Flexible Elastomeric Nozzle for Chocolate Casting Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional casting machines for pourable masses like chocolate face issues with flow control and pressure management, leading to dosing inaccuracies and quality impairments due to the high number of moving parts, transient casting mode, and viscosity changes during the casting process.
Innovation Solution
The casting machine incorporates flexible nozzles made of elastomeric material with adjustable cross-sections, controlled by pressure, which can adapt passively or actively to flow conditions, reducing pressure peaks and maintaining flow velocity, and features a pressure source that can be adjusted to match the flow properties of the mass, eliminating the need for complex valve and piston mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional rigid nozzles and valve-piston mechanisms are used, then the machine can control mass flow, but the number of moving parts increases and dosing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the complex valve-piston mechanisms from the casting machine, replacing them with a simple pressure source and flexible nozzle system. This removal of unnecessary components directly reduces the number of moving parts while maintaining dosing control through the elastic deformation of the nozzle under pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible nozzle automatically adjusts its opening cross-section in response to pressure changes without requiring external valve control. The elastic material self-regulates the mass flow based on the pressure differential, making the system self-controlling and eliminating the need for complex valve-piston mechanisms.
2Productivity
If high pressure is applied to overcome flow limit, then mass can be poured, but pressure peaks occur causing structural changes in mass
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a dynamic nozzle opening that adapts to pressure conditions. The flexible nozzle gradually opens as pressure increases, allowing the system to overcome the flow limit smoothly without sudden pressure peaks. This dynamic adjustment prevents structural changes in the mass while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state of the nozzle from rigid to flexible, allowing it to deform elastically under pressure. This parameter change enables the nozzle to act as a pressure buffer, absorbing pressure peaks and maintaining stable mass flow that preserves the mass structure.
3Manufacturing precision
If nozzle opening is reduced to prevent post-casting flow, then dosing accuracy improves, but flow velocity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the nozzle opening from a fixed geometric parameter to a dynamic parameter that responds to pressure. The flexible nozzle automatically adjusts its opening cross-section based on pressure conditions, maintaining optimal flow velocity while preventing post-casting flow through elastic closure after mass ejection.
4Adaptability or versatility
If rigid nozzles are used, then structural stability is maintained, but adaptation to flow conditions is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces rigid nozzles with flexible nozzle structures made of elastic materials. These flexible shells can deform to adapt to flow conditions while maintaining sufficient structural stability to withstand operating pressures and prevent nozzle failure.
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 reduces the number of moving parts, stabilizes pressure throughout the casting cycle, prevents post-casting flow, and ensures consistent flow properties, resulting in improved dosing accuracy and product quality.
Implementation Method 1
The nozzle has a flexible elastic material, in particular an elastomeric material, at least in the area of the nozzle opening
Implementation Method 2
a pressure source for generating an overpressure in the mass container interior
Implementation Method 3
due to the now flowing laminar shear flow with a parabolic-like flow profile, a change in the flow properties (viscosity) of the chocolate mass occurs such that the viscosity decreases. The shear has a thinning effect here
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
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AI summary
The invention relates to a casting machine for producing a product intended for human consumption from a castable material, in particular a fat material such as chocolate, for example, having a heatable material container for receiving the castable material; at least one nozzle which is in fluid connection with the material container interior; and a pressure source for generating an overpressure in the material container interior. According to the invention, the nozzle has a nozzle orifice or a nozzle constriction, the open cross section or flow cross section of which is flexible. A process according to the invention for producing a product intended for human consumption from a castable material has the following steps: providing a heated castable material in a material container; generating an overpressure in the material container interior; forcing the material through a nozzle in fluid connection with the material container with simultaneous changing of the flow and/or open cross section of the nozzle.