Molded Component Carrier Winding Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Molded components, particularly micro-molded components, face challenges in transportation, storage, and handling due to their small size and static electricity, which causes them to stick to equipment or each other, making gripping and securing difficult.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a carrier with a sacrificial portion and a functional portion, where the carrier is wound and unwound to secure and move molded components, allowing adjacent sacrificial portions to contact and compact, reducing static issues and eliminating the need for separate indexing and protection, enabling reusable carriers and stable layering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If molded components are transported and stored on equipment, then they can be handled and processed, but static electricity causes them to stick to equipment or each other, making gripping and securing difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problematic interaction between molded components and equipment by introducing a carrier as an intermediary. The carrier takes on the role of holding and transporting the components, separating them from direct contact with equipment surfaces that would generate static electricity adhesion.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier acts as an intermediary between the molded components and the handling equipment. It provides a controlled interface that prevents static electricity buildup and adhesion, allowing components to be transported without sticking to equipment or each other.
2Reliability
If molded components are secured to carrier, then they can be transported and stored, but adjacent components may contact each other causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is designed with varying properties along its length - secured regions where components are held firmly during transport, and unsecured regions where components can be released. This local differentiation allows the same carrier structure to provide both protection during transport and safe release at destination.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier's interaction with components transitions dynamically from a secured state during transport to an unsecured state during release. This dynamic behavior allows the system to adapt to different operational phases, providing protection when needed and enabling release when required.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional indexing methods are used to align carrier with mold, then positioning precision can be achieved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is designed to self-align with the mold through its inherent geometric features and the molding process itself. The carrier's structure and the mold cavity work together to automatically position components correctly without requiring external indexing mechanisms, making the system self-aligning.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier and mold are designed with complementary geometric features that create a natural alignment interface. This equipotential design ensures that the carrier automatically assumes the correct position relative to the mold through geometric constraints alone, eliminating the need for complex indexing systems.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a plurality of molded components including (a) providing a carrier to a manufacturing assembly; (b) forming the molded components on the carrier, the molded components having a sacrificial portion secured to the carrier and being movable along the carrier, and a functional portion extending from the sacrificial portion, adjacent sacrificial portions are spaced from one another by a first distance; (c) winding the carrier in a forward direction onto the uptake device; and (d) unwinding the uptake device in a reverse direction such that the carrier and molded components move toward the source device, one of the molded components contacts the latch preventing the molded components from moving in the reverse direction such that adjacent sacrificial portions are moved closer together to a second distance that is less than the first distance.