Four-Piece Mold Stabilization for Liquid Ejecting Head
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing liquid ejecting heads face challenges in maintaining the stability of the abutting state between mold pieces, leading to burr formation and print defects due to the cantilever beam configuration of the slide piece, which results in unstable resin flow and curing pressures.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a mold configuration with four pieces extracted in different directions, where the second and fourth pieces have opposing extraction directions, ensuring that each piece abuts at least one other, stabilizing the abutting state and preventing burr generation during molding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a slide piece is added to narrow the liquid chamber width, then the liquid chamber width can be narrowed as closer to the print element substrate, but the slide piece forms a cantilever beam structure that is unstable under molding pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into four separate pieces (first piece, second piece, third piece, and fourth piece) that can be extracted in different directions. This segmentation allows each piece to be independently positioned and stabilized, eliminating the cantilever beam instability while achieving the desired liquid chamber width variation.
Solution Approach 2:
The extraction directions of the four mold pieces are arranged in three-dimensional space with opposing pairs (first and third pieces in one direction, second and fourth pieces in opposite direction). This spatial arrangement provides mutual support and stabilization, transforming the unstable one-dimensional cantilever structure into a stable multi-dimensional configuration.
2Volume of stationary object
If the liquid chamber volume is increased to handle more ink ejection, then the print width per scan can be broadened, but the liquid chamber requires longer length in crossing direction which conflicts with compact substrate size
Solution Approach 1:
The mold pieces are extracted in multiple directions (at least two different directions) rather than a single direction. This multi-directional extraction enables the formation of a liquid chamber with optimized volume distribution that does not require excessive length, allowing increased ink volume while maintaining compact dimensions suitable for high-speed printing.
3Ease of manufacture
If only two pieces (cavity and core) are used in the mold, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the liquid chamber width cannot be narrowed as closer to the print element substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is segmented into four pieces instead of the conventional two pieces. This segmentation enables the liquid chamber width to be narrowed as closer to the print element substrate by allowing independent positioning of each mold piece, while the pieces are extracted in at least two different directions to achieve the desired geometric variation.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a method for manufacturing a molded member having a hollow part. The method comprises a step for molding the hollow part by extracting a first piece, a second piece, a third piece and a fourth piece of a mold in four different directions. The second piece has an elongated shape in its extracting direction, the second piece and the fourth piece have extracting directions substantially opposed to each other, and at the molding, each of the first piece, the second piece, the third piece and the fourth piece abuts on at least one of the first piece, the second piece, the third piece and the fourth piece.