Embossing Tool Edge Interlocking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing embossing tools face issues with slipping and shifting during clamping, requiring precise bending or buckling to achieve interlocking corrugations, which complicates the clamping process and reduces the service life and maintenance frequency of embossing machines, especially for punctiform structures.
Innovation Solution
The embossing tool features corrugations on both the front and back edges that overlap when clamped, allowing the structures to interlock without the need for bending, ensuring secure alignment and preventing slipping or displacement, with the corrugations' geometry optimized for precise fitting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the embossing tool is clamped onto the cylinder using conventional methods, then the clamping process is simple, but the embossing tool slips or shifts during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The embossing tool is divided into multiple edge areas (first edge area, second edge area, third edge area) with corrugations on both front and back sides. Each edge area with its corrugations acts as an independent interlocking unit, distributing the clamping function across multiple segments rather than relying on a single complex clamping mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugations are designed with asymmetric geometry where the front side corrugations have different characteristics than the back side corrugations. This asymmetry ensures proper interlocking direction and prevents slipping while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Reliability
If corrugations are created by bending or buckling the plate, then interlocking is achieved, but the work process becomes more complex and precise bending is required
Solution Approach 1:
The corrugations are pre-formed on the plate during the galvanic molding process or plate fabrication, rather than being created by subsequent bending or buckling operations. This preliminary formation of corrugations eliminates the need for complex bending operations and precise alignment during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of bending the plate to create corrugations that interlock, the invention uses corrugations that are already present on both sides of the plate in their original configuration. The interlocking is achieved through the complementary geometry of these pre-existing corrugations rather than through deformation of the plate.
3Productivity
If mechanical pressure is applied directly to the printing plate for embossing, then embossing is achieved, but the service life and maintenance frequency of the machine deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The embossing function is segmented from the main printing plate structure, with dedicated edge areas providing mechanical support and interlocking. This segmentation allows the main embossing surface to operate independently without transmitting excessive mechanical loads to the entire plate mounting system, thereby extending machine service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugations are localized to specific edge areas of the plate rather than being distributed across the entire surface. This local concentration of structural features provides the necessary mechanical interlocking and load distribution only where needed, preserving the overall integrity and longevity of the embossing machine components.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an embossing tool with which tactilely perceptible structures or fine structures are embossed into a substrate, wherein the embossing tool is designed as a plate with a front and a back side as well as with a first edge and a second edge opposite the first edge.According to the invention, the plate has a first ribbing in an edge region of the first edge on the front and back of the plate, and a second ribbing in an edge region of the second edge on the front and back of the plate. When the embossing tool is subsequently clamped onto an embossing cylinder, the edge region of the first edge and the edge region of the second edge overlap in such a way that the edge region of the first edge is positioned below the edge region of the second edge. This causes the structures of the first ribbing on the front of the plate and the structures of the second ribbing on the back of the plate to interlock. Thus, according to the invention, the two edge regions of the plate interlock, preventing the embossing plate from slipping or shifting.