Horseshoe Bending Machine : Bending Mechanism

Horseshoes are manufactured metal plates developed in an extensive assortment of materials and shapes and their main function is to protect the horse’s hooves and legs against abrasion and rupture. After a certain period of time the horseshoes are lost, worn out, or the hoof needs to be treated. Horseshoeing is a repetitive time consuming process for the farrier who has to heat the horseshoe inside a forge until it reaches the required temperature and shape it with a hammer until it fits perfectly to the horses’ hoof. The main goal of this project is to develop a horseshoe bending machine able to shape the horseshoe so its shape fits perfectly the horse’s hoof. The calculation of the bending force needed to be applied to the horseshoe in order to provoke a plastic deformation will be done with Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The bending force is then used to design and dimension each element of the bending mechanism so that it may be able to resist the stresses and prevent the parts from collapsing during its working life span. A study of the springback effect will be done followed by the analysis of the hertzian contact stresses between the rollers and the horseshoe. In addition, a clamping system is selected to constrain the movements of the horseshoe during the bending process. This machine will reduce the final user’s horse maintenance costs at the same time that makes the fitting process easier and less demanding, which will improve the farrier’s working life span and quality