Cosmetic Applicator Bristle Segmentation for Mold Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mascara applicators face challenges in loading control, separation properties, and curling effects, with profiled bristles often causing production issues due to difficulty in removal from injection molds, leading to tears and incomplete detachment.
Innovation Solution
A cosmetic applicator design featuring axially symmetrical bristles composed of two imaginary halves with a recess along the flank, allowing for adjustable load and easy production, and an injection mold with circle segment-shaped parts that allow for safe demolding by moving apart radially, preventing bristle tears.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If profiled bristles are produced by injection molding, then the applicator can achieve controlled loading and separation properties, but the bristles often cannot be reliably removed from the mold and may tear off
Solution Approach 1:
The bristle is segmented into two halves that are offset relative to each other, creating a recess along the flank. This segmentation allows the bristle to be produced by injection molding with controlled loading properties while the offset design prevents complete adhesion to the mold wall, enabling reliable removal without tearing
Solution Approach 2:
The bristle design introduces asymmetry through the offset of the two halves along a plane containing their symmetry axis. This asymmetric configuration creates a recess that serves as a release feature during demolding, allowing the bristle to be removed from the mold without tearing while maintaining the desired profiled shape for cosmetic loading control
2Manufacturing precision
If the two halves of the bristle are offset more strongly, then the recess is more pronounced and load control is improved, but the bristle may become more difficult to remove from the mold
Solution Approach 1:
The offset distance between the two bristle halves can be varied as a design parameter to control the depth and prominence of the recess. By optimizing this parameter, the bristle achieves sufficient load control while maintaining ease of removal from the mold - the recess is pronounced enough to control cosmetic loading but not so deep as to prevent demolding
Data Source
AI summary
A cosmetic applicator with a bristle carrier (9), which merges into a stem (12), by way of which the bristle carrier (9) is connected to a handle (13), or into a coupling portion (11) for connecting the bristle carrier (9) to such a stem (12), wherein the bristle carrier (9) carries a multiplicity of in each case single-piece bristles (1) of length (L) and is distinguished in that the bristles (1) consist of two halves (2, 3), which are axially symmetrical relative to one another and are displaced relative to one another, and connected in one piece to one another, along their axis of symmetry (4), wherein each of the halves (2, 3) forms a planar region (6) of the bristle (1), said planar region being located in the displacement plane (5).