Bonded Layer Flooring Component Low-Temperature Adhesive Bonding
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Solution Overview
Problem
The flooring industry faces challenges with the thermofusing process for luxury vinyl tile production, which causes surface defects and requires expensive and time-consuming embossing cylinder machining for complex patterns, leading to waste due to fluctuating consumer demand.
Innovation Solution
A low-temperature bonding process using a series of rollers to attach a decorative layer to a core layer, eliminating the need for embossing cylinders and allowing for greater design flexibility by treating the base layer with a primer and applying adhesives and decorative layers in a continuous wrapping process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a thermofusing process is used to adhere the decorative layer to the core, then the layers are bonded together, but surface defects and thickness variations (potato-chipping) occur due to high temperature heating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameter from high (thermofusing at 350°F or greater) to low (below melting point of PVC), eliminating thermal degradation and surface defects while maintaining effective bond strength through adhesive chemistry rather than thermal softening
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermal field (heat-based thermofusing) with a chemical field (adhesive-based bonding), substituting the mechanism of bond formation from thermal softening and fusion to chemical adhesion, thereby avoiding temperature-induced surface defects
2Adaptability or versatility
If embossing cylinders are used to create decorative patterns, then complex patterns can be formed, but the process becomes time-consuming and expensive due to cylinder machining requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical embossing cylinders with digital pattern templates that can be rapidly reproduced and modified, allowing pattern changes without machining new cylinders, thus eliminating the time and cost of cylinder manufacturing while maintaining design versatility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal digital pattern system that can generate multiple decorative patterns from a single platform, replacing the need for multiple specialized embossing cylinders, thereby reducing manufacturing time and enabling flexible adaptation to different design requirements
3Productivity
If large quantities of material are produced to justify cylinder manufacturing costs, then economies of scale are achieved, but waste increases when patterns become unpopular or outdated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic pattern change capability where digital templates can be quickly updated to reflect current consumer demand, allowing the production system to adapt to changing market trends without being constrained by fixed, expensive embossing cylinders, thereby reducing waste from outdated patterns
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the production approach from committing to large quantities based on fixed cylinder costs to flexible, demand-driven production using digital patterns, allowing small batches of various patterns to be produced efficiently, thus reducing inventory waste while maintaining productivity
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 method reduces production costs and time, minimizes surface defects, and allows for more flexible pattern changes without the need for specialized cylinders, enabling efficient manufacturing of flooring components with improved design options.
Implementation Method 1
a adhesive that is applied onto a top surface of the base layer... a decorative layer that is applied on top of the first adhesive
Implementation Method 2
heating the base layer such that a surface tension of the base layer is increased
Data Source
AI summary
A system for manufacturing a luxury vinyl tile. The system includes a heater, a belt, and a wrapping machine. The heater is configured to heat a base layer of the luxury vinyl tile. The belt is configured to support and transfer the base layer through the system. The wrapping machine is configured to receive the base layer on the belt therethrough. The wrapping machine includes an adhesive dispenser and a series of rollers. The adhesive dispenser is configured to apply an adhesive onto a top surface of the base layer as the base layer travels through the wrapping machine. The series of rollers is configured to apply a decorative layer on top of the adhesive to bond the decorative layer to the top surface of the base layer.