Automated Surface Decoration of 3D Puzzle Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of surface-decorated three-dimensional objects, such as jigsaw puzzles, is complex and economically unfeasible for small series due to the separate production of individual elements and decorations, with decorative foils being costly for low quantities.
Innovation Solution
A method involving data sets to describe the surface and segmentation of three-dimensional bodies, followed by automated production and non-contact digital printing of individual elements, allowing for precise and efficient decoration application across multiple elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If individual elements and surface decoration are produced separately using traditional methods, then the production process is simple to implement, but the production cost increases and economic feasibility is lost for small series
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the production of individual elements and surface decoration into a single integrated process. The injection molding tool includes integrated decoration elements that are formed together with the individual elements during one molding cycle, eliminating the need for separate decoration production and application steps. This merging resolves the contradiction by maintaining process simplicity while achieving economic feasibility through reduced production steps and material usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The decoration elements are prepared and positioned within the injection molding tool before the molding process begins. The tool design pre-configures the decoration elements in their final positions on the individual elements, so that when the molding process occurs, the decoration is automatically applied in the correct location. This preliminary action eliminates the need for post-production decoration application, resolving the contradiction between simple implementation and economic production efficiency.
2Manufacturing precision
If decorative foils are used for surface decoration, then the decoration quality is good, but the cost increases significantly for small series production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the decoration application step from the traditional separate decoration process and integrates it directly into the injection molding tool. The decoration elements are formed as part of the molding process itself, eliminating the need for separate decorative foils and their associated application processes. This extraction resolves the contradiction by maintaining high decoration quality through precise molding control while significantly reducing costs for small series production.
Solution Approach 2:
The injection molding tool creates exact copies of the decoration elements directly in their final form and position. Instead of using separate decorative foils that require transfer and application, the tool molds direct replicas of the decorated surfaces into the individual elements. This copying process resolves the contradiction by achieving high decoration quality through precise replication while eliminating the costliness of decorative foils and their application processes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple tools are used to produce different individual elements, then the production flexibility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The injection molding tool is designed with multi-functionality to produce different types of individual elements and their corresponding decorations within a single tool structure. The tool includes multiple cavities and integrated decoration elements that can form various shapes and patterns, allowing one tool to replace multiple specialized tools. This universality resolves the contradiction by maintaining production flexibility for different element types while reducing the overall number of tools required.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool design incorporates adjustable and reconfigurable elements that allow dynamic adaptation to different production requirements. The tool can be configured to produce different individual element types and decoration patterns by adjusting mold cavities and decoration element positions, providing flexibility without requiring multiple fixed tools. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between production flexibility and device complexity by enabling versatile production through a single adaptable tool.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing in an automated manner individual elements, which as a whole form a surface-decorated spatial body, comprising the following steps: producing a first data set, which describes the surface of the spatial body and the segmentation of the surface by means of the individual elements, expanding the first data set to include parameters that describe the spatial form of each individual element, producing the individual elements by means of a number of tools, which have been produced on the basis of the expanded first data set, producing a second data set, which describes a decoration of the surface of the spatial body, superimposing the segmented surface and the decoration of the surface of the spatial body by connecting the first data set and the second data set to form a third data set, producing a fourth data set, which describes the two-dimensional orthogonal projection of the surface of each individual element to be decorated, from the third data set, producing a printing file from the fourth data set, removing the produced individual elements from the associated tool and supplying the removed individual elements to a digital printing device that operates without contact, and decorating the surface of the individual elements using the printing file by performing a relative motion between a printing head of the printing device and the surface of the individual elements facing the printing head of the printing device.