Annular Seal Outer Layer Structure for Visible Parting Lines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Annular seal materials manufactured by hot press molding often have a visible linear parting line, which can make it difficult to ensure accurate attachment to apparatuses, especially when the parting line is not easily visible.
Innovation Solution
The annular seal material features a core covered by an outer layer with a thinner thickness at the parting line areas compared to areas without parting lines, enhancing visibility. This design includes a method of hot press molding using rope-like preforms made from crosslinkable rubber compositions for the core and outer layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hot press molding is used to manufacture annular seal material, then manufacturing efficiency and structural integrity are improved, but a visible parting line is formed on the surface which reduces visibility and makes visual checking difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The outer layer is designed with non-uniform thickness, specifically thinner at the parting line regions and thicker at other regions. This local variation in thickness creates a visible contrast at the parting line while maintaining the overall structural integrity and sealing performance of the annular seal material
Solution Approach 2:
The variation in outer layer thickness at the parting line creates an optical effect that enhances visibility. The thinner region allows light to interact differently with the underlying core material, creating a visible contrast that facilitates visual detection of the parting line
2Reliability
If the parting line is made smaller to ensure hermetic closure, then sealing performance is improved, but visibility and ease of visual checking are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The outer layer thickness is locally reduced at the parting line region, creating a visible contrast that allows the parting line to remain small for hermetic closure while simultaneously improving its visibility for visual checking
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of changing the parting line width in the horizontal plane, the invention addresses visibility by modifying the thickness dimension of the outer layer at the parting line region, creating a three-dimensional solution to a two-dimensional visibility problem
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
The solution provides improved visibility of the parting line, facilitating accurate attachment of the annular seal material to apparatuses while maintaining hermetic closure, thus addressing the challenge of visually checking the parting line.
Implementation Method 1
a preforming step of providing one or two or more rope-like preforms comprising an uncrosslinked core made of a crosslinkable rubber composition for a core, and an uncrosslinked outer layer, made of a crosslinkable rubber composition for an outer layer, covering a periphery of the uncrosslinked core
Implementation Method 2
a hot press molding step of contacting two end portions of the rope-like preform with each other and placing the same in a mold to carry out hot press molding
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an annular seal material comprising a core and an outer layer covering a periphery of the core, wherein in the annular seal material, the outer layer has a parting line on each of an outer diameter side and an inner diameter side, and in the annular seal material, a thickness of the outer layer in at least a part of a portion where the parting line is present is smaller than a thickness of the outer layer in a portion where the parting line is absent. According to the present invention, provided are an annular seal material having a parting line having improved visibility and a method for manufacturing the same.