Glass Slumping Fixture With Air Escape Slots
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Solution Overview
Problem
During the glass slumping process, trapped air between the glass sheet and the mold surface causes bulges, roundness, and makes it difficult to achieve well-defined 90-degree edges or folds.
Innovation Solution
A glass slumping fixture with a plurality of slots on its surface allows air to escape as the glass sheet contacts the fixture, and a slumping weight is used to press the glass sheet against the fixture surfaces during the slumping process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a solid mold surface is used for glass slumping, then the glass sheet can conform to the mold shape, but air gets trapped between the glass and mold causing bulges and poor edge definition
Solution Approach 1:
The mold surface incorporates an array of slots or pores that allow air to escape during the slumping process. This porous structure enables the glass sheet to conform fully to the mold surface without trapping air, eliminating bulges and achieving sharp edge definition while maintaining the desired mold shape transfer.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the glass sheet is pressed against the mold surface, then air can escape through slots, but the glass may not maintain proper position during heating
Solution Approach 1:
The mold surface is segmented into multiple discrete slots rather than a continuous open structure. This segmentation allows air to escape through distributed pathways while the surrounding solid portions of the mold surface provide structural support and positioning features that keep the glass sheet stable during the heating and slumping process.
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 solution effectively prevents air trapping, allowing the glass sheet to conform accurately to the mold shape, resulting in glass parts with well-defined edges and improved surface quality.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of slots spaced apart from one another and positioned on the first side surface, the second side surface, and the top surface... that allow air to escape as contact is made between the glass sheet and the slumping surface
Implementation Method 2
a slumping weight which is positioned on the surfaces of the glass sheet to be folded such that the slumping weight presses the glass sheet against the slumping surfaces of the fixture during the slumping process
Implementation Method 3
Glass slumping is a process that involves the heating of a generally planar sheet of glass over a mold, such that the glass softens or deforms and takes the shape of the mold
Data Source
AI summary
A glass slumping fixture comprises a structure including a first side surface, a spaced-apart second side surface, and a top surface positioned therebetween and connected to each side surface. The structure further includes spaced apart slots that are positioned on the first side surface, the second side surface, and the top surface, each slot being an indentation that extends along at least a portion of a height of the first side surface, at least a portion of a height of the second side surface, and across the top surface from the first side surface to the second side surface. The structure retains a glass sheet during a slumping process including the glass sheet being placed on the top surface over the slots and heated until a first portion of the glass sheet contacts the first side surface and a second portion of the glass sheet contacts the second side surface.