Messerschmitt-bolkow-blohm Gmbh

Messerschmitt-bolkow-blohm Gesellschaft MIT Beschrankter Haftung

Kurt Stich

Manfred Lechner

Karl Butter

An apparatus and method for fixedly positioning a rotationally symmetrical constructional part having an irregular longitudinal peripheral wall consisting of a plurality of spirally wound juxtaposed tubes. The apparatus comprises a rotatable core having a peripheral surface corresponding to the inner contour of the peripheral wall for supporting the tubes with means for rotating the core about the axis of symmetry. Clamping devices are included for fixedly positioning the ends of the tubes on the core. A wire wrapping device is positioned alongside the core for applying a removable temporary wire wrapping of non-circular wire cross-section under tensile stress to the surface of the tubes. The wrapping device includes guide devices for guiding the wire to the surface of the tubes in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of symmetry and for maintaining the wire under a selected tensile stress so that it is helically wound in successive contacting turns over the tubes, and a device for effecting a change in the elevation of the wire wrapping device depositing the wire on the tubes during heating of successive turns of the wire. The apparatus and method cause the successive contacting turns of wire to closely and forcefully apply against preceding turns of wire and against the tubes for forming the constructional part.

Method for manufacturing a rotationally symmetrical construction part

The constructional parts have walls formed of elongated elements, such as res or tubes, wound spirally in juxtaposition about the axis of symmetry of the part and connected to each other. The elongated elements are bent to shape utilizing a bending device having at least one bending groove conformable to the predetermined three-dimensional geometry of the part to be manufactured. One end of each wire or tube is fixed to the bending device and the other end is engaged in a clamping and adjusting device designed as a combined Cardan swivel joint which, during the bending, it utilized to continuously control the adjustment parameters of the wire or tube, about three mutually intersecting axes, in conformity with such predetermined three-dimensional geometry of the part. The bent elements are then assembled in juxtaposition on an assembly core, separate from the bending device, having an external contour identical with the internal contour of the finished part, and the opposite ends of assembled juxtaposed elements are clamped against movements. The juxtaposed elements are then wrapped with a wire winding extending completely over the juxtaposed elements. The wire winding is then removed, by sectors or zones or areas, and the thus-exposed juxtaposed elements are then secured to each other, in the exposed zones, as by welded seams, to form the finished constructional part when the wire wrapping has been completely removed and all of the juxtaposed elements have been secured to each other.

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Unterhaching, Germany

Kurt Stich