Honeycomb Buffer Forming With Dash-Slitted Sheet Folding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional buffers made of paper or honeycomb cores face issues with high manufacturing costs, inefficient use of space, and reduced buffering effectiveness due to bending and compression during shaping, leading to increased shipping costs and uneven surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A buffer forming method involving a honeycomb core expanded and shaped using an expansion unit in a buffer forming machine, where sheet materials are folded along dash-slitted or pressed lines to form top and bottom deform portions, maintaining consistent heights and alternating bonded and unbonded portions to create hexagonal honeycomb bodies, using environmentally friendly materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional buffers are made by bonding flat sheet materials to folded parts, then the buffer structure can be formed, but the manufacturing cost increases and shipping efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer is divided into multiple independent honeycomb cells formed from individual sheet materials. Each sheet material is folded and bonded to form a modular honeycomb structure, allowing the buffer to be segmented into functional units that can be efficiently packaged and shipped in a compressed state, then expanded at the destination.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer components are designed to be nested or compressed into a compact form for shipping, similar to nesting dolls. The hollow honeycomb structure allows the buffer to be collapsed or compressed into a smaller volume for efficient shipping, then expanded to its full protective form when needed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If paper buffers are used instead of plastic buffers, then environmental degradation is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer utilizes a honeycomb porous structure made from paper materials. This porous design provides effective cushioning and impact absorption while using environmentally friendly paper instead of plastic. The honeycomb geometry maximizes the protective function per unit of material, reducing overall material consumption and manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer employs composite construction combining multiple sheet materials bonded together to form the honeycomb structure. This composite approach allows optimization of paper material selection and bonding methods to reduce manufacturing costs while maintaining environmental friendliness and protective performance.
3Shape
If honeycomb paper pads are compressed through inverted scrapers and rollers, then shaping is achieved, but buffering effectiveness decreases due to bending and compression
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet materials are pre-folded along dash-slitted or pressed lines to create predetermined fold lines and deform portions before assembly. This preliminary folding action ensures that the honeycomb structure maintains its intended geometry during assembly and shipping, reducing the need for aggressive compression and shaping operations that would compromise buffering effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the sheet materials by creating dash-slitted lines or pressed lines that modify local flexibility and stiffness. These parameter changes allow controlled deformation at specific locations while maintaining structural integrity elsewhere, enabling effective shaping without excessive compression that would reduce buffering performance.
4Stability of the object's composition
If folded portions are secured in place before shipping, then structural stability is improved, but shipping cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer design allows the structure to be dynamic rather than permanently fixed. The honeycomb panels can be compressed or collapsed into a compact configuration for shipping, then easily expanded to their full protective form when needed. This dynamic capability provides structural stability in both compressed and expanded states without requiring permanent securing operations that would increase shipping costs.
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 method reduces shipping costs and maintains buffering effectiveness by minimizing deformation of intermediate portions, ensuring a smooth and fast production process with consistent surface quality.
Implementation Method 1
conveying the honeycomb core (1) in a stretching direction using an expansion unit (2) of the buffer forming machine to expand the honeycomb core
Implementation Method 2
compressing the honeycomb core (1) to shape the honeycomb core (1) into a buffer by folding
Data Source
AI summary
A buffer forming method includes the step of providing a honeycomb core that includes a plurality of sheet materials. Each of the sheet materials is formed with two dash-slitted lines. For each of the sheet materials, the dash-slitted lines divide the sheet material into a top deform portion, a bottom deform portion, and an intermediate portion. The buffer forming method further includes the steps of inserting the honeycomb core into a buffer forming machine, conveying the honeycomb core in a stretching direction using an expansion unit of the buffer forming machine to expand the honeycomb core, and compressing the sheet materials in order to respectively fold the top deform portions and the bottom deform portions along the dash-slitted lines to shape the honeycomb core into a buffer.