|
TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM
|
© 1999-2000 V.A. Salnikov
Referring is necessary to quote this source
|
Valery A. Salnikov
The project of organization of manufacture of technological equipment
for fabrication of continuous honeycomb filler
The purpose of the project:
Creation of a machine-building enterprise to produce technological equipment of 21st century
1. Introduction. Concept of module equipment
As a result of the development of machine civilization in the second half of the 20th
century, the main positions in processes of treatment of material objects were taken by the flow (pipeline) technologies.
These technologies (unlike building berth technologies) are organized in such a way that treated objects are moving
successively through immovable areas of processing, which are ordered in a technological line.
Trend analysis of flow technology development allows to define clearly the following
main requirements to the technological equipment of a new age:
-
Opening and closing the
manufacture within a few day
-
Quick (several hours) readjustment of the equipment to produce different assortment of production
-
Fitness of complex of equipment for modernization and increasing the amount of technological operations
(open-line architecture)
-
Built-in ecological protection system
-
Full automation of technological process.
The most probable and practically realizable variant of technological equipment evolution in the 21st century
introduced in the given project is the concept to make technological lines of separate modules. In each of them a separate stage
of the technological process is taking place. All the modules of technological line are created according to the general standard
for a given class of technologies, insulated from the surroundings and equipped by fitting assemblies for joining into the united
technological chain. When joining the modules, the association of module built-in segments of stock lines, information and energy
pathways occurs.
|
Fig. 1. Open line architecture
of module technological chain.
|
The disadvantages of the given concept of organization of technological equipment are:
(a) the presence of fitting assemblies between modules, which are destined for joining the
pathways and encapsulating an internal volume of technological line, (b) hard geometric
restrictions of areas of technological processing in modules. However, these disadvantages
are compensated with abundance by multiple advantages, the main of which is correspondence
requirements to the equipment of the 21st century specified above, reached in
natural manner.
2. Production of continuous cellular construction
One of the concrete realizations of the given concept is the project of creation of the
technological equipment manufacture for the fabrication of continuous honeycomb filler and
panels on its base.
Honeycomb filler is cellular material made from polymeric or cellulose papers, and
reminds of bee honeycombs by the structure.
Honeycomb fillers are intended for fabrication of light, hard and heat-insulating
panels and in world practice are used in following designs:
-
floors, ceiling and baggage racks in
salons of air liners;
-
cabin bulkheads on sea liners;
-
shelves of furniture closets;
-
internal doors of rooms;
-
side and ceiling panels of trailers and
mobile refrigerators;
-
panels of assembly pavilions for
exhibitions;
-
sound-absorbing ceiling in the plants
with the increased noise level.
|
Fig. 2. Design of a
triple panel
produced from honeycomb filler. |
Annual world output of honeycomb filler production exceeds 500 thousand m3, at the price of the fillers
depending on their features and used papers from $1,000/m3 (for cellulose papers) to $50,000/m3
(for polymeric papers).
Present-day world practice of the organization of honeycomb filler manufacture follows classical technological traditions (the
end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th centuries). These traditions are concluded in making the
large-scale manufacture with: (a) great work and storage areas, (b) multiple personnel, (c) large machines (basically with periodic
action), with daedal trajectory of moving a half-finished item in technological chains, (d) centralized ecology safety system, which is
necessary because of the large quantity of organic solvents used in the process. Ended products of manufacture are large blocks
from the honeycomb filler, which are moved to other manufactures, basically for the fabrication of flat triple panels. The panels are
made by sawing the blocks into plates, cutting plates and associating them into the core panels, joining the core and sheets.
Herewith existing technologies of fabrication of honeycomb blocks
and triple panels have several fundamental disadvantages:
It's difficult to achieve homogeneity of mechanical characteristics on the whole
volume of honeycomb block and there is great amount of evaporated solvents, because of the need of frequent
soaking of blocks with reinforcing solutions.
There is essential technological waste of material when sawing the blocks
for plates and putting the plates in triple honeycomb panels.
There is instability of technological process because of principle restrictions
in ability to make efficient control of technological parameters in a large-scale manufacture.
There is economic unpracticality of transportation of
produced light materials (100 times lighter than steel) to the remote consumers.
Transition to the technology of fabrication of triple panels on comparatively tiny module pipeline
equipment allows combining in one chain the technologies of fabrication of continuous honeycomb plate and assembly
triple panels. Herewith all the disadvantages inherent in classical mode are automatically avoided.
Exactly in this way the project of making a technological line for production honeycomb filler,
proposed for joint realization, is designed. Its general concept and the collections of technological features make the
project a pioneer in the field of honeycomb production that has no analogues in the world.
Short review of the line for the fabrication of continuous
honeycombs:
Purpose of line. The manufacturing of continuous honeycomb filler and triple panels by the width 0.5 - 1.2 m,
thickness 10 - 50 mm. General technological scheme is given on fig. 3.
 |
Fig. 3. General scheme of technological line. |
Basic (conceptual) variant of the line (Fig. 4). There is sequence of the modules of different technological purposes,
placed on standard bases and joined in different combinations that enables flexible changing of the technology and
quick change of the modules. At the link-up of the modules the inclusion their subsystems in energy, material and
information pathways of line occurs. Microprocessor control of technological process, unceasing checking the quality
of produced panels, built-in system of ecological safety are provided.
 |
Fig. 4. Module design of the line. |
Peculiarities of the
technology. There is simple adjustment on required thickness
of panels. It is possible to realize the technology on different levels of
difficulty. Technological wastes are practically absent.
Continuity of action of line and multiple engineering decisions applied in the design ensure high technical level of
product. The
requirements to categories and quality of manufacture floors are low.
Main technical indices |
The present project |
Averaged European supplier of equipment and technologies |
|
Production: m2 per year
m3 per year
|
30,000
300
|
200,000
2000
|
| Floor, m2 |
400 |
7,500 |
| Daily personnel |
6 |
50-70 |
| Price on world market |
$2,000,000
|
$30,000,000 |
- nominal production, real 30000-100000 m2/year;
- calculation on panels by thickness 10 mm;
- evaluation.
-
Evaluation of expenses.
$100,000 - making an acting model.
$5,000,000 - making basic sample of the line and preparing manufacture to serial issue.
Time for making the basic sample and for preparation to the production
in series is 3 years. The prime cost of production sample of the line is about $500,000.
The sale of 6 lines at the price $2,000,000 will cover all the
expenses.
Assignments in the size $70/m2 of panel included into the
prime cost of producing material, will allow to cover the expenses for the acquisition of
the line within 1 year. World price of honeycombs by the thickness of 10 mm from the
polymeric paper is about $500/m2, as for triple panels - it is 3-4 times higher.
Conceptual level of the project allows to predict its high competitiveness on the world
market of technologies both in the part of delivery of the equipment and selling the
licenses, and in selling finished products to aircraft, building and shipbuilding
companies.
3. Further prospects
The experience accumulated while creating module equipment for the fabrication of
continuous honeycombs and triple panels, can be used to expand the classes of technologies
for which module equipment will be made. The following manufactures can be such new
technologies:
Manufacturing and prepackaging of medicine.
Manufacturing of polymeric tubes having small diameter and
complex configuration.
Manufacturing of electrical and fiber-optic cables.
Microchip manufacturing.
WRITE FOR AUTHOR
Reference to the author. The expert in the field of polymeric
material technology. Works in Obninsk, Russia. Cand. of Phys. and Math. Sci. (Ph.D.)
|
