Hot Press Mold Cooling Groove Layout for Uniform Refrigerant Contact
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hot press machines experience inefficient cooling of metal workpieces due to excessive refrigerant discharge, leading to insufficient contact between the refrigerant and the workpiece, resulting in non-uniform cooling and reduced cooling efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a hot press machine design where refrigerant guide grooves are connected by a single connecting groove at the outer portion of the press-molding surface, with refrigerant discharge ports formed apart from the connecting points, allowing the refrigerant to flow through the connecting groove and increasing resistance to the flow path, thereby enhancing contact between the refrigerant and the workpiece.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If refrigerant discharge ports are arranged near and around the refrigerant ejection ports in the press-molding surface, then the refrigerant is discharged rapidly from the close discharge ports, but this causes excessive promotion of the discharge of the refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant guide grooves, leading to insufficient contact between the refrigerant and the workpiece and a decrease in cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
A connecting groove is introduced as an intermediary element between the refrigerant guide grooves and the refrigerant discharge ports. The refrigerant flows from the guide grooves into the connecting groove first, which acts as a buffer zone, before reaching the discharge ports. This intermediary structure prevents direct rapid discharge while maintaining controlled flow, ensuring sufficient refrigerant-workpiece contact time and uniform cooling throughout the workpiece.
2Productivity
If the refrigerant discharge ports are formed in the press molding surface, then the refrigerant can be discharged directly, but this causes different amounts of the refrigerant to flow around the refrigerant discharge ports, causing ununiform cooling throughout the workpiece
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting groove is designed with specific local characteristics: it is formed at the outer portion of the press-molding surface and connects multiple refrigerant guide grooves in a centralized manner. This local structural arrangement creates a controlled flow distribution pattern, ensuring that refrigerant flows uniformly through the connecting groove to various discharge ports, thereby achieving uniform cooling across the entire workpiece surface.
3Reliability
If a single connecting groove is used to connect multiple refrigerant guide grooves, then the refrigerant flow path resistance is increased and contact between refrigerant and workpiece is enhanced, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple refrigerant guide grooves that would otherwise terminate at different locations are merged into a single connecting groove structure. This consolidation reduces the total number of separate groove pathways and discharge ports needed, simplifying the overall mold structure while simultaneously increasing flow path resistance and enhancing refrigerant-workpiece contact efficiency through the centralized connecting groove design.
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
This configuration improves cooling efficiency by ensuring sufficient contact between the refrigerant and the workpiece, reducing the impact of vapor films, and achieving more uniform cooling and strength in the press-molded product.
Implementation Method 1
cooling the pressed workpiece using a refrigerant... the refrigerant being in contact with the workpiece... ensuring sufficient contact between the refrigerant and the workpiece
Implementation Method 2
a single connecting groove connected to the refrigerant guide grooves and formed at the outer portion of the press-molding surface into which the refrigerant flows from the refrigerant guide grooves... increasing resistance to the flow path
Data Source
AI summary
A lower mold includes: refrigerant ejection ports in its press-molding surface; refrigerant guide grooves in the press-molding surface to guide a refrigerant ejected from the refrigerant ejection ports to an outer portion of the press-molding surface with the refrigerant being in contact with a workpiece; a single connecting groove connected to the refrigerant guide grooves and formed at the outer portion of the press-molding surface into which the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant guide grooves; and discharge ports in the connecting groove. Each of the refrigerant discharge ports is formed at a part of the connecting groove apart from the connecting points between the connecting groove and the refrigerant guide grooves.