Additive Manufactured Mold Permeable Surface for Fiber Products
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional molds for manufacturing molded fiber products are laborious to produce, limited in complexity, prone to clogging, and result in lower quality products due to surface markings, and are not versatile enough for various porous structures, leading to increased manufacturing time and costs.
Innovation Solution
A mold with a permeable product surface created by additive manufacturing, featuring a porous layer and integral support structure, allowing for quick and easy manufacturing, high-pressure processing, and easy cleaning, with the ability to produce complex shapes and varying porosity levels, using a detachable skin and base structure that can be optimized for different materials and properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional machining is used to manufacture molds, then the mold structure can be simple and straightforward, but the manufacturing process becomes laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical machining processes with additive manufacturing technology. The mold is manufactured by selectively sintering powdery material using a laser beam, transforming the mechanical fabrication approach into a thermal field-based additive process. This substitution enables complex geometries to be created directly without laborious machining operations, significantly reducing manufacturing time and effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in material state during the sintering process. Powdery material is selectively melted through the addition of energy by a laser beam, transforming from solid particles to a sintered structure. This parameter change enables the creation of complex mold geometries that would be impossible to achieve through traditional machining, while reducing manufacturing time.
2Reliability
If through holes are added to the mold wall to achieve permeability, then liquid and gas can drain through, but the holes become too big causing clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous sintered structures instead of discrete through holes. The powdery material is completely melted through the addition of energy by a laser beam, creating a dense perforation with controlled porosity. This porous structure provides permeability for liquid and gas drainage while preventing clogging through its fine, uniform pore distribution, eliminating the need for large discrete holes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates different structural qualities within the mold wall. The product surface region contains fine pores for permeability, while the bulk material maintains structural integrity. This local differentiation allows the mold to achieve both drainage functionality and structural strength without requiring large through holes that would cause clogging.
3Reliability
If extra metal mesh is added to the product surface, then permeability is improved, but marks are left on the product surface affecting quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous sintered product surface that provides permeability without requiring external metal mesh. The porous structure is integrated directly into the mold wall through the sintering process, eliminating the need for separate metal mesh layers that would leave marks on the product surface. This maintains both drainage functionality and surface quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the permeability function and surface quality into a single integrated structure. The porous sintered layer is formed as part of the mold wall itself, merging the drainage function with the surface finish requirement. This eliminates the need for separate metal mesh components that would compromise surface quality.
4Adaptability or versatility
If complex mold structures are manufactured by traditional methods, then the mold can be customized, but machining becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical machining with additive manufacturing, enabling the manufacture of complex mold structures that would be impossible to create through traditional methods. The selective sintering process can fabricate intricate geometries, internal channels, and porous structures directly, providing manufacturing capability for highly complex designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional surface machining to three-dimensional volumetric manufacturing. The additive manufacturing process creates complex three-dimensional structures with internal channels and varying porosity that cannot be achieved through conventional surface machining, enabling truly complex mold geometries.
5Reliability
If the mold is designed for specific fiber suspension types, then the mold can be optimized for that application, but it reduces versatility for other applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal mold design with adjustable parameters that can be optimized for different fiber suspension types and applications. The porous structure, wall thickness, and channel configurations can be modified through the additive manufacturing process to suit various fiber densities and product requirements, enabling a single mold design to serve multiple functions and applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes adjustable manufacturing parameters during the sintering process to optimize the mold structure for different applications. By controlling laser power, sintering temperature, and powdery material characteristics, the same basic mold design can be adapted to handle different fiber suspension types, achieving both optimization and versatility.
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 mold enables the production of high-quality, thin-walled molded fiber products with improved dimensional accuracy and surface smoothness, reducing manufacturing time and costs while allowing for faster product changes and maintenance, with enhanced drainage and air/steam permeability.
Implementation Method 1
an additive manufacturing process such as a 3D-printing process. Such an additive manufacturing process may comprise selective sintering of a powdery material having particles of an average size of 1 - 50 microns
Implementation Method 2
During the sintering process, the powdery material is completely melted through the addition of energy by means of a laser beam
Implementation Method 3
Porous means in this application minute interstices through which liquid, air or steam may pass via various undefined routes
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a mold for manufacturing of a molded fiber product. The mold (11) includes a permeable product surface (23) made by additive manufacturing. The product surface (23) includes a porous layer (30) and an integral support structure (31) on the opposite side compared to the product surface (23), which support structure (31) consists of cavity and protrusion structures forming open volume (39) .