Molded-in Boat Grip With Integral Undercut
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Solution Overview
Problem
Blow-molding processes struggle to create effective grips for watercraft and other molded structures due to the inability to form undercuts, leading to poor handling and transportation, especially when the structures are large or unwieldy and wet.
Innovation Solution
A moving core device with a modifiable configuration is used to create integral undercuts during the blow-molding process, allowing for the formation of grips with undercut structures that enhance user grip and handling, applicable to various molded structures including watercraft and other products like panels and furniture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a blow-molding process is used to manufacture watercraft, then the structure becomes light and strong, but the process is unable to create an undercut configuration for effective gripping
Solution Approach 1:
The mold core is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to shift position during the molding process. This dynamic core enables the formation of undercut geometries in the grip recess that would be impossible with a static mold, while maintaining the integrity of the blow-molding process that creates the light and strong structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The grip recess is pre-formed with undercut geometry by positioning the movable core in a specific configuration before the plastic material is molded. This preliminary arrangement of the mold core creates the desired undercut shape that enables effective gripping, which would otherwise be impossible to achieve with conventional blow-molding.
2Ease of manufacture
If a simple recess is formed in the blow-molded structure, then the manufacturing process remains simple, but the grip effectiveness is reduced especially when wet
Solution Approach 1:
By making the mold core movable rather than fixed, the system can create complex undercut geometries in the grip recess without adding significant complexity to the manufacturing process. The movable core allows the formation of interlocking grip shapes that provide mechanical interlocking even when wet, while the overall blow-molding process remains relatively simple.
3Volume of moving object
If the watercraft has a large size and unwieldy shape, then the structure can accommodate necessary features, but handling and transportation become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The large watercraft structure is segmented by adding a grip recess that creates a distinct handling zone. This segmentation allows users to grip and control specific portions of the large structure, making it easier to maneuver and transport despite its overall size and capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable core creates an undercut grip recess that provides a mechanical advantage for handling large structures. The undercut geometry creates interlocking engagement that allows users to securely grip and control the watercraft, transforming the handling of a large unwieldy object into a more manageable operation.
Data Source
AI summary
In one example, a method includes positioning, within a mold, a device with a movable element that defines a portion of a volume, and the volume is contained within the mold, as part of a molding process, at least partly defining a molded watercraft by introducing plastic into the mold, disposing the plastic about the movable element, and with the movable element, excluding the plastic from the portion of the volume that is defined by the movable element so as to define a recess and an undercut that are integral with the watercraft and extend lengthwise with respect to a centerline of the watercraft, and the recess and undercut are integral, and communicate, with each other.