The present invention concerns plastic cylindrical ooαieε, particularly tumblers, for use in cnemical processes

(electrolytic batns, plating processes) or mechanical processes (polishing, trimming etc).

5. At present the known plastic cylindrical bodies are integrally made, therefore very expensive. Separated panel supporting frames are also used, out tney involve considerable asseroly costs and poor final results.

In particular, tne most commonly used tumblers consist of a

10. series of bars, with or witnout a steel core, tnat join two neads ano are snaped sc tnat tney form guides for rectangular panels wnirn are inserted from one εno anc tner. fixed. itn tr.is

type of tumbler the assembly procedure, cleaning operations and maintenance are lengthy and difficult.

US-..-2 565 385 foresees a tumbler whose lateral sidewalls, which form a cylindrical body, are made of metal stripes lengthwise 5. provided with two opposite bolted flanges. This construction leads to an embodiment which is still very expensive because of saic stripes being easily twisted already before assembly.

The aim of the present invention is to construct lengthened cylir.drical bodies that are easy to assemble, very solid and 10. inexpensive.

The aim is achieved ^" D3- producing plastic modular supporting panels having a substantially flat rectangular major wall surrounded at its four sides with raised edges, two of them facing each others and extending at right angle from the major 15. wall of the panel and two others with a slope greater than 90° so as to form a polygonal self-supporting cylindrical body.

The perpendicular edges preferably end at the outside with a convex surface that afterwards will serve as a rim for the. cylindrical body.

20. Each panel major wall can have conventional perforations (conical, cylindrical, lamellar), set more or less close togεtner on the tumbler wall according to needs, or even to have a hole into which a net can be inserted.

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During assembly the raised edges are coupled preferably by means of melting. Tne fixing Dy means of sticking is also foreseen.

After assembly the panels form a body having a polygonal section. Each side is formed by a set of connected panels, each

5. set being connected to tne adjacent one along the inclined edges of eacn panel. Afterwards tne two end section of the cylindrical booy can De connected to hεaos, for exarriDle by tne same connecting method used for tne Danels. In this case the edges serve as longitudinal reinforcements and thus advantageously

10. replace the oars or tne ties tnat nave Deen used up to nov..

Such a cylindrical Dody will have a series of longitudinal reinforcements and transversal reinforcing rims that will create an additional stiffening of the Dody. Stronger structures will be obtained for a wheight of plastic; on the other hand lighter 15. structures may be obtained for a given strength.

At least one panel is preferably arranged as a door: m this case it is formed as a strong frame.

An advantage of the present invention is that it is possible by means of only one modular element to create very strong and 20. long-lasting cylindrical bodies tne length of which may be defined only at tne last moment Defore final assemDly. Single panels can also De simply replaced, thanks to the modular systerr, thus minimizing maintenance costs.

An embodiment of the oresent invention is illustrated in tne

attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an axonomεtric view of the modular panel; Fig. 2 shows a top view of the panel;

Fig. 3 shows a section of the panel along line 3-3 of figure 2; 5. Fig. 4 is a scaled down view of a cylindrical body made up of assembled panels; Fig. 5 is a section along line 5-5 of the body in figure 4.

In figures 1, 2 and 3 number 1 indicates the flat or essentially flat wall of the modular panel which in this case has a series 10. of perforations 6. The longitudinal edges 2 facing each other form an obtuse angle A with the substantially flat wall 1 of the panel and end in a straight line, whereas the transverse opposite edges 3 end in a slightly convex shape and are perpendicular to wall 1.

15. ∑n figure 4 the joints in the assembled body, which in this case is a tumbler, are visible. The transverse edge 3 and the longitudinal ones 2 are joined to each other and to the heads 7 by means of a melting coupling polifusion. An adhesive coupling can also be foreseen.

20. In figure 5 the polygonal shape of the cylindrical body section can be seen, to be precise a hexagonal shape, and it can also be noted that the convex profile of the transverse edges 3 of the panels forms a reinforcing rim which is raised with respect to the hexagonal section of the tumbler. In figure 5 a man hole

25. comprising a door is also provided.