Composite Extrusion with Localized Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for fabricating composite products lack flexibility and efficiency in shaping and processing, particularly in creating products with varying material strengths and shapes, as they often require multiple steps and intermediate storage phases.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that form an intermediate product from fiber and polymer-based materials using extrusion, with controlled temperature zones between 50-250°C, allowing for precise shaping and processing into a composite product using a pressing tool, enabling the creation of products with diverse material strengths and shapes in a single integrated process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional extrusion and shaping methods are used for composite products, then multiple processing steps and intermediate storage phases are required, but this reduces production efficiency and increases manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines extrusion and shaping operations into a single integrated process. The shaping tool is positioned directly after the extrusion die, allowing the intermediate product to be shaped immediately while maintaining elevated temperature. This eliminates intermediate storage phases and multiple processing steps, directly resolving the contradiction between productivity and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous processing where the intermediate product flows continuously from extrusion through shaping without interruption or storage. The temperature-controlled environment maintains material workability throughout the continuous process, enabling uninterrupted production and eliminating the need for batch processing and intermediate storage.
2Manufacturing precision
If uniform temperature is applied during extrusion and shaping, then processing is simpler, but different parts of the cross-sectional profile cannot achieve desired varying material strengths and shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different temperature conditions to different parts of the cross-sectional profile. The shaping tool includes heating elements positioned to apply localized heat to specific regions, allowing different parts of the intermediate product to have different temperatures and thus different workability characteristics. This enables precise control over local material properties and final product geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic temperature control where heating and cooling zones can be adjusted during operation. The temperature distribution is not static but can be modified to match different product requirements, allowing the system to adapt to varying shape and strength requirements for different regions of the composite product.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple intermediate storage phases are used, then processing flexibility is maintained, but energy and material resources are consumed unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates intermediate storage phases entirely by implementing continuous processing. The intermediate product moves continuously from extrusion through shaping in a single uninterrupted flow, maintaining optimal temperature throughout the process. This eliminates the energy waste associated with heating and cooling cycles that would occur with batch processing and storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs all necessary shaping operations immediately while the material is still in its workable, elevated temperature state. By completing all forming operations in one continuous sequence without storage interruptions, the material retains its plasticity and responsiveness to shaping forces throughout the entire process, eliminating the need for re-heating or re-softening that would occur with storage phases.
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
Facilitates the efficient and cost-effective fabrication of composite products with desired shapes, reducing energy and water consumption, and enabling the use of recycled materials, while minimizing investment costs and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
an intermediate product is formed from at least one chosen raw material including fibre containing material and polymer-based material, by an extrusion
Implementation Method 2
fabricating an intermediate product with the help of extrusion from raw material
Implementation Method 3
the temperature of the intermediate product is adjusted in different parts of the cross sectional profile, between 50 - 250 degrees Celsius
Implementation Method 4
in different parts of the cross sectional profile of the intermediate product different temperature zones are arranged
Implementation Method 5
The composite product is shaped from the intermediate product with the shaping tool which is based on pressing
Data Source
AI summary
The objective of the invention is a method and a device to fabricate a composite product, where an intermediate product is formed from raw material including fibre containing material and polymer based material with the help of extrusion (1) and a composite product is shaped from the intermediate product with at least one shaping tool (3), characterized in that the cross sectional profile of the intermediate product is shaped with at least one extrusion tool (2) during the extrusion (1) and the temperature (4) of the intermediate product is controlled after the extrusion tool so that in different parts of the cross sectional profile of the intermediate product different temperature zones are arranged according to the predetermined target values of the temperature ranges.