Carbide Metering Valve for Viscous Material Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing metering valves for viscous materials are limited in their ability to apply material beads or dots with smaller diameters and closer reciprocal distances due to the diameter of the valve needles and the need for precise guidance and sealing.
Innovation Solution
The development of a metering valve with valve needles and guide blocks made of carbide, allowing for precise and well-sealed guidance of the needles at small distances, enabling the placement of material outlet openings at close proximity without additional sealing elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If valve needles and guide blocks are made of carbide with precise guidance, then material outlet openings can be placed at small distances from one another, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by using carbide (a hard, wear-resistant ceramic material) for the valve needles and guide blocks. This material choice enables precise guidance and small spacing between components while maintaining durability and chemical resistance, directly resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and device complexity.
2Quantity of substance
If valve needles are made smaller to reduce material bead diameter, then smaller material amounts can be applied, but guidance and sealing become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The use of carbide for valve needles provides the necessary stiffness and wear resistance to maintain guidance stability even when the needles are made smaller. The material's high strength-to-size ratio allows small-diameter needles to be guided reliably without compromising sealing performance.
3Reliability
If additional sealing elements are added to prevent material leakage, then sealing reliability improves, but device complexity and material waste increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sealing function from separate sealing elements and integrates it directly into the guide block structure. The guide block's precisely fitted openings provide sealing through the carbide material itself and the precision fit, eliminating the need for additional sealing elements like O-rings or gaskets.
4Length of moving object
If valve needles are arranged closer together, then material outlet openings can be placed at smaller distances, but guidance precision becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The carbide material's high stiffness and dimensional stability allow the guide block to maintain precise geometry even when featuring closely spaced openings. This enables multiple valve needles to be guided accurately at small center-to-center distances without compromising guidance precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A metering valve for viscous materials has a housing, a material channel extending in the housing and opening into material outlet openings, and a number of valve pins, which are movably mounted in the housing, the number corresponding to the number of material outlet openings, wherein a valve seat is associated with each valve pin and each valve pin is movable between a closed position, in which it sits on the valve seat associated with it and closes one of the material outlet openings, and an open position, in which the material outlet opening concerned is exposed. The valve pins are produced from carbide and are guided in a longitudinally displaceable manner through feed-through openings in a guide block arranged at a distance from the valve seats, wherein the guide block is produced from carbide, at least on the inner surfaces of the feed-through openings facing the valve pins.