Manufacturing method for obtaining a decorative panel for shower trays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing manufacturing methods for decorative panels, such as those for shower trays, cannot accommodate varying thicknesses and slopes necessary for efficient water drainage, as they apply uniform thickness and decorative patterns to all surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A polymeric, thermosetting panel with a decorative pattern applied via sublimation on a transfer substrate, featuring a perimetral area with a greater thickness and a non-perimetral area with a smaller thickness, allowing for progressive changes in thickness to create slopes for optimal water drainage, using a textile protective layer during the curing process to prevent imperfections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a uniform thickness panel is used for shower trays, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but water drainage efficiency deteriorates due to inability to create slopes
Solution Approach 1:
The panel is designed with varying thickness across different regions: thicker at the periphery (3-5mm) for structural strength and thinner at the center (1-3mm) to create drainage slopes. This local variation in thickness allows the panel to simultaneously provide structural integrity and efficient water drainage functionality.
2Ease of manufacture
If a decorative pattern is applied to all panel surfaces, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but functionality deteriorates by obscuring important features like drainage areas
Solution Approach 1:
The decorative pattern is selectively applied only to specific regions of the panel where aesthetics are prioritized, while leaving functional areas such as drainage zones and slope transitions uncoated or minimally decorated. This ensures that important functional features remain visible and identifiable.
3Manufacturing precision
If the entire panel is coated with decorative pattern during sublimation, then uniform aesthetic finish is achieved, but functional areas like drainage zones lose their distinctive characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The sublimation process parameters and substrate placement are controlled to achieve uniform decorative coating only in areas where aesthetics are important, while deliberately excluding or reducing coating in functional zones such as drainage areas, allowing these areas to maintain their distinctive visual characteristics.
4Productivity
If varying thickness is implemented in the panel, then water drainage functionality is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The panel thickness parameter is systematically varied across different regions during the molding process, transitioning from thicker peripheral areas to thinner central areas. This controlled parameter change enables efficient water drainage while maintaining manufacturability through standard molding techniques.
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 the creation of decorative shower trays with uniform finishes and efficient water drainage by applying a decorative pattern to panels with varying thicknesses, ensuring a smooth and imperfection-free transfer of the design while maintaining structural integrity and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
performing controlled heating of the panel-substrate assembly inside said vacuum chamber, facilitating the transfer of the decorative pattern to multiple surfaces of the panel by sublimation
Implementation Method 2
inserting the substrate-enveloped panel in a vacuum chamber so that the substrate adapts optimally to the shape of the panel
Data Source
AI summary
Coating outer surfaces of a polymeric panel with a decorative pattern printed on the outer surfaces using an ink which is transferred to the panel by sublimation in a vacuum chamber under predetermined temperature, pressure, and time conditions. The panel has a perimetral area having a greater thickness and at least one non-perimetral area having a smaller thickness. All the surfaces of the panel coated with the decorative pattern have a uniform finish. A protective layer is placed on a non-perimetric zone of the panel to prevent overheating during the panel curing process and to avoid imperfections on the decorative pattern from being formed on the non-perimetric zone.