Flow Simulation for Lens Material Delivery Conduits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lens manufacturing processes face defects due to material degradation and entrainment in delivery conduits, particularly in injection molding and casting, where residual materials can lead to thermo-mechanical history issues and premature polymerization, resulting in defects such as brown swirls and optical inaccuracies.
Innovation Solution
Employing flow simulation using a co-injection software template to model sequential material flow through conduits, tracking the temporal and thermo-mechanical history of batches, and configuring simulations to identify and address entrapped materials, thereby optimizing conduit designs to reduce defects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If material is delivered through conduits in injection molding and casting processes, then lenses can be manufactured, but material degradation and entrainment occur in the delivery conduits causing defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by using flow simulation to predict and identify material entrapment and degradation issues in conduit design before actual lens manufacturing begins. The simulation allows engineers to detect problematic flow patterns, dead zones, and entrapment risks in the delivery conduit system during the design phase, enabling corrective modifications to be made before production, thus preventing defects rather than addressing them after occurrence.
2Productivity
If residual material remains in conduits, then continuous production can be maintained, but thermo-mechanical history issues and premature polymerization occur causing defects
Solution Approach 1:
The simulation performs preliminary analysis of material residence time and thermo-mechanical history in different conduit configurations before manufacturing. By predicting which areas will experience excessive residence time or thermal degradation, the system allows design modifications to eliminate dead zones and optimize flow paths, enabling continuous production without compromising material stability.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional mold filling simulation is used, then injection molding can be simulated, but it cannot identify material entrapment in delivery conduits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the simulation approach by separating the delivery conduit system from the mold cavity and treating them as distinct domains. The flow simulation specifically focuses on tracking material flow through the delivery conduit system independently, using visual differentiation to identify entrapment zones. This segmented approach allows detailed analysis of conduit flow patterns without being overwhelmed by the complexity of the entire molding process, enabling detection of entrapment issues that conventional unified simulations miss.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for monitoring lens material residence within a conduit to improve the quality of molded products by reducing defects arising from entrapped lens material. According to the method a finite element mesh representative of a conduit is stored in a digital storage device. A simulation is run on a digital computer in which one type of lens material sequentially flows through the conduit in discrete batches temporal history of the batches within the conduit is tracked. The simulation is useful for analyzing material delivery conduits in injection molding and casting systems, for example, for lens manufacturing. According to the system, a digital storage device stores a finite element mesh representative of a conduit. A digital computer is coupled to the digital storage device for executing a set of instructions to run a simulation and track the temporal history of the batches within the conduit.