3D Printed Launch Lever Hollow Base Body
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing firing levers in weaving machines face limitations in achieving high insertion rates and are often insensitive to contamination, with a need for enhanced mechanical properties and flexibility in design.
Innovation Solution
A firing lever with a base body produced partially through 3D printing, designed as an enveloping body with a hollow cavity, allowing for customizable shapes and properties, including varying densities and materials, to achieve high insertion rates and resistance to contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional manufacturing methods are used for firing levers, then structural integrity is maintained, but injection rates are limited and design flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameter from traditional subtractive methods to additive 3D printing, enabling complex hollow geometries and optimized stiffness profiles that were previously impossible to manufacture, thereby achieving both high injection rates and design flexibility simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction by combining a hollow base body structure with strategically placed reinforcement elements, creating a composite design that optimizes both weight for high-speed operation and structural integrity for reliability
2Strength
If solid dense material is used for the firing lever, then strength is high, but mass inertia increases reducing acceleration performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a hollow shell structure for the base body that maintains structural strength through optimized wall thickness and geometry while significantly reducing mass compared to solid construction, thereby reducing moment of inertia and improving acceleration performance
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow cavity and curved structural elements distribute stress efficiently throughout the structure, maintaining high strength-to-weight ratio by leveraging geometric curvature to reinforce the hollow structure without adding mass
3Ease of manufacture
If open design is used for the firing lever, then manufacturing is simpler, but contamination resistance is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow base body acts as an enclosing shell that protects internal components from contamination while the 3D printing process enables this enclosed design without significantly complicating manufacturing, as the hollow structure is created directly during additive fabrication
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 enables high insertion rates, reduced mass inertia, and improved mechanical properties such as stiffness and elasticity, while maintaining a closed design that is resistant to contamination, with the ability to adjust rigidity and weight effectively.
Implementation Method 1
the base body (10) is produced at least partially using a 3D printing process
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5a
AI summary
The invention relates to a launching lever, in particular a weaving machine launching lever, with a base body (10). It is proposed that the base body (10) is at least partially manufactured using a 3D printing process.