Cermet Tooling with Metallic Phase for Metal Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ceramic tooling is unsuitable for food and pharmaceutical production due to its brittleness and difficulty in detecting and removing chips or fragments, which can contaminate products.
Innovation Solution
Development of cermet compositions with a ceramic matrix and metallic phase, allowing for the creation of sintered ceramic bodies that are both strong and detectable by conventional metal detection techniques, enabling the production of tooling with enhanced safety features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If ceramic tooling is used to achieve superior compressive strength, then compression strength is improved, but detection of chips and fragments becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining ceramic particles with a polymer matrix to create a composite tooling material. This composite structure provides the compressive strength of ceramics while incorporating metal detectable properties through the polymer matrix or metallic additives, thereby resolving the contradiction between strength and detectability.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If ceramic tooling is used to achieve wear resistance, then durability is improved, but ease of removing contaminants is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The composite material combines the wear resistance of ceramic particles with the contaminant removal capabilities of the polymer matrix. The polymer component allows for easier cleaning and contaminant removal compared to traditional ceramic tooling, while maintaining the durability benefits of the ceramic reinforcement.
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 cermet tooling offers improved safety and efficiency by allowing for the detection and removal of small contaminants, increased durability, and reduced maintenance, while maintaining the compressive strengths and wear resistance of ceramics.
Implementation Method 1
detectable by conventional metal detection techniques
Data Source
AI summary
A metal detectible plastic material, including a plurality of plastic particles defining a plastic portion and a plurality of high magnetic permeability metallic particles distributed throughout the plastic portion to define an admixture. The plastic particles and the metallic particles are generally the same size and shape, and each respective high magnetic permeability metallic particle has a magnetic permeability of at least 0.0001 H/m. The plastic particles are selected from the group consisting of high molecular mass polymers, thermoplastics, thermosetting polymers, amorphous plastics, crystalline plastics, resin-based materials, and combinations thereof.