Cellulosic Door Skins with Contoured Nesting Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional solid wood doors have become expensive due to raw material costs, prompting the need for cost-effective alternatives that maintain a wood-like appearance and functionality.
Innovation Solution
The development of door skins made from cellulosic materials with a binder resin, featuring a contoured design with recessed portions and convex surfaces that replicate fine millwork, allowing for nesting and stacking for efficient shipping and handling, while maintaining a wood grain appearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional solid wood doors are used, then aesthetic appeal and wood grain appearance are maintained, but material costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The door skin uses a composite structure combining cellulosic material fibers with thermoplastic resin to create a material that mimics the appearance of solid wood while reducing material costs. The composite formulation allows the door skin to achieve wood-like aesthetic appeal through the natural appearance of cellulosic fibers embedded in the resin matrix.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies different properties to different regions of the door skin by incorporating wood grain patterns and textures in specific areas. The cellulosic material provides localized wood-like appearance where needed, while the thermoplastic resin provides structural integrity throughout the door skin.
2Productivity
If door skins are made flat for easy manufacturing, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but nesting and stacking efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The door skin incorporates contoured portions with curved surfaces including convex portions and concave portions. These curved features enable the door skins to nest together efficiently during shipping and storage, reducing shipping volume and improving productivity. The curvature allows adjacent door skins to interlock and fit together tightly without requiring flat surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The contoured design with interlocking convex and concave portions enables door skins to be nested one within another, similar to nested dolls. This nesting capability significantly improves shipping efficiency by reducing the volume occupied by multiple door skins during transport and storage.
3Productivity
If contoured portions with convex surfaces are added to enable nesting, then nesting efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The use of thermoplastic resin as the binding matrix in the composite material allows for efficient molding of complex contoured portions. The thermoplastic properties enable the resin to flow into and fill intricate mold cavities during injection molding, capturing the detailed convex and concave contours without requiring excessive manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes the temperature-dependent properties of thermoplastic resin to simplify manufacturing. During molding, the resin is heated to a molten state allowing it to conform to complex contoured shapes. After cooling, the resin solidifies to maintain the intricate contoured portions, effectively using parameter changes (temperature) to manage manufacturing complexity.
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 solution provides a cost-effective alternative to traditional solid wood doors by utilizing cellulosic materials with a contoured design that mimics wood grain, enabling efficient stacking and shipping without spacers, thus reducing material costs while maintaining aesthetic appeal.
Implementation Method 1
door skins made of cellulosic material and a binder resin
Data Source
AI summary
A door skin is provided that includes at least one inner panel, an outer body portion surrounding the at least one inner panel, and at least one contoured portion surrounding the at least one panel and interconnecting the at least one panel to the outer body portion. The at least one contoured portion is recessed from the at least one panel and the outer body portion and includes a center base portion that interconnects with the outer body portion via a first sloping portion and with the panel via a second sloping portion. The first sloping portion includes a first angled portion and a first bump. The second sloping portion includes second and third bumps.