Vehicle Interior Filament Extrusion With Integrated Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing vehicle interior components are inefficient and lack the ability to integrate fastening arrangements seamlessly into the extrusion process.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that involve extruding a polymeric material into filaments, consolidating them, and integrating a fastening arrangement, such as a strand with discrete fasteners, directly into the molten polymer during the extrusion process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If fastening arrangements are integrated directly into the molten polymer during extrusion, then manufacturing efficiency and productivity are improved, but the device complexity and process control difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fastening arrangement integration step with the extrusion process by introducing fastening strands into the molten polymer within the extruder. This merging of operations eliminates separate post-processing steps for attaching fasteners, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency and productivity while managing device complexity through integrated process design.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening arrangements are introduced into the molten polymer during the extrusion process before the material solidifies. This preliminary action ensures that fasteners are positioned and secured in their final locations during manufacturing, eliminating the need for subsequent attachment operations and improving overall manufacturing efficiency.
2Productivity
If fastening arrangements are integrated into the extrusion process, then the number of manufacturing steps is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a control system with sensors that monitor the extrusion process parameters and fastening arrangement integration in real-time. This feedback mechanism ensures precise positioning and integration of fasteners within the molten polymer, maintaining manufacturing precision while reducing the number of separate manufacturing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in the physical state of the polymer material (from solid to molten and back to solid) during extrusion to facilitate fastener integration. By controlling temperature and flow parameters, the system achieves precise fastener positioning and secure integration without requiring additional manufacturing steps, thereby improving productivity while maintaining 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
This approach enables the efficient production of vehicle interior components with integrated fastening arrangements, enhancing the manufacturing process by ensuring secure and accessible attachment points.
Implementation Method 1
an extruder, which heats and melts the polymeric material
Implementation Method 2
a die-plate arrangement, through which the molten polymeric material is extruded
Implementation Method 3
The consolidated filament structure is introduced into a fluid bath, such as a water tank
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a vehicle interior component may include heating a polymeric material to a molten state to create a molten polymer. The molten polymer may be extruded to form a plurality of molten polymeric filaments. A fastening arrangement may be inserted into the molten polymer, and the molten polymer may be cooled in a fluid bath to create a consolidated filament structure having the fastening arrangement secured thereto.