Decorative Panel Extrusion with Adjustable Roller Nips
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing decorated wall or floor panels are inefficient, leading to waste heat, air inclusions, and high waste heat losses due to slow heat transfer and cooling processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the provision of a melted polymer mass, extrusion through a die, finish-sizing using a roller assembly with adjustable nips, application of a decoration template, and a protective coating, which enhances surface smoothness and decorative quality while reducing process time and energy waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a belt press process with contact cooling is used, then the carrier material can be formed and cooled, but the heat transfer is slow and causes considerable waste heat losses
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful Teflon belt is removed from the system. Instead of using a belt press with contact cooling that requires the heat to pass through the glass-fiber-reinforced Teflon belt, the invention uses direct water spraying to cool the carrier material, extracting the heat transfer medium (Teflon belt) that was causing the slow heat transfer and energy losses.
Solution Approach 2:
Water is introduced as an intermediary cooling medium. Instead of relying on slow heat conduction through the Teflon belt, the invention uses water sprayed onto the carrier material as an efficient heat transfer intermediary, enabling rapid cooling without energy losses associated with the belt press system.
2Speed
If a high temperature gradient is applied for cooling to achieve acceptable belt speeds, then the cooling rate increases, but considerable waste heat losses occur
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the harmful waste heat that would be lost in the belt press system into a beneficial resource. By using water spraying for cooling, the heat is transferred efficiently to the water, which can then be recovered and reused, turning what would be waste heat into a recoverable energy source.
3Manufacturing precision
If the pellet cake is pressed to remove air, then air inclusions are reduced, but the process time increases due to slow air evacuation
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier material is pre-heated to a temperature just below its melting point before entering the forming zone. This preliminary heating softens the material, making it more pliable and easier to compress, which accelerates air evacuation during the subsequent forming process without requiring excessive process time.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the temperature parameter of the carrier material dynamically along the production line. By progressively heating the material to optimal forming temperatures before compression, the material properties change to facilitate faster and more effective air removal during the forming process.
4Stability of the object's composition
If controlled cooling is used to solidify the carrier material, then the crystallization is controlled, but the usable temperature difference is too small for effective heat recovery
Solution Approach 1:
Water serves as an intermediary heat transfer medium that enables effective heat recovery. By spraying water onto the cooling carrier material, heat is efficiently transferred from the material to the water, creating a usable temperature difference that allows for effective heat recovery, unlike direct air cooling which has insufficient temperature differential.
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
This method enables the production of high-quality panels with improved decorative properties and reduced air inclusions, achieving high throughput and lower non-conforming panels, while also reducing the CO2 footprint by recovering process energy.
Implementation Method 1
an assembly of a plurality of rotatable rollers, wherein the individual rollers are arranged one above the other or one behind the other and each individual roller forms at least one finish-sizing nip with adjacent rollers through which nip the melted polymer mass is passed
Implementation Method 2
b) extruding the melted polymer mass through a die
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method for producing a decorative wall- or floor panel, having the method steps: •a) providing a melted polymer mass; •b) extruding the molten polymer mass through a nozzle; •c) finish-sizing the molten polymer mass to form a panel-like carrier material by means of an assembly of multiple rotatable rolls, wherein the individual rolls are disposed one above the other or one behind the other and each individual roll forms at least one finish-sizing nip with neighbouring rolls, through which nip the melted polymer mass is passed, and wherein the finishing nip heights can be variably adjusted by a horizontal and/or vertical movement of individual rolls during the production process; •d) applying a decor pattern that imitates a decor template to at least one sub-region of the at least partly finish-sized carrier material, and •e) applying a protective coating to at least one sub-region of the decor.