core and through the selected curable material on the core.
24. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein step (d) comprises continuously drawing the core air flow through the core when switching the forming core air flow to the curing core air flow between steps (b) and (c).
25. The method as defined in claim 23 wherein
step (a) comprises rotating the core in a rotary direction to wind the selected curable material around the core;
step (c) comprises inducing a rotation of curing air supply in the rotary direction around the core.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/010,431 US20020039605A1 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 2001-12-06 | Method for making pipe insulation |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US09/413,016 US6364649B1 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 1999-10-07 | Apparatus for making pipe insulation |
US10/010,431 US20020039605A1 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 2001-12-06 | Method for making pipe insulation |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/413,016 Division US6364649B1 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 1999-10-07 | Apparatus for making pipe insulation |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20020039605A1 true US20020039605A1 (en) | 2002-04-04 |
Family
ID=23635442
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/413,016 Expired - Lifetime US6364649B1 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 1999-10-07 | Apparatus for making pipe insulation |
US10/010,431 Abandoned US20020039605A1 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 2001-12-06 | Method for making pipe insulation |
US10/010,042 Expired - Lifetime US6719555B2 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 2001-12-06 | Apparatus for making pipe insulation |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/413,016 Expired - Lifetime US6364649B1 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 1999-10-07 | Apparatus for making pipe insulation |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/010,042 Expired - Lifetime US6719555B2 (en) | 1999-10-07 | 2001-12-06 | Apparatus for making pipe insulation |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US6364649B1 (en) |
CA (2) | CA2633935C (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20220105671A1 (en) * | 2019-02-12 | 2022-04-07 | Saint-Gobain Isover | Method and device for manufacturing a pipe shell from an insulating material |
Families Citing this family (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6638468B1 (en) * | 2000-12-26 | 2003-10-28 | Scimed Life Systems, Inc. | Method of reducing the wall thickness of a PTFE tube |
US6751113B2 (en) * | 2002-03-07 | 2004-06-15 | Netlist, Inc. | Arrangement of integrated circuits in a memory module |
US8221109B2 (en) * | 2006-12-05 | 2012-07-17 | Gold Tip, Llc | Material layering device |
KR100904194B1 (en) * | 2007-09-05 | 2009-06-22 | 주식회사 세운티.엔.에스 | Manufacture system of insulation pipe |
US11739880B2 (en) | 2021-05-19 | 2023-08-29 | Samuel Gottfried | High temperature protection wrap for plastic pipes and pipe appliances |
CN114012945B (en) * | 2021-12-20 | 2022-06-03 | 浙江中冠汽车部件制造有限公司 | Rubber tube vulcanization shaping device for automobile |
Citations (25)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US30064A (en) * | 1860-09-18 | Swift | ||
US540649A (en) * | 1895-06-11 | Ribbon-blocking machine | ||
US612971A (en) * | 1898-10-25 | Swift or reel | ||
US1064741A (en) * | 1913-06-17 | Robert M Jones | Machine for forming poles, piles, and pipes of plastic material. | |
US1285375A (en) * | 1918-04-20 | 1918-11-19 | Prokop J Prokop | Reverse-winder for films. |
US1428119A (en) * | 1921-10-11 | 1922-09-05 | Charles E Rogers | Yarn reel |
US1870954A (en) * | 1926-05-27 | 1932-08-09 | Du Pont Rayon Co | Adjustable cake holder |
US1883401A (en) * | 1930-02-08 | 1932-10-18 | Johns Manville | Pipe wrapping apparatus |
US2294277A (en) * | 1940-05-27 | 1942-08-25 | Turner & Newall Ltd | Machine for calendering asbestoscement pipes |
US2360592A (en) * | 1943-04-20 | 1944-10-17 | Solanko Nicholas | Applying laps to the printing cylinder of fabric printing machines |
