Disposable Composite Driveshaft Manufacturing via Segmented Coils
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing manufacturing techniques for disposable flexible driveshafts are expensive and time-consuming, making them costly to produce and reuse, while prior designs face sanitation and reusability issues due to unwinding and cleaning challenges.
Innovation Solution
A method involving winding a roving into helical grooves of a mandrel, coating with an uncured material, curing, and stripping to form composite coils, which are then wound around a rod and bound together to create a cost-effective and rapidly producible flexible driveshaft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional manufacturing techniques are used to produce disposable flexible driveshafts, then the driveshafts can be made inexpensive enough for single-use, but the manufacturing process becomes expensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is divided into distinct segments: forming coils from composite roving, winding rods, assembling shaft sections, and attaching fittings. Each segment can be independently optimized and manufactured, allowing for efficient production while maintaining low per-unit costs for disposable driveshafts
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes material parameters by using composite roving (fiberglass or carbon fiber) impregnated with thermosetting resin, which can be cured to form rigid yet flexible shaft sections. This parameter change enables rapid manufacturing through preforming and curing processes, resolving the contradiction between low cost and high productivity
2Ease of operation
If coil spring designs are used in flexible driveshafts, then the shafts provide necessary flexibility, but sanitation and reusability become problematic due to blood and debris lodging in windings
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the coil spring design from the flexible driveshaft, replacing it with a solid composite construction that achieves flexibility through helical grooves and keyway geometry rather than wound springs. This elimination of windings removes the sanitation problem while preserving flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent embraces the disposable nature of the driveshaft by designing it as an inexpensive, single-use component. The composite construction allows for low-cost manufacturing, making it economically viable to discard after one use rather than attempt sterilization, thus resolving the sanitation contradiction
3Object-affected harmful factors
If metallic tubing or nitinol is used to form the shaft body, then sanitation and reusability improve, but manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite materials (fiberglass or carbon fiber roving impregnated with thermosetting resin) to create a shaft body that is both cost-effective and suitable for disposable applications. This composite construction achieves the necessary mechanical properties without the high cost of metallic or nitinol alternatives, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing cost and sanitation suitability
4Ease of operation
If wound springs are used to provide flexibility, then the shaft can bend, but the springs unwind or lose performance when rotated in reverse direction
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using wound springs that unwind in reverse rotation, the invention inverts the approach by using a solid composite shaft with helical grooves that maintain their structural integrity regardless of rotation direction. The flexibility comes from the groove geometry rather than spring windings, ensuring consistent performance in both rotation directions
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 economic and rapid manufacturing of flexible driveshafts, addressing the challenges of sanitation, reusability, and cost-effectiveness by producing driveshafts that can be disposed of after single or few uses, reducing the need for sterilization and labor costs.
Implementation Method 1
heating the coated roving to a curing temperature in the at least one helical groove of the mandrel to cure the uncured material and form a composite roving
Data Source
AI summary
A method of producing a coil for a flexible drive shaft includes: winding a roving into at least one helical groove of a mandrel; coating the roving with an uncured material; heating the coated roving to a curing temperature in the at least one helical groove of the mandrel to cure the uncured material and form a composite roving; and stripping the composite roving from the mandrel. A method of forming a flexible driveshaft for a surgical instrument is also provided and includes: feeding a plurality of flexible coils into a feeder such that each of the plurality of flexible coils are spaced from one another about a rod; rotating the rod to wind the plurality of flexible coils about the rod; and binding the wound plurality of flexible coils and rod together.