Sheet metal often shows shape defects, which is not complying with the increasing requirements for the quality of the products needed to satisfy the highest demands on finer tolerances. Due to the ...market's high requirements on the quality of products, new high-technology levelling machines were developed. The adjustment of these levellers is very complicated and a successful adjustment depends mainly on the experience of the line operator. As the computational power has developed over the past years, simulation becomes more important in the production process and is used in analysing the effects of leveller adjustments on the unflattened sheet metal. In this study, edge- and centre waves are investigated. In order to find a suitable adjustment of the leveller to reach a flat sheet metal, an analytical 3D simulation model has been developed using the Matlab programming environment. The sheet metal will be firstly analyzed and visualized before and after deformation. A user-friendly interface has been developed to enter the required parameters before starting the simulation. Different methods have been used to investigate the effect of the levelling process on the sheet metal and to calculate the remaining shape defects after levelling. The simulation results were validated by experiments and are represented in this paper.
Today, the cyclic feeding of sheet metals in metal forming machines is realized by means of mechanical roll or grip feeders. The limited feeding forces as well as the restricted dynamics and the ...potential for damaging the sheet surface as a result of mechanical contact often restricts the production rate of the entire press line. At the IFUM, a new contactless feeding system has been developed, based on the asynchronous linear motor, with which high feeding forces can be applied to the electrically conductive sheet metal contactless by means of electromagnetic forces. In this paper, the feeder’s operation characteristics depending on the sheet material properties and also on their geometry are presented. According to simulations and experiments the feeding forces could be significantly increased in comparison to reachable forces in case of using roll feeders.
In this paper the recent developments in linear motor driven systems in the field of metal forming technology are presented, where an increasing use of linear motors in peripheral devices such as ...feeders or transfer systems as well as in main press drives could be noticed. Within the presented research projects the manufacturing accuracy and the stroke rate of presses as well as the energy efficiency can be significantly increased by using linear motors.
Target-derived neurotrophin growth factors have significant effects on the development and maintenance of the mammalian somatosensory system. Studies of transgenic mice that overexpress neurotrophins ...NGF and neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) at high levels in skin have shown increased sensory neuron number and enhanced innervation of specific sensory ending types. The effects of two other members of this family, BDNF and NT-4, on sensory neuron development are less clear. This study examined the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) using transgenic mice that overexpress BDNF in epithelial target tissues of sensory neurons. BDNF transgenic mice had an increase in peripheral innervation density and showed selective effects on neuron survival. Neuron number in trigeminal ganglia, DRG, and SCG were unchanged, although a 38% increase in neurons comprising the placode-derived nodose-petrosal complex occurred. BDNF transgenic skin showed notable enhancement of innervation to hair follicles as detected by PGP9.5 immunolabeling. In nonhairy plantar skin, Meissner corpuscle sensory endings were larger, and the number of Merkel cells with associated innervation was increased. In trigeminal ganglia, neurons expressing trkB receptor were increased threefold, whereas trkA-positive neurons doubled. Analysis of trkB by Northern, reverse transcription-PCR, and Western assays indicated a modest increase in the expression of the T1 truncated receptor and preferential distribution to the periphery. These data indicate that skin-derived BDNF does not enhance survival of cutaneous sensory neurons, although it does promote neurite innervation of specific sites and sensory end organs of the skin.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-4 (NT4) are essential for the survival of geniculate ganglion neurons, which provide the sensory afferents for taste buds of the anterior ...tongue and palate. To determine how these target-derived growth factors regulate gustatory development, the taste system was examined in transgenic mice that overexpress BDNF (BDNF-OE) or NT4 (NT4-OE) in basal epithelial cells of the tongue. Overexpression of BDNF or NT4 caused a 93 and 140% increase, respectively, in the number of geniculate ganglion neurons. Surprisingly, both transgenic lines had severe reduction in fungiform papillae and taste bud number, primarily in the dorsal midregion and ventral tip of the tongue. No alterations were observed in taste buds of circumvallate or incisal papillae. Fungiform papillae were initially present on tongues of newborn BDNF-OE animals, but many were small, poorly innervated, and lost postnatally. To explain the loss of nerve innervation to fungiform papillae, the facial nerve of developing animals was labeled with the lipophilic tracer DiI. In contrast to control mice, in which taste neurons innervated only fungiform papillae, taste neurons in BDNF-OE and NT4-OE mice innervated few fungiform papillae. Instead, some fibers approached but did not penetrate the epithelium and aberrant innervation to filiform papillae was observed. In addition, some papillae that formed in transgenic mice had two taste buds (instead of one) and were frequently arranged in clusters of two or three papillae. These results indicate that target-derived BDNF and NT4 are not only survival factors for geniculate ganglion neurons, but also have important roles in regulating the development and spatial patterning of fungiform papilla and targeting of taste neurons to these sensory structures.
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