US2558055A (en) * | 1947-06-17 | 1951-06-26 | William R Meredith | Metal strip uncoiler |
US3118800A (en) * | 1959-08-21 | 1964-01-21 | Standard Plastics Inc | Method and apparatus for making flexible conduits having an annular wall of foamed plastic |
US3344009A (en) * | 1961-02-06 | 1967-09-26 | Saint Gobain | Apparatus for forming hollow cylinders of resin-impregnated mineral fiber mats |
US3975479A (en) * | 1973-03-09 | 1976-08-17 | Mcclean Anderson, Inc. | Method of fabricating a reinforced plastic article |
US4178200A (en) * | 1977-03-09 | 1979-12-11 | Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft | Pressure roll for jacketing steel pipes with thermoplastic strip |
US4347090A (en) * | 1980-10-24 | 1982-08-31 | Bunnell Plastics, Inc. | Process for forming laminated pipe |
US4954060A (en) * | 1988-04-11 | 1990-09-04 | Nestec S.A. | Apparatus for agglomeration |
US5091037A (en) * | 1988-02-12 | 1992-02-25 | Oy Partek Ab | Apparatus for the manufacture of insulating chutes |
US5155889A (en) * | 1988-02-12 | 1992-10-20 | Oy Partek Ab | Apparatus for the formation of an insulating material ply |
US5225016A (en) * | 1991-08-02 | 1993-07-06 | Rohr Industries, Inc. | Method of manufacturing an advanced composite duct having integral ribs |
US5261980A (en) * | 1992-01-22 | 1993-11-16 | Edo Sports | Filament-wound tubular element manufacturing method |
US5346149A (en) * | 1990-11-02 | 1994-09-13 | Cobb Robert E | Adjustable pipe wrap machine |
US5452496A (en) * | 1994-02-03 | 1995-09-26 | Schuller International, Inc. | Vacuum assisted accumulator and process of collecting microfiber |
US5569343A (en) * | 1984-11-02 | 1996-10-29 | The Boeing Company | Ceramic fabric reinforced fiber/microparticle ceramic composite |
US6521284B1 (en) * | 1999-11-03 | 2003-02-18 | Scimed Life Systems, Inc. | Process for impregnating a porous material with a cross-linkable composition |
-
1999
- 1999-10-07 US US09/413,016 patent/US6364649B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2000
- 2000-10-03 CA CA2633935A patent/CA2633935C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2000-10-03 CA CA002322060A patent/CA2322060C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2001
- 2001-12-06 US US10/010,431 patent/US20020039605A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2001-12-06 US US10/010,042 patent/US6719555B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (25)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US30064A (en) * | 1860-09-18 | Swift | ||
US540649A (en) * | 1895-06-11 | Ribbon-blocking machine | ||
US612971A (en) * | 1898-10-25 | Swift or reel | ||
US1064741A (en) * | 1913-06-17 | Robert M Jones | Machine for forming poles, piles, and pipes of plastic material. | |
US1285375A (en) * | 1918-04-20 | 1918-11-19 | Prokop J Prokop | Reverse-winder for films. |
US1428119A (en) * | 1921-10-11 | 1922-09-05 | Charles E Rogers | Yarn reel |
US1870954A (en) * | 1926-05-27 | 1932-08-09 | Du Pont Rayon Co | Adjustable cake holder |
US1883401A (en) * | 1930-02-08 | 1932-10-18 | Johns Manville | Pipe wrapping apparatus |
US2294277A (en) * | 1940-05-27 | 1942-08-25 | Turner & Newall Ltd | Machine for calendering asbestoscement pipes |
US2360592A (en) * | 1943-04-20 | 1944-10-17 | Solanko Nicholas | Applying laps to the printing cylinder of fabric printing machines |
US2558055A (en) * | 1947-06-17 | 1951-06-26 | William R Meredith | Metal strip uncoiler |
US3118800A (en) * | 1959-08-21 | 1964-01-21 | Standard Plastics Inc | Method and apparatus for making flexible conduits having an annular wall of foamed plastic |
US3344009A (en) * | 1961-02-06 | 1967-09-26 | Saint Gobain | Apparatus for forming hollow cylinders of resin-impregnated mineral fiber mats |
US3975479A (en) * | 1973-03-09 | 1976-08-17 | Mcclean Anderson, Inc. | Method of fabricating a reinforced plastic article |
US4178200A (en) * | 1977-03-09 | 1979-12-11 | Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft | Pressure roll for jacketing steel pipes with thermoplastic strip |
US4347090A (en) * | 1980-10-24 | 1982-08-31 | Bunnell Plastics, Inc. | Process for forming laminated pipe |
