FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of industrial quality control methods and more specifically to an apparatus for manufacturing rollers of a bearing.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
A rolling element bearing is used in high load and lower speed applications. Generally, a rolling friction is less than a sliding friction. The rolling element bearings are also known as roller bearings. The roller bearings are preferably used in places with extreme conditions like, contamination, shock loads, and high axial loads. The rolling element bearings can be classified as a tapered roller bearing, a cylindrical bearing, or a needle bearing based on the type of rollers used. The roller is a solid element, either in the form of a cylinder or a truncated cone in case of tapered roller bearing. The tapered roller is subjected to super finishing process on outer diameter to achieve a high grade of surface finish. A high grade of surface finishing stone is used to match industrial product specification requirements.
After the super finishing process on the rollers is completed, the rollers are forwarded to an inspection area. In the inspection area a quick sampling of rollers is done to select few rollers for testing. The selected sample is a representative set of the whole batch of the super finished rollers. However, this process is an offline process requiring time and extra space. Further, the intermittent and offline testing process reduces the productivity.
For a better life of the bearing, roller quality parameters are very important. The roller quality parameters such as roller material, heat treatment, roundness, and surface finish are needed to be closely monitored. Maintaining these parameters under control is very crucial and therefore it is desired to check these parameters online.
Therefore, there is felt a need of a providing an online apparatus for roller bearing component manufacturing that alleviates the aforementioned drawbacks.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
The object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing rollers of a bearing that is integral to a finishing machine.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing rollers of a bearing that automatically segregates defective components having cracks or components which fail hardness or material composition test.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing rollers of a bearing that eliminates material handling time and requires less space.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for manufacturing rollers of a bearing comprising an inspection module provided on a finishing machine. The inspection module is configured to inspect defects in the bearing components, while the bearing components are being rotated and conveyed from one end to the other end of the finishing machine. The apparatus further comprises a material testing module provided downstream of the segregation module. The material testing module is configured to perform material testing of the bearing components. The inspection module and the material testing module is mounted as an integral part of and positioned downstream of the finishing machine.
In a preferred embodiment, the inspection module includes a probe.
In a preferred embodiment, the inspection module works on the principle of eddy currents.
The apparatus includes a segregation module provided downstream of the inspection module and the material testing module to facilitate separation of rejected components by the inspection module.
The apparatus includes a segregation module output is configured downstream of the segregation module for auto-segregation of the rollers.
In an embodiment, the material testing module includes a hardness testing apparatus.
In another embodiment, the material testing module includes a material composition testing apparatus.
The apparatus includes a data processing unit configured to be in communication with the inspection module, the material testing module, the segregation module and the segregation module output to facilitate automated rejection of the rollers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
An apparatus for manufacturing rollers of a bearing of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 shows an isometric view of an apparatus for manufacturing rollers of a bearing, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure ;
Figure 2 shows a front view of the figure 1;
Figure 3 shows a side view of the figure 1;
Figure 4 shows a front view of a data processing unit; and
Figure 5 shows an isometric view of an apparatus, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
50 – rollers
52 – roller inlet
100 – finishing machine
100a – bed
100b – first end
100c – second end
110 – feed rollers
120 – superfinishing stones
200 – inspection module
210 – scanning probe
300 – material testing module
400 – segregation module
500 – segregation module output
600 – operating panel
700 – data processing unit
1000 – apparatus for manufacturing rollers
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details, are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms "a,” "an," and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element is referred to as being "mounted on," “engaged to,” "connected to," or "coupled to" another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
Terms such as “inner,” “outer,” "beneath," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
Referring to the figures 1-5, an apparatus 1000 for manufacturing rollers 50 of a bearing is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Typically, tapered rollers and cylindrical rollers are initially super finished on a bed 100a of a finishing machine 100. The finishing is done using high grade super superfinishing stones 120 with honing oil as a honing medium. Feed rollers 110 receive the rollers 50 through a roller inlet 52, as the roller inlet 52 guides the rollers 50 from one end of the apparatus to another end. The feed rollers (110) push the rollers 50 and thereby maintain the required pressure on the rollers 50. In an embodiment, the super feed rollers 110 are oscillated in an axial direction to achieve better finishing results.
