Glass Optical Component Mold Segmented Pressing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for molding glass optical components with complex three-dimensional shapes face challenges such as inconsistent glass gob weight, rapid cooling leading to cracking, and shape accuracy issues due to volume contraction, making it difficult to achieve precise and complicated shapes in mass or small-quantity production.
Innovation Solution
A mold configuration comprising a female mold, a male mold, and a ring mold, where the molten glass gob is pressed from above to flow into a space formed between the lower and upper molds, allowing for precise injection and molding of complex shapes without direct contact, which enables the production of glass-made optical components with high shape accuracy and allows for mass or multi-kind production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the direct press method is used to mold small glass optical components, then mass production is enabled, but the weight of the glass gob varies widely making precise molding unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The molding process is segmented into two distinct stages: first molding to a preliminary shape, then transferring to a second mold for final precision shaping. This segmentation allows the first stage to focus on efficiency and the second stage to focus on precision, resolving the contradiction between mass production capability and shape accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
A preliminary molded shape acts as an intermediary between the raw glass gob and the final precision component. This intermediate form stabilizes the glass before final molding, enabling both mass production and high precision by decoupling the two requirements into separate processing steps.
2Shape
If the molten glass gob is extended in the narrow space of the mold during pressing, then small and thin components can be obtained, but heat is rapidly taken by the mold causing solidification before complete extension
Solution Approach 1:
The glass is pre-formed into a preliminary molded shape before the final pressing operation. This preliminary action prepares the glass in a controlled manner, reducing thermal shock during the subsequent precision molding step and preventing premature solidification while achieving the required thin and small geometry.
3Productivity
If the molten glass gob is quickly cooled and solidified near the surface during pressing, then molding speed is increased, but sink marks occur due to volume contraction making high shape accuracy unobtainable
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling and solidification process is segmented into two phases: rapid initial cooling to achieve productivity, followed by controlled secondary molding that corrects shape defects. This allows sink marks to form in the first stage without compromising final precision, as the second molding step compensates for volume contraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The molding parameters are changed between two stages: the first molding uses parameters optimized for speed with acceptable defect formation, while the second molding uses adjusted parameters (temperature, pressure, timing) to correct shape accuracy and eliminate sink marks, thus achieving both high productivity and high precision.
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
The proposed mold and method allow for the successful molding of glass-made optical components with precise and complicated three-dimensional shapes, overcoming the limitations of existing technologies by ensuring consistent shape accuracy and enabling mass production without the need for special mold materials or non-oxidizing atmospheres.
Implementation Method 1
molten glass gob introduced into the concave surface of the female mold is pressed from above by the male mold having a convex surface so that the molten glass gob is injected into a space formed between the lower mold and the upper mold
Implementation Method 2
the glass and the mold are prevented from adhering to each other, a kind of molding defect (defect of shape and size) called 'sink marks' occurs due to the volume contraction since the molten glass gob is in contact with the mold and quickly cooled and solidified
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
In the conventional direct press method, it was difficult to control the weight of molten glass gob when manufacturing a small precision glass component and thus the weight of the glass gob varies widely. Accordingly, the problem is that the precise molding cannot be expected stably. As a solution, the present invention provides a mold for molding a glass-made optical component and a manufacturing method using the mold, the mold comprising: a female mold which has a lower mold of a molding mold for molding the glass-made optical component on an outer peripheral portion of a concave surface of the female mold; a male mold which has a convex surface combined with the concave surface of the female mold; and a ring mold which is arranged on an outer peripheral portion of the male mold, the ring mold having an upper mold of the molding mold for molding the glass-made optical component, wherein molten glass gob introduced into the concave surface of the female mold is configured to be pressed from above by the male mold having the convex surface so that the molten glass gob is injected into a space formed between the lower mold and the upper mold of the molding mold.