US5569343A (en) * | 1984-11-02 | 1996-10-29 | The Boeing Company | Ceramic fabric reinforced fiber/microparticle ceramic composite |
US5091037A (en) * | 1988-02-12 | 1992-02-25 | Oy Partek Ab | Apparatus for the manufacture of insulating chutes |
US5155889A (en) * | 1988-02-12 | 1992-10-20 | Oy Partek Ab | Apparatus for the formation of an insulating material ply |
US4954060A (en) * | 1988-04-11 | 1990-09-04 | Nestec S.A. | Apparatus for agglomeration |
US5346149A (en) * | 1990-11-02 | 1994-09-13 | Cobb Robert E | Adjustable pipe wrap machine |
US5225016A (en) * | 1991-08-02 | 1993-07-06 | Rohr Industries, Inc. | Method of manufacturing an advanced composite duct having integral ribs |
US5261980A (en) * | 1992-01-22 | 1993-11-16 | Edo Sports | Filament-wound tubular element manufacturing method |
US5452496A (en) * | 1994-02-03 | 1995-09-26 | Schuller International, Inc. | Vacuum assisted accumulator and process of collecting microfiber |
US6521284B1 (en) * | 1999-11-03 | 2003-02-18 | Scimed Life Systems, Inc. | Process for impregnating a porous material with a cross-linkable composition |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20220105671A1 (en) * | 2019-02-12 | 2022-04-07 | Saint-Gobain Isover | Method and device for manufacturing a pipe shell from an insulating material |
US11772319B2 (en) * | 2019-02-12 | 2023-10-03 | Saint-Gobain Isover | Method and device for manufacturing a pipe shell from an insulating material |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA2633935A1 (en) | 2001-04-07 |
US6364649B1 (en) | 2002-04-02 |
US20020048616A1 (en) | 2002-04-25 |
CA2633935C (en) | 2010-05-18 |
CA2322060C (en) | 2009-05-19 |
CA2322060A1 (en) | 2001-04-07 |
US6719555B2 (en) | 2004-04-13 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US6719555B2 (en) | Apparatus for making pipe insulation | |
JP2003512947A (en) | Spiral tube manufacturing method | |
CN102679698B (en) | Reciprocating type tunnel dryer for efficiently producing reconstituted tobaccos | |
CN102765242A (en) | Aqueous synthetic leather production line | |
US7918955B2 (en) | Manufacture of flexible tubular duct with improved core delivery | |
US20230286208A1 (en) | Brim-forming machine and method of use | |
CN102161035B (en) | For the manufacture of the drying plant of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape | |
JPH03132333A (en) | Method of forming heat protection lining on propellant device and forming device | |
US3794708A (en) | Method for forming a tubular fibrous body | |
CN206926028U (en) | A kind of open-close type shaping dies of large-scale winding product | |
AU2020221953B2 (en) | Method and device for manufacturing a pipe shell from an insulating material | |
CN115709569A (en) | HDPE hollow wall winding pipe | |
JPH03503154A (en) | Equipment for the production of heat-insulating chutes | |
CN211041714U (en) | Silk quick drying device | |
JPH0852787A (en) | Extrusion supply device of polymer sheet and method for accomplishing uniformity of cooling | |
CN109854865A (en) | A kind of heat-insulating pipe molding machine | |
US4076479A (en) | Apparatus for forming articles of fibrous materials | |
CA1080604A (en) | Apparatus for forming fibrous material articles | |
US3736086A (en) | Apparatus for making fiber preform | |
KR960007249B1 (en) | Method and apparatus for preparing of breaking sleeves by using roll-up machine and roll-up method of glasswool breaking sleeves | |
KR940000236B1 (en) | Device for winding heat shrinkable tape around pipe | |
CN217963356U (en) | Quick curing oven for aluminum hose | |
CN212357314U (en) | Quenching device of full-automatic mesh belt heat treatment production line | |
EP1620247A1 (en) | Method and apparatus for cooling extruded plastic foil hoses | |
JPS5850169B2 (en) | Continuous manufacturing method and device for plastic-coated metal tubes |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: FRAUNHOFER - GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEW Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:DOLD, CHRISTIAN;REEL/FRAME:016833/0759 Effective date: 20050128 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |