Design and development of a testing device for a new invented Doctor Blade

Abstract: This thesis project is about designing and developing an already existing testing device for a new invented Doctor Blade. A doctor blade is a blade used for creping tissue paper of a rotating cylinder, Yankee Cylinder. The old testing device was incomplete in a way that a rotating cylinder was missing, hence the tested blade is not loaded properly. The old testing device already contained the doctor blade holding device and the pulling device (pulling the creping blade). These two devices are transferred to the new testing device without any redesign within them. The adding of a rotating cylinder/roller required some new redesign regarding the testing device. The main beam (beam carrying all elements) is replaced with a larger one in order to fit the roller and is elongated in order to run longer tests. The new beam has a larger cross section in order to minimize the risk of bending. The main beam is supplied with five small beams, welded onto it, three for attaching the holding device and two for attaching the roller. The dimensions of these small beams are chosen in order to put the roller on the right position according to the creping blade. An electric motor is added to the new testing device in order to drive the roller with a chain. This required two sprockets, one for the motor and one for the roller shaft. The sprockets are chosen with a pitch diameter ratio matching the gearing required. FMEA-analysis is done on the whole design where five failure modes were chosen to be included, bending of the main beam and motor beam, screw joints of the same beams and sprocket-chain mechanism. Some FEM-analysis was required in order to detect the bending of the beams and measuring the loading on the screw joints. The screw joint loading achieved from the FEM-analysis is used for the theoretical screw joint calculations. The FMEA-analysis implied that four of the analyzed failure modes have acceptably low risk factor and dos not require any further actions. However one received a high risk factor, the chain-sprocket mechanism, the risk of clamping fingers. This is solved by adding a protecting house/shell made of sheet metal. Measurements were done on the old and the new testing device regarding the required force for pulling the creping blade and the pressure distribution between the creping blade and the beam (and roller in the new testing device). The improvement of the pulling force values is rather due to the new designed doctor blade than due to the new testing device. The new testing device is however more appropriate than the old one hence the added roller and the tests shows that it is functional as well.