Bendable Dip Coating Tube with Adjustable Carriage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dip coating equipment for elongate flexible workpieces is bulky, difficult to use, and inefficient in terms of coating solution usage, with coiled-tube systems failing to effectively coat certain types of workpieces due to incomplete coating and kinking issues.
Innovation Solution
A dip coating apparatus featuring a bendable tube with a vertically repositionable carriage and support assembly that allows for efficient introduction and removal of workpieces at a comfortable height, using minimal coating solution, and incorporating a fluid retention cavity for optimal coating solution management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If straight vertical coating tubes are used, then workpieces can be coated, but the equipment is bulky and requires substantial quantities of coating solution to prime the system
Solution Approach 1:
The coating tube is made bendable rather than rigid, allowing it to be folded back on itself to redirect the workpiece path. This dynamic configuration reduces the vertical space required and minimizes the volume of coating solution needed to prime the system, while maintaining the ability to coat workpieces effectively
2Volume of moving object
If coiled coating tubes are used, then equipment size is reduced, but certain types of workpieces are not susceptible to being pushed or threaded along the length of the tube resulting in incomplete coating and kinking
Solution Approach 1:
The coating tube is divided into functional segments with a bendable portion that redirects the workpiece path. This segmentation allows the tube to be compact while maintaining a straight coating section where workpieces can be properly pushed through without kinking or incomplete coating
Solution Approach 2:
A guide surface is introduced as an intermediary element that works with the bendable tube to redirect workpieces smoothly. The guide surface ensures workpieces are properly directed through the bent tube configuration without getting stuck or kinking, maintaining coating quality while reducing equipment size
3Reliability
If straight vertical coating tubes are used, then workpieces can be coated, but the operator must repeatedly reach up, often above his/her head, to mount and dismount the workpieces
Solution Approach 1:
The bendable tube can be configured to redirect the workpiece path to a more convenient height for the operator. By folding the tube back on itself, the coating process can occur at a comfortable working level rather than requiring the operator to reach above their head
4Ease of operation
If bendable tubes with guide surfaces are used, then workpiece handling is improved, but the tube structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is constructed from flexible material that can be bent and redirected without requiring complex mechanical joints or rigid structural components. This flexibility achieves improved workpiece handling while keeping the overall structure relatively simple
Data Source
AI summary
A dip coating apparatus and method of dip coating. The apparatus includes a guide surface, a bendable tube, a carriage, and a support assembly. The bendable tube redirectionally engages the guide surface intermediate the first and second longitudinal ends of the tube. The carriage is vertically repositionable and cooperatively engages the tube proximate the first longitudinal end of the tube, whereby vertical repositioning of the carriage effects a change in the vertical distance between the first and second longitudinal ends of the tube. The support assembly releasably suspends an elongate workpiece for introduction of at least a portion of the workpiece into the tube through the first longitudinal end of the coating tube as the carriage is vertically repositioned upwards towards the support assembly.