External Mixing Nozzle for Spray Guns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spray guns with pressurized air for painting surfaces face issues such as mixing inside the gun, leading to mechanical damage, reduced durability, incomplete homogeneity of the sprayed mixture, and generation of toxic waste due to blockages and the need for solvents for cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A nozzle design with external mixing of resin and catalyst, featuring multiple air crests and outlets that converge outside the nozzle, allowing independent control of flow and pressure for improved homogeneity and reduced mechanical stress, eliminating the need for internal mixing and subsequent cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mixing is performed inside the spray gun chamber, then the product and catalyst are combined before projection, but this leads to mechanical damage, blockages, and reduced equipment durability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the mixing function from the spray gun chamber and relocates it to occur outside the device. The resin and catalyst are projected separately through independent outlets, and mixing occurs in the air stream in front of the nozzle, eliminating contact between the chemical mixture and internal mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressurized air acts as an intermediary medium that carries both the resin and catalyst particles separately through the nozzle and facilitates their mixing in the air stream outside the nozzle. This intermediary approach allows combination of components without direct contact between components and gun internals.
2Productivity
If the catalyzed mixture travels through the spray gun passages before spraying, then the mixture is formed inside the gun, but this causes blockages and damage to valves and passages
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful mixing process is extracted from the internal passages and valve system. Components are delivered through separate independent passages to the nozzle outlets, where mixing occurs externally, preventing any catalyzed mixture from contacting valves or internal passages.
Solution Approach 2:
The spray gun nozzle is segmented into independent outlets for resin and catalyst, with separate air lines for each component. This segmentation allows independent control and prevents mixed material from blocking passages, as each component travels through its own dedicated channel.
3Speed
If the mixture is formed inside the spray gun, then projection is immediate, but the mixture loses properties with time and requires solvent cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The resin and catalyst are prepared and kept separate in their respective containers until the moment of spraying. The system enables immediate mixing at the point of application without premature combination, preserving the properties of each component until they are actually needed for the spraying operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows for quick color changes and component switches without requiring cleaning operations. The independent outlets and lack of internal mixing chambers mean the gun simply needs to be switched to different containers, eliminating the need for solvent cleaning and material waste.
4Device complexity
If a single air outlet is used for projection, then the structure is simpler, but the mixture homogeneity is incomplete
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle is divided into multiple independent outlets: one for resin, one for catalyst, and multiple air outlets positioned to create overlapping streams. This segmentation allows each component to be projected through its own channel, ensuring proper distribution and mixing homogeneity in the sprayed cloud.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing process is moved from a one-dimensional internal chamber to a three-dimensional space in front of the nozzle. Multiple air streams converge in the air stream, creating a volumetric mixing zone that ensures complete homogeneity of the sprayed mixture cloud.
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 design enhances equipment durability, maintains mixture freshness, ensures complete homogeneity, reduces waste, and prevents the emission of toxic gases, resulting in improved painting quality and efficiency with reduced solvent consumption.
Implementation Method 1
the brand Binks markets a spray gun which places an air outlet in the nozzle, directed towards the outside thereof, such that the resin is projected on one side, the catalyst on another for mixing and independently the air
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to an improved nozzle for spray guns intended for paints and derivatives based on fluid transfer, made up of the resin outlet (9), a catalyst inlet (1), the air crests (8) with nozzle (7) outlet holes, which nozzle houses internal channels through which the catalyst is conveyed to the holes (2). The nozzle also includes other internal pressurized air inlet channels (4) which convey the air through the inside to different elements on the surface of the nozzle (7), such as outlet, in a first phase (5), for forming the resin fan and outlets, in a second phase (3), for generating a cloud that sprays the catalyst, where the resin fluids and the catalyst or other components are mixed outside the nozzle (7) at the time of use, the nozzle further having external holes (6) for extra air supply.