IV Tip Severing Mold with RF Heating and Turbulent Air Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing molds for forming, molding, and welding thermoplastic tubing lack the ability to rapidly heat and cool, leading to slow throughput and high costs due to the need for new units for different operations, and there is no reliable method for capturing excess material from the tip cutting process in IV tip manufacturing, resulting in debris accumulation and potential system failures.
Innovation Solution
A dissassembleable housing with interchangeable mold subassemblies that utilize RF energized coils for heating and air flow for rapid cooling, along with a mandrel and air streams to collect and count severed tips, ensuring efficient tip severance and collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If massive heat sinks are used for cooling the mold, then cooling capacity is improved, but cooling time is excessive and throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into two separate halves (first and second molds) that can be independently cooled. This segmentation allows each mold half to be cooled more efficiently and enables the molding process to be interrupted and resumed without waiting for complete cooling of a single massive mold structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A fluid delivery system is introduced to circulate cooling fluid through channels in both mold halves. This hydraulic cooling system provides rapid and uniform heat removal from the molds, significantly reducing cooling time compared to passive heat sinks while maintaining effective temperature control.
2Reliability
If a complete unit is constructed for each type of operation, then operational reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The first and second molds can be interchangeably positioned in the housing to perform different molding operations. This universality allows a single apparatus to handle multiple operations (forming, molding, welding) by simply swapping mold halves, eliminating the need to construct separate complete units for each operation while maintaining operational reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold halves are designed to be movable and interchangeable within the housing. This dynamic configuration allows flexible repositioning and swapping of mold components based on operational requirements, enabling the system to adapt to different manufacturing needs without requiring fixed, dedicated structures for each operation.
3Device complexity
If tip debris is not captured, then apparatus simplicity is maintained, but production reliability decreases due to system failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a portion of the existing cooling fluid flow to simultaneously cool the molds and transport tip debris through the fluid delivery system. This self-service approach eliminates the need for separate active collection mechanisms while maintaining production reliability through automatic debris removal and detection capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
A detection system is implemented to monitor the presence of tip debris in the collection reservoir. This feedback mechanism provides real-time information about debris accumulation levels, enabling timely intervention or process adjustment to prevent system failures while maintaining overall apparatus simplicity through automated monitoring rather than complex mechanical collection systems.
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 solution enables rapid heating and cooling of molds, reduces production downtime by ensuring consistent tip collection and detection, and allows for cost-effective switching between different mold configurations, improving the efficiency and reliability of IV tip manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
A spool supporting a coil energized by radio frequency (RF) energy... Inductive heating of the mold has also been employed
Implementation Method 2
A manifold provides a flow of air into the space between the center section and the aperture to draw heat from the mold and to cool the mold
Implementation Method 3
Upon severance of the tip, the air streams urge translation of the severed tips through a passageway and into a collection chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Mandrel supported IV tubing is inserted within a mold of a mold assembly to heat the IV tubing and form a tapered end of the tubing. The tip of the tubing extending beyond the tapered end of the tubing is severed by the mandrel bearing against the mold to lodge the tip in an outlet of the mold. Cooling air is introduced to the mold assembly to cool the mold and to create a flow of turbulent air about the outlet of the mold to extract the severed tips. The turbulent air is exhausted through a channel, pipe and fitting into a collection chamber and causes translation of the severed tip to and into the collection chamber. Sensors may be incorporated to sense the translation of the severed tips.