Centrifugal Wheel Rebuild Using Recovered Magnetic Core Encapsulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The cleaning and sterilization of magnetically supported mixing devices used in biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries is time-consuming and costly, necessitating the use of single-use components, which are often made from expensive materials like rare earth metals, posing environmental and economic challenges.
Innovation Solution
A method for manufacturing a centrifugal wheel involves separating and reusing the permanent magnetic core from a used impeller, demagnetizing it to prevent contamination, and encapsulating it with plastic to create a new centrifugal wheel, reducing costs and environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If single-use components are used to ensure purity, then contamination risk is reduced, but material costs and environmental impact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The impeller is divided into two segments: a reusable permanent magnetic core and a disposable plastic housing with blades. This segmentation allows the expensive magnetic core to be reused while the plastic part is discarded, reducing material costs while maintaining purity requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic housing with blades is designed as a single-use component that is discarded after one use, while the permanent magnetic core is recovered and reused for manufacturing new impellers. This approach balances contamination prevention with resource conservation.
2Loss of time
If single-use components are used, then cleaning and sterilization time is reduced, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the impeller into reusable and disposable parts, the system eliminates cleaning and sterilization requirements for the plastic housing while allowing recovery and reuse of the magnetic core, balancing time savings with manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic housing with blades is designed as a cheap, short-lived component that replaces expensive cleaning and sterilization processes, while the permanent magnetic core provides long-term value through reuse.
3Quantity of substance
If permanent magnetic cores are reused, then material costs decrease, but contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The permanent magnetic core is extracted from the single-use plastic housing, isolating the reusable component from contact with substances. This extraction eliminates contamination risk while enabling material reuse.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic housing acts as an intermediary barrier between the permanent magnetic core and the substances being mixed or pumped, protecting the core from contamination while allowing it to function magnetically through the housing.
4Reliability
If rare earth metals are used in single-use components, then magnetic performance is improved, but environmental footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The permanent magnetic core containing rare earth metals is recovered and reused multiple times, reducing the environmental footprint associated with extracting and processing these materials while maintaining high magnetic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The design changes from using rare earth metals in single-use components to using them in reusable cores, fundamentally altering the lifecycle parameters of the material and reducing environmental impact through extended service life.
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 allows for cost-effective and sustainable production of single-use centrifugal wheels by reusing the magnetic core, minimizing contamination risk and reducing material costs and environmental footprint.
Implementation Method 1
a magnetically supported centrifugal wheel
Implementation Method 2
the rotor, which forms the centrifugal wheel, is magnetically supported
Implementation Method 3
demagnetizing it to prevent contamination
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a centrifugal wheel for a mixing or pumping device with a magnetically levitated centrifugal wheel, includes providing an impeller configured to be magnetically levitated, has and having a permanent magnetic core, permanent magnetic core completely enclosed by a sheathing, the sheathing including plastic, and a plurality of blades to mix or convey substances provided on the sheathing, removing all blades from the sheathing, separating the permanent magnetic core from the sheathing, the permanent magnetic core being demagnetized before the permanent magnetic core is separated from the sheathing, attaching an encapsulation including plastic, and which completely encloses the permanent magnetic core, and attaching a plurality of vanes to the encapsulation.