Asymmetric Rotomold Core for Curved Pallet Openings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotomolding technologies face challenges in creating curved openings for pallets, as parallel curves in mold cores can cause the plastic to grab and trap the mold, making it difficult to remove, especially when using hand-operated pallet jacks with wheels that need to navigate through these openings.
Innovation Solution
A mold core with a convexly curved bottom section and a divergent upper section, where the center of rotation of the upper curve is outboard of the lower curve, creating a rotational draft to facilitate easy removal, and a hollow pass-through for air flow and heat transfer, allowing the mold core to be designed for various radii and center rotations to accommodate different pallet sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If parallel curves are used in the mold core, then the curved openings can be formed for pallet jack wheel navigation, but the hardened plastic grabs and traps the mold core, making removal difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mold core employs asymmetric curved surfaces where the upper curve and lower curve have different radii and different centers of rotation. This asymmetry creates a non-parallel configuration that prevents the hardened plastic from uniformly grabbing the mold core, allowing for easy removal while maintaining the curved opening shape needed for pallet jack wheel navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes curved surfaces with specific geometric properties - the upper curve has a first radius and center of rotation, while the lower curve has a second radius and center of rotation. This controlled curvature asymmetry creates a draft effect that facilitates mold core extraction from the hardened plastic without compromising the functional curved opening geometry.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single mold core design is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but it cannot accommodate different pallet sizes and radii requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The mold core design incorporates adjustable or interchangeable components that allow the same basic mold core structure to accommodate different pallet sizes and curvature requirements. The asymmetric curved surface geometry can be configured for various radii and center rotations, enabling one mold core design to serve multiple pallet specifications rather than requiring dedicated molds for each size.
3Ease of operation
If the mold core is rotated out of the opening, then easy removal is achieved, but the geometry must be precisely controlled to prevent trapping
Solution Approach 1:
By designing the upper and lower curves with different radii and different centers of rotation, the mold core creates an asymmetric geometry that inherently provides a draft angle during rotation. This asymmetric configuration ensures that as the mold core rotates out, the hardened plastic does not uniformly grip the surface, facilitating smooth removal with controlled precision requirements.
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
Enables the efficient formation of curved runners in pallets, allowing easy removal of the mold core and accommodating different pallet sizes, ensuring smooth operation with hand-operated pallet jacks by preventing the mold from getting trapped in the hardened plastic.
Implementation Method 1
a hollow pass through extending laterally through the entire mold core, from the proximal end or face of the mold core out through the base assembly. The width of the mold core surrounding said pass through ranges from about 1/2" to about 2"
Implementation Method 2
A mold core with a convexly curved bottom section and a divergent upper section, where the center of rotation of the upper curve is outboard of the lower curve, creating a rotational draft to facilitate easy removal
Data Source
AI summary
An asymmetric mold core for forming curved floor openings in pallets is taught. The mold core contains: a base, the base attachable to a frame in a rotomold, a bottom section integral at a distal end to the base, the bottom section comprising a bottom convex curve having a bottom convex curve radius and a bottom convex curve rotational center, a top section integral at a distal end to the base, the top section comprising a top convex curve, the top convex curve having a top convex curve radius and a top convex curve rotational center, the top convex curve radius being different from the bottom convex curve radius and the top convex curve rational center differing from the bottom convex curve rotational center; a first side section, the first side section positioned and integral at a distal end to the base and positioned between and integral with the bottom section and the top section; a second side section the second side section positioned and integral at a distal end to the base and positioned between and integral with the bottom section and the top section, the second side section positioned parallel to the first side section; and a face.