Movable Alignment System for Glass Slumping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing glass shaping processes, such as dropout and vacuum forming, result in undesirable protruding flanges, glass stretching, and aesthetic alterations, and are unsuitable for thin glass, requiring additional processing steps and increasing complexity and cost.
Innovation Solution
A movable alignment system for glass slumping that uses temperature-responsive alignment members to release the glass from interference, allowing it to bend around a mold without fixed attachment, preventing flange formation and maintaining aesthetic integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If fixed alignment systems are used to secure glass edges to molds, then glass can be held in position during heating, but the glass cannot drop or sag into mold cavities, resulting in protruding flanges
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment members are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to adjust position as glass is added or removed. This dynamic adjustment enables the alignment members to hold glass during filling while allowing controlled dropping into cavities, eliminating flange formation
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment system changes its physical state through temperature-responsive materials that alter their properties at different temperatures. This allows the alignment members to provide different levels of constraint at different stages of the heating process, enabling both precise positioning and controlled deformation
2Ease of manufacture
If dropout processes are used for thick glass, then glass can be shaped effectively, but the processes are unsuitable for thin glass due to rapid heating requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The process parameters including heating rate, alignment member position, and mold temperature are dynamically adjusted based on glass thickness. This allows the same system to effectively process both thick and thin glass by modifying operational parameters rather than requiring different processes
3Shape
If multiple heating cycles and glass repositioning are used, then complex shapes can be achieved, but process complexity, cost, and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mold cavities are pre-configured with three-dimensional relief features that guide glass deformation in a single heating cycle. The alignment members are pre-positioned to facilitate the desired droop and sag, eliminating the need for multiple repositioning operations while achieving complex shapes
4Shape
If vacuum forming is used to shape glass, then glass can be formed to mold cavities, but glass may crack or be impaired due to vacuum inconsistencies
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum forming mechanical system is replaced with a gravity-based droop and sag process. Glass is allowed to deform under its own weight and thermal softening, eliminating vacuum-related cracking while achieving conformal shaping through the three-dimensional relief mold features
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 system enables consistent glass shaping without the need for post-processing grinding, reduces complexity and cost, and ensures the glass can be accurately formed into complex three-dimensional shapes without defects or aesthetic alterations.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the plurality of alignment members can be configured to move away from the glass member as the temperature increases during the slumping process
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus, systems and methods for alignment of a glass member for high temperature processing are disclosed. The high temperature processing can, for example, pertain to a slumping process to mold glass into a predetermined shape (e.g., a three-dimensional shape). In one embodiment, a glass slumping system can have a mold and an alignment system that support a glass member to be slumped relative to the mold. The alignment system may have a plurality of alignment members being configured to move away from the glass member as the temperature increases during the slumping process to allow the glass member to bend around the mold without interference.