Blow Molding Tool for Catheter Balloons
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional blow molding technologies for polyamide balloon components face challenges in achieving uniform temperature control, leading to inhomogeneous heating and potential structural weakening, especially in the central balloon-forming portion, which affects the mechanical reliability and stability of the final product.
Innovation Solution
A device with adjustable mold cavities and a temperature control system that allows for sequential processing of necking and shaping steps within a single workflow, using a longitudinally divided mold with separate tempering and shaping cavities, and a temperature control medium to ensure homogeneous heating across the blank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional blow molding technology is used with separate process steps for necking and shaping, then the balloon component can be produced, but the temperature control becomes inhomogeneous leading to structural weakening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the necking step and shaping step into a single integrated mold cavity, allowing both operations to occur simultaneously in one process step. This eliminates the temperature control discontinuities that occur when transitioning between separate processes, ensuring homogeneous temperature distribution throughout the blank and improving both manufacturing precision and mechanical reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold cavity is segmented into different functional zones: a necking zone for lateral deformation and a shaping zone for balloon formation. Each zone can be independently temperature-controlled, allowing precise thermal management in each region while maintaining overall temperature homogeneity across the entire blank.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the mold is opened and closed frequently for separate processing steps, then different deformation levels can be achieved, but the cycle time increases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging multiple deformation operations (necking and shaping) into a single mold closing action, the patent eliminates repeated opening and closing cycles. The blank undergoes sequential deformation zones within the same closed mold, maintaining process flexibility while significantly reducing cycle time and improving productivity.
3Temperature
If the central portion of the blank is not adequately heated, then the shaping can proceed, but the temperature gradient causes inhomogeneous heating and structural weakening
Solution Approach 1:
The mold incorporates localized heating zones with different temperature characteristics: the central shaping zone maintains higher temperatures for optimal polymer deformability, while the peripheral necking zones have controlled temperature gradients. This local quality approach ensures homogeneous heating throughout the blank while allowing different deformation characteristics in different regions.
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 approach ensures uniform and efficient heating of the balloon component, reducing cycle time and preventing overheating, thereby enhancing the mechanical stability and reproducibility of the balloon components.
Implementation Method 1
temperature control medium to ensure homogeneous heating across the blank
Implementation Method 2
applying a blowing pressure optionally simultaneous stretching of the blank, shaping of the expanding blank into a mold cavity
Data Source
Figure 1~1A
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention is directed to a device and a method for process-optimized and cycle-optimized blow-moulding of balloon components for medical catheters, wherein hitherto separate process steps are combined in one process step, by a suitable tool configuration, and hitherto time-intensive cycle steps are considerably shortened within one process step and their qualitative moulding result improved. The tubular blank remains in the moulding device throughout the entire moulding process, across a plurality of process steps, and does not have to be repeatedly manually removed during the moulding or inserted anew into the device.