Crimping Roller Flank Angle Optimization for Aerosol Web Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The crimping process in aerosol-generating article manufacturing often results in sub-optimal crimped web quality, leading to material weakening, adverse effects on substance release, and inconsistent resistance to draw (RTD), which can deteriorate the smoking experience and require frequent maintenance.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with crimping rollers having ridges with a flank angle between 8 and 10 degrees is used to crimp the material, reducing shredding and improving control over the crimping process, resulting in a more robust and consistent crimped sheet with enhanced properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional crimping rollers with larger flank angles (4-20 degrees) are used, then the crimping process is easier to manufacture, but the material suffers from shredding, weakening, and inconsistent RTD values
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing the flank angle of the crimping roller ridges to a specific range of 8-10 degrees. This precise parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction by providing a narrow optimal angle range that simultaneously achieves effective material crimping while minimizing shredding and maintaining consistent RTD values, thus balancing manufacturability with high manufacturing precision.
2Device complexity
If conventional crimping rollers are used, then the apparatus structure is simpler, but the crimped web experiences material weakening and deterioration of substance release
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by changing the geometric parameter of the crimping roller ridges to a flank angle of 8-10 degrees. This parameter optimization ensures that the crimping process achieves the necessary deformation while minimizing material damage and maintaining web integrity, thus improving reliability without increasing device complexity.
3Force
If conventional crimping rollers with larger flank angles are used, then the crimping force is distributed more broadly, but the RTD values become inconsistent and the smoking experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by precisely controlling the flank angle parameter within 8-10 degrees. This optimized angle range concentrates the crimping force appropriately to achieve consistent RTD values across the crimped web, ensuring uniform smoking experience while maintaining effective force distribution for material deformation.
4Productivity
If conventional crimping rollers are used, then maintenance frequency is lower, but material damage and production quality issues increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by optimizing the flank angle to 8-10 degrees, which reduces material shredding and damage during crimping. This parameter change improves crimped web quality and reduces production issues, thereby maintaining high productivity and production continuity without frequent maintenance interruptions.
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 significantly reduces material damage and variations in RTD, providing a better smoking experience and maintaining production efficiency by minimizing maintenance needs.
Implementation Method 1
crimping the substantially continuous web to form the crimped web by feeding the substantially continuous web between the first and second rollers in a longitudinal direction of the web such that the corrugations of the first and second rollers apply a plurality of longitudinally extending and substantially parallel crimp corrugations to the substantially continuous web
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to an apparatus (1) for crimping a sheet of material (7), the apparatus (1) comprising: a first and a second facing crimping rollers (4,5) defining a first and a second rotation axis, wherein at least one of the first and second crimping roller (4,5) includes: a plurality of ridges (9), each ridge (9) defining a first and a second flank (16) and a tip, the first or the second flank (16) forming a flank angle (15) with a radial direction passing through the tip, the flank angle (15) being comprised between about 8 degrees and about 10 degrees.