After the super finishing process on the rollers 50 is completed, the rollers 50 are forwarded to an inspection area through the roller inlet 52. In the inspection area quick sampling of rollers 50 is done to select few rollers 50 for testing. The selected sample is a representative on the whole batch of the rollers 50. The apparatus 1000 facilitates defect detection as well as material testing of the rollers 50. Typically, the apparatus 1000 facilitates detection of surface cracks, testing hardness of materials and testing material composition. An operating panel 600 is provided on said apparatus 1000 to facilitate operation of said apparatus 1000 by manual means.
The apparatus 1000 of the present disclosure facilitates finishing and inspection operations of the rollers 50 in a flow from a first end 100b of the bed 100a to the second end 100c of the bed 100a. This present disclosure eliminates the need to transfer the rollers 50 from the finishing section to a separate inspection section, thereby reducing the material handling time as well as separate space.
The apparatus 1000 comprises an inspection module 200 and a material testing module 300. The inspection module 200 is installed downstream of the finishing machine 100. At least one scanning probe 210 is provided on the inspection module 200 to facilitate scanning of the rollers 50 for surface defects such as cracks and irregularities. The scanning probe 210 works on the concept of eddy current flow. Each of the scanning probe (210) has four coils. Two of the four coils are used for inputting current (I-1) into the rollers 50, while the remaining two coils are configured to receive the current (I-2) from the surface of rollers 50. Depending on the variations in the values of the received current (I-2) minute surface irregularities are detected which are invisible to naked eyes. The sensed current values are sent to a data processing unit 700 wherein predefined logics are stored to process the sensed current values and accordingly controlling the operation of the apparatus.
The material testing module 300 is installed downstream of the inspection module 200. In an embodiment, the material testing module 300 further includes a hardness testing apparatus. The rollers 50 are tested for hardness values to be compared as per specifications by the hardness testing apparatus. In another embodiment, the material testing module 300 further includes a material composition testing apparatus for testing the material composition of the rollers 50. A segregation module 400 is provided downstream of the inspection module 200 and the material testing module 300 to facilitate separation of defective samples among the inspected rollers 50. Thus, the segregation module 400 can separate defective rollers 50 either after inspection of rollers 50 for defects such as cracks or after material testing of the rollers 50. A segregation module output 500 is coupled to the segregation module 400 to facilitate physical segregation of the inspected rollers 50. The data processing unit 700 is configured to be in communication simultaneously with the inspection module 200, the material testing module 300, the segregation module 400 and the segregation module output 500.
In another embodiment, the apparatus 1000 is integrated with longer feed wheels to perform both honing and crack testing at a time.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of an apparatus for manufacturing of rollers:
• increases productivity of the super finishing process by reducing material handling time;
• reduces floor space requirement;
• provides an improved control over quality; and
• provides an automated segregation of rejected parts.

The foregoing disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. An apparatus (1000) for manufacturing rollers (50) of a bearing, said apparatus (1000) having a bed (100a) on which said rollers (50) are finished and conveyed from a first end (100b) of said bed to a second end (100c);
characterized in that, an inspection system is secured downstream of said first end (100b) of said bed (100a), said inspection system comprising:
• an inspection module (200) configured to inspect and identify defects in said rollers (50) and
• a material testing module (300) configured to perform a test on said rollers (50).
2. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inspection module (200) includes at least one scanning probe (210).
3. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said inspection module (200) works on the principle of eddy currents.
4. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a segregation module (400) is provided downstream of said inspection module (200) and said material testing module (300) to facilitate separation of rejected components by said inspection module (200).
5. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a segregation module output (500) is configured downstream of said segregation module (400) for auto-segregation of said rollers (50).
6. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said material testing module (300) includes a hardness testing apparatus.
7. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said material testing module (300) includes a material composition testing apparatus.
8. The apparatus (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a data processing unit (700) is configured to be in communication with said inspection module (200), said material testing module (300), said segregation module (400) and said segregation module output (500) to facilitate automated rejection of said rollers (50).