Tapered structure construction
Feeding stock used to form a tapered structure into a curving device such that each point on the stock undergoes rotational motion about a peak location of the tapered structure; and the stock meets a predecessor portion of stock along one or more adjacent edges.
1. An apparatus for producing a frusto-conical structure, the apparatus comprising:
a feed system operable to move a sheet of material in a first direction;
a curving device operable to:
receive the sheet of material from the feed system,
move the sheet of material in a second direction different from the first direction, and
curve the sheet of material to form the frusto-conical structure; and
a control system in communication with the feed system and the curving device, the control system configured to control the feed system and the curving device such that a portion of the sheet of material that has not yet been curved by the curving device is maintained at a substantially constant distance from a predetermined virtual peak of the frusto-conical structure as the sheet of material is moved into the curving device, the predetermined virtual peak located at a point where a taper of the frusto-conical structure would decrease to zero if the frusto-conical structure were not truncated.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising the sheet of material, wherein the sheet of material includes a metal sheet.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the sheet of material comprises a trapezoidal sheet.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feed system is configured to drive the sheet of material in the first direction towards the curving device.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the feed system comprises a roller operable to translate the sheet of material in the first direction.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feed system is adjustable in two degrees of freedom to position the sheet of material relative to the curving device.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feed system is operable to rotate the sheet of material relative to the curving device.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the curving device comprises a triple roll.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the triple roll comprises a plurality of rollers arranged in a bank.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of rollers is steerable to move the sheet of material in the second direction.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the sheet of material that has not yet been curved by the curving device is a first portion, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a welder controllable to join a second portion of the sheet of material that has been curved by the curving device with another portion of the frusto-conical structure that has been curved by the curving device.
12. An apparatus for producing a frusto-conical structure, the apparatus comprising:
a feed system comprising a roller operable to drive a metal sheet in a first direction, the feed system adjustable in two degrees of freedom to position the metal sheet;
a curving device comprising a triple roll, the triple roll including a plurality of steerable rollers arranged in a bank, the plurality of steerable rollers operable to:
receive the metal sheet from the feed system,
move the metal sheet in a second direction different from the first direction, and
curve the metal sheet to form the frusto-conical structure;
a welder operable to join the metal sheet to itself or to other metal sheets; and
a control system in communication with the feed system, the curving device, and the welder, the control system configured to:
control the feed system and the curving device such that, as the metal sheet is driven into the curving device, a first portion of the metal sheet that has not yet been curved by the curving device is maintained at a substantially constant distance from a predetermined virtual peak of the frusto-conical structure, the predetermined virtual peak located at a point where a taper of the frusto-conical structure would decrease to zero if the frusto-conical structure were not truncated, and
control the welder to join a second portion of the metal sheet that has been curved by the curving device with another portion of the frusto-conical structure that has been curved by the curving device.
13. An apparatus for producing a frusto-conical structure, the apparatus comprising:
a feed system operable to move a sheet of material in a first direction;
a curving device operable to:
receive the sheet of material from the feed system,
move the sheet of material in a second direction different from the first direction, and
curve the sheet of material to form the frusto-conical structure; and
a control system in communication with the feed system and the curving device, the control system configured to control the feed system and the curving device in a manner such that a portion of the sheet of material that has not yet been curved by the curving device is rotated about a predetermined virtual peak at a substantially constant radial distance from the predetermined virtual peak as the sheet of material is moved into the curving device, the predetermined virtual peak located at a point where a taper of the frusto-conical structure would decrease to zero if the frusto-conical structure were not truncated.