EXTRUDED RUBBER LENGTH MEASURING MACHINE
PROBLEM
A numerical control system was in place to cut extruded rubber to length but there was no automatic way to check the lengths of all strips. They could only be spot checked manually by hand-held tape, which was labor intensive and impractical.
SOLUTION
I designed a special conveyor with dual tiny light sensors to detect the leading and trailing edges of the irregular shaped strips of extruded rubber. Shaft encoders along with pulse counters were used to detect the lengths as the rubber strips passed over the conveyor. All strips were checked, and out of tolerance strips were marked for recycling.
EXTRUDED RUBBER MEASURING AND CUTTING MACHINE
PROBLEM
For years a rubber company had been hand cutting hot extruded rubber into lengths by using scissors. Large expenditure of funds engaging engineering firms had not resulted in a solution to the problem. I was given the opportunity to find a solution.
SOLUTION
I successfully designed and put into operation a machine that completely solved the problem. Circular cutting blades were driven through the extrusion by a clutch and brake system. A rack and pinion arrangement was used on each blade so that the blades counter rotated as they were driven through the stock. The action was similar to two pizza cutters. One blade above the extrusion and the other below, shearing the rubber like rolling scissors. The machine operated over a continuously running plant conveyor. The stock fed into the small cutting machine conveyor, which stopped momentarily for the cut, then accelerated to to take up stock slack. I designed and assembled all mechanical and electrical features of the machine, including frame welding. As the picture indicates, the machine was portable.
PROBLEM
Fruit cake bakeries were glazing there cakes by hand with brushes.
SOLUTION
I developed the machine pictured below, which is capable of glazing a cake in less than a second. The glaze is pumped into a round pad of porous sponge material at an adjustable rate. The saturated pad is pressed against the top of the cakes by a motor driven crank squeezing the appropriate amount of glazing.
