Tungsten-Free Ceramic Tip for Glass Syringe Cone Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for forming the cone to house a needle in glass syringes face challenges such as contamination from tungsten compounds, limited temperature resistance of alternative materials like silicon nitride, and the need for costly controlled atmospheres to prevent tungsten oxide formation, which affects the precision, speed, and reliability of the process.
Innovation Solution
A forming apparatus with a tungsten-free ceramic tip doped with yttrium compounds, featuring a specialized geometry that allows effective lubrication and cooling, reducing tungsten contamination and enabling high-temperature resistance without the need for controlled atmospheres, while maintaining the precision and speed of tungsten tips.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If tungsten tips are used for forming the cone, then forming speed and temperature resistance are improved, but tungsten contamination of the glass syringe body occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the tungsten tip from the forming system entirely, replacing it with a tungsten-free ceramic tip made of silicon nitride. This eliminates the source of tungsten contamination while maintaining the cone forming function, directly resolving the contradiction between productivity and contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable forming cones made of plastic material that are discarded after a single use. This eliminates the need for durable tungsten tips that cause contamination, as the disposable cones leave no harmful residues on the glass syringe body while maintaining forming speed and temperature resistance capabilities.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If silicon nitride tips are used instead of tungsten, then tungsten contamination is prevented, but temperature resistance and forming speed are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses disposable plastic forming cones that are discarded after one use. These cones are designed to withstand the high temperatures and mechanical stresses of the forming process for the duration of a single operation, then are discarded rather than reused. This approach prevents tungsten contamination while achieving the necessary temperature resistance through the temporary nature of the tool.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite material solutions including plastic forming cones that combine thermal resistance properties with mechanical forming capabilities. The plastic material is specifically selected to withstand the high temperatures of glass forming while maintaining structural integrity during the forming process, thereby achieving temperature resistance without tungsten contamination.
3Productivity
If forming speed is increased to process large batches, then productivity is improved, but the risk of defects and cracks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable plastic forming cones are designed to be used once and discarded, ensuring that each forming operation uses a fresh, uncontaminated tool. This eliminates wear-related defects and contamination that would accumulate with reusable tips, maintaining high reliability even at increased forming speeds for large batch processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameters of the forming tool from metal (tungsten) to plastic, fundamentally altering the interaction between the tool and glass. The plastic material provides different thermal and mechanical properties that reduce stress concentrations and prevent cracks during high-speed forming, thereby maintaining reliability while increasing 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
The solution achieves precise and rapid forming of syringe needles with minimal tungsten contamination, extending tool life and ensuring the syringe is free of tungsten compounds, optimizing production efficiency and compatibility with sensitive medicinal substances.
Implementation Method 1
a flow of lubricant-coolant liquid is properly dosed at the contact between the glass and the forming tip, in order to lower its working temperature
Implementation Method 2
a flow of lubricant-coolant liquid is properly dosed at the contact between the glass and the forming tip, in order to lower its working temperature
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~5c
Figure 6a~9c
AI summary
An apparatus for forming (4) a housing cone (8) of a needle in a syringe body (12) of a glass syringe, comprising a forming tool (16) shaped to make a hole (20) for the creation of the housing cone (8), a lubricant-coolant liquid dispensing device (24), wherein the forming tool (16) comprises a grip portion (28), a tip (32), a tip body (36), interposed between the tip (32) and the grip portion (28), suitable for making said hole (20). The grip portion (28), tip body (36), and tip (32) are in one piece and aligned along a prevailing extension axis (X-X). The tip body (36), with respect to a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the prevailing extension axis (X-X), has a non-circular cross section, inscribed within the maximum circle (40) having as its radius the maximum distance between a point (P) of the cross section and the prevailing extension axis (X-X), measured on the cross-sectional plane.