MECHATRONIC SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SHAPING MATERIALS BY A DIE HAVING A RECONFIGURABLE SURFACE USING MEMORY EFFECT ACTUATORS.

摘要

The next generation in manufacturing systems requires flexible, intelligent and reconfigurable systems due to personalized product trends. The problem resides in that the manufacturing area and the process reconfigurability is restricted by the matrix rigidity and the manufacture and design protocol, said protocols do not allow reconfiguarability to have a technological development. A wide variety of metal-mechanical industry products are manufactured by metal forging or hot-molding processes. However, despite all technological developments achieved in said field, manufacturing times are still longer and costs for manufacturing dies more expensive, thus the possibility of having a reconfigurable die is attractive since it would provide the opportunity of manufacturing different products at a low cost and in a reduced time as dies may last weeks or months to be manufactured, on the other hand a reconfigurable die may allow a different geometry to be obtained in minutes or hours. The pr esent invention describes a reconfigurable system for shaping materials by computer in a controlled manner including a higher bolt density per area unit for increasing the amount of parts to be produced and reducing costs and times of pieces for the manufacturing industry. The inventive system avoids manufacturing a different die each time the geometry of a product to be manufactured is changed. The use of the memory effect material as an actuator in the reconfigurability mechanism is the key to the success of the reconfigurable system and the control system owing to the permissibility of small bolts which can be adapted to standard sizes and shapes. The invention also includes eight claims referring to the mechatronic system and the method for shaping materials by means of a die having a reconfigurable surface using memory effect actuators.