Additive Manufactured Fluid Channel for Bottle Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid channels for container treatment systems are expensive and complex due to their metal construction, making them costly to produce and difficult to manufacture in curved forms that follow the transport route of containers.
Innovation Solution
The fluid channel is manufactured using an additive manufacturing process, allowing for cost-effective production and improved cooling performance by designing the outlet openings as nozzles with specific flow directions that can vary along the channel, optimizing the cooling of container bottoms without the need for additional elements or complex construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If fluid channels are made of metal plates with punched openings, then structural strength is ensured, but production cost increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from metal to plastic and the manufacturing method parameter from punching to additive manufacturing. This allows the fluid channel to be produced as an integrated component with complex geometries including curved sections and variable nozzle orientations, eliminating the need for assembly while maintaining structural strength through optimized design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs plastic material with integrated reinforcement structures or composite material properties through additive manufacturing techniques. This allows achieving required mechanical strength while enabling complex geometries and integrated features that would be difficult or expensive to produce with traditional metal punching methods
2Reliability
If fluid channels are made of metal plates, then durability is ensured, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive metal components with cost-effective plastic components manufactured through additive manufacturing. The plastic fluid channel achieves sufficient durability for the application while dramatically reducing production cost, demonstrating that cheaper materials can substitute for expensive ones when design and manufacturing methods are optimized
3Ease of operation
If fluid channels are constructed with punched openings, then fluid discharge is achieved, but manufacturing difficulty increases for curved channels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical punching process with additive manufacturing technology. This substitution enables direct fabrication of curved fluid channels with complex three-dimensional nozzle arrangements, eliminating the manufacturing difficulties associated with punching curved metal plates while maintaining effective fluid discharge functionality
4Temperature
If additional elements are added to optimize cooling, then cooling performance improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the fluid channel structure with the cooling optimization features into a single integrated component. The nozzle orientations, positions, and geometries are directly formed during additive manufacturing to optimize cooling performance, eliminating the need for separate adjustment elements or additional components while achieving superior cooling efficiency
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces production costs while maintaining or improving cooling capacity, enabling the fluid channel to be adapted to the transport route of containers without interruptions, ensuring efficient cooling over the entire length.
Implementation Method 1
The fluid channel is characterized in that the component is a component manufactured using an additive manufacturing process
Implementation Method 2
at least one outlet opening through which the fluid can emerge from the fluid channel in the direction of a bottom of a container transported in the process direction
Implementation Method 3
cool the bottom area of the container in order to avoid deformation of the container during the further process steps
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2d
Figure 2e~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a fluid channel of a container-processing system (400) for processing containers, such as bottles, the container-processing system (400) comprising a blow-molding machine and a container-processing machine arranged downstream of the blow-molding machine in the process direction, the fluid channel (100, 404) being arranged after the blow-molding machine and before the downstream container-processing machine in the process direction and comprising at least one component (101, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 301, 302) through which the fluid can flow and which comprises at least one outlet opening (103, 213, 224, 235, 263), through which the fluid can exit the fluid channel (100, 404) toward a bottom of a container (130) transported in the process direction, characterized in that the component (101, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 301, 302) is a component (101, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 301, 302) produced by means of an additive production method. The invention further relates to a method for producing a component (101, 202, 203, 205) of a fluid channel (100, 300, 330) and to a container-processing system (400) having a fluid channel (100, 404). The invention relates to a fluid channel (100, 404) of a container-processing system (400) for processing containers, such as bottles, the container-processing system (400) comprising a blow-molding machine and a container-processing machine arranged downstream of the blow-molding machine in the process direction, the fluid channel (100, 404) being arranged after the blow-molding machine and before the downstream container-processing machine in the process direction and comprising at least one component (101, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 301, 302) through which the fluid can flow and which comprises at least one outlet opening (103, 213, 224, 235, 263), through which the fluid can exit the fluid channel (100, 404) toward a bottom of a container (130) transported in the process direction, characterized in that the component (101, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 301, 302) is a component (101, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 301, 302) produced by means of an additive production method. The invention further relates to a method for producing a component (101, 202, 203, 205) of a fluid channel (100, 300, 330) and to a container-processing system (400) having a fluid channel (100, 404).