Modular Embossing Plate for Reconfigurable Thermoplastic Textile Patterns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional molds for thermoplastic textiles are bulky, inflexible, and require time and resources to adapt to new textile types or variable structural and aesthetic properties, limiting their ability to produce customized products efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable mold with exchangeable and reconfigurable subunits that can be easily adjusted to create various indentation patterns, allowing for rapid adaptation to changing manufacturing requirements and enabling production of customized apparel and shoes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional molds are used for thermoplastic textiles, then the textiles can be molded with fused, embossed and debossed patterns, but the molds are bulky and inflexible and require time and resources to adapt to new textile types or variable structural and aesthetic properties
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into multiple interchangeable subunits, each capable of creating different patterns. This segmentation allows individual subunits to be replaced or reconfigured based on the specific textile type and desired pattern, enabling rapid adaptation without redesigning the entire mold structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold system is designed with universal subunits that can perform multiple functions. Each subunit can be used with different textile types and can create various patterns through reconfiguration, making the mold system versatile across different applications while maintaining a consistent base structure.
2Productivity
If conventional molds are used for thermoplastic textiles, then the textiles can be molded with improved stretch resistance and water resistance, but the process is slow and expensive when adapting to new textile types
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple pattern subunits are pre-fabricated and stored ready for use. When a new textile type or pattern is required, the appropriate pre-made subunit can be quickly installed without waiting for new mold fabrication, significantly reducing adaptation time while maintaining high manufacturing productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold system allows for the easy removal and replacement of worn or obsolete subunits with new ones. Used subunits can be recovered, refurbished, or replaced, enabling continuous production without long downtime for mold adaptation while maintaining manufacturing speed.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional molds are used for thermoplastic textiles, then the textiles can be molded with improved aesthetics, but new molds must be designed and manufactured before new types of textiles can be molded, which is expensive and wasteful
Solution Approach 1:
The mold system transitions from a static, fixed design to a dynamic, reconfigurable structure. Subunits can be easily added, removed, or replaced based on production requirements, allowing the mold to adapt to new textile types without expensive remanufacturing and reducing material waste from obsolete mold designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold system allows for changing operational parameters by swapping subunits rather than redesigning the entire mold. This enables cost-effective adaptation to different textile types and patterns while minimizing resource consumption and waste associated with manufacturing completely new molds.
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
Enables fast and cost-effective manufacturing of customized products with enhanced material and aesthetic properties by allowing modular assembly and replacement of subunits, reducing cycle times and resource wastage.
Implementation Method 1
The mold is adapted to fuse at least one indentation of the pattern of indentations into the thermoplastic textile by applying heat and/or pressure
Implementation Method 2
The mold is adapted to fuse at least one indentation of the pattern of indentations into the thermoplastic textile by applying heat and/or pressure
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a modular embossing plate (100, 400, 500, 600, 700) for generating a pattern of indentations in a surface of a thermoplastic textile, preferably comprising a non-woven fabric, comprising at least one exchangeable and / or reconfigurable subunit (200) adapted to create at least one subpattern of the pattern.