[0028] Referring to the drawings, the immersion mold with extended service life of the present invention includes a mold core (1) enclosed in an outer coating (2) made of durable material. The model core (1) can be made of ceramic, aluminum or thermoplastic material or any other material, and the outer coating can include any one or a combination of the following materials: including Nylon 11 TM Nylon within TM , Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVDF, PEEK and fluoropolymers, or the outer coating can be made of epoxy resin and the coating can be textured.
[0029] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing an immersion mold with an extended life, the method comprising surrounding the core (1) with an outer coating (2) made of durable material.
[0030] Generally, the method involves multiple steps to obtain the best results. Taking the production of elastic gloves such as examination gloves, surgical gloves or industrial gloves as an example, first select an appropriate, worn, used glove dipping mold as the core (1). Due to the strict manufacturing process of gloves, there are usually pits, surface wear, fungus, stains, etching defects and other defects. The glove dipping mold used can itself be made of ceramics, aluminum, thermoplastic materials or other materials, but the most practical is the used ceramic mold; because the used ceramic molds are basically waste products, they can be obtained in large quantities and cost Very reasonable. In order to obtain the best results, the mold core (1) must have a higher melting temperature than the outer coating (2). According to the defect type of the selected model core (1), use a suitable cleaning technique or a combination of cleaning techniques for cleaning. The cleaning technique or a combination of cleaning techniques may include cleaning with a cleaning solution, rinsing, drying, mechanical scrubbing or cleaning at 2 to 5 Under bar pressure, blasting with alumina medium in the size range of 60 to 100 mesh is appropriate.
[0031] Choose the durable material of the outer coating (2) as required. The material selection of the outer coating (2) can include Nylon 11 TM Nylon within TM , Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVDF, PEEK and fluoropolymers, or a combination of these materials, and may suitably be in powder form or epoxy resin. External coatings made of these materials can be textured to achieve better glove formation. Surrounding the core (1) with an outer coating (2) made of durable material can be achieved by various application methods such as electrostatic spraying, plastic dipping or fluidized bed coating.
[0032] In the case of applying the outer coating (2) using the electrostatic spraying method, the mold core (1) used is first heated but the temperature does not exceed the melting temperature of the outer coating (2) material. Then the external coating (2) material in powder form is electrostatically charged and sprayed uniformly. In order to establish the thickness of the outer coating (2), multiple spraying cycles can be performed until the desired thickness is reached. Once the coating process is completed, the coated model is placed in a hot air oven; in the air oven, the airflow preferably starting from a low airflow gradually increases the temperature to the melting temperature of the outer coating material, so that the outer coating The material melts and elastically adheres to the surface of the mold core (1) below. A residence time of 1 hour or less is usually sufficient. For various coating materials, a temperature range of 180°C to 300°C is sufficient. The thickness of the outer coating (2) is suitably between 0.2mm and 0.5mm, so that the used model core (1) has a significantly prolonged life.
[0033] In the case of applying the outer coating (2) using the fluidized bed method, the used mold core (1) is also heated first but at a temperature higher than the melting temperature of the outer coating (2) material. The heated model core (1) is then immersed in a powder bath of coating material contained in a container with a bottom perforation, wherein air is blown through the bottom perforation to stir the suspended powder coating material, and then a layer of coating The material will adhere, melt and form a uniform coating around the core (1). This process can be repeated to achieve the desired thickness of the outer coating (2).
[0034] Regardless of the method of applying the outer coating (2) to the core (1), the outer coating (2) can then be adjusted to conform to the glove making process. This may involve surface texturing. Surface texturing can be performed by air or shot blasting with abrasive media (such as alumina with a suitable mesh size) to optimize the processing fluid or coagulant solution in the glove manufacturing process. The desired surface roughness required for the wetting or absorption treatment.
[0035] Any embodiment of the present invention described here is only intended to help understanding of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention to only the embodiment.
[0036] Industrial applicability
[0037] The dipping mold with extended service life and related methods of the present invention have ready-made industrial applications in the glove manufacturing industry. According to the shape of the model, the present invention is also suitable for condom and balloon manufacturing industry and other industries for manufacturing thin elastic products.
