3D Printed Paint Plant Components for Rinsability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional production methods for painting plant components, such as color changers and atomizers, limit design freedom, result in turbulence, pressure losses, and high tooling costs, making them inefficient and costly for small batches and prone to industrial espionage.
Innovation Solution
The use of rapid prototyping methods like stereolithography, selective laser sintering, and 3D printing to build components layer by layer without predefined molds, followed by surface-smoothing techniques to achieve low surface roughness and complex geometries, allowing for the production of components with kink-free media pathways and reduced material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If conventional material-removing production methods (milling, drilling) are used, then low surface roughness is achieved, but design freedom is limited and through-lines can only be straight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical material-removing methods (milling, drilling) with additive manufacturing technology. This substitution enables complex geometries and curved through-lines that cannot be achieved with traditional subtractive methods, while still achieving the required surface roughness for paint flow through the additive process itself and subsequent minimal post-processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from two-dimensional surface finishing operations to three-dimensional additive construction. By building components layer-by-layer, the method creates optimized three-dimensional flow paths and internal geometries that eliminate the need for straight through-lines while maintaining smooth surfaces throughout the volume, not just on external surfaces.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional production methods are used, then components can be produced, but undercuts and dead spaces are created causing pressure losses and impaired rinsability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical forming methods that create dead spaces and undercuts with additive manufacturing. The layer-by-layer construction process allows for optimized flow paths without sharp corners, dead ends, or inaccessible areas, enabling complete rinsability and eliminating pressure losses associated with turbulent flow at sharp transitions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs curved, continuous flow paths throughout the component geometry. All through-lines are designed with smooth curves rather than sharp angles or straight segments joined at right angles. This curvature eliminates flow separation and turbulence, ensuring laminar flow that reduces pressure losses and allows complete rinsing of all internal passages.
3Productivity
If conventional production methods are used, then components are manufactured, but development time and manufacturing time are relatively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces time-consuming conventional manufacturing processes with additive manufacturing technology. The direct digital fabrication approach eliminates the need for creating and maintaining physical tooling such as molds and fixtures, allowing rapid production of prototypes and final components. This reduces both the development cycle time for creating new components and the manufacturing lead time for production batches.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention enables preliminary actions in the design phase to be directly implemented in manufacturing without requiring subsequent tooling adjustments or rework. Design iterations can be quickly produced and tested, with modifications made directly in the digital model and immediately manufactured, eliminating the lengthy tooling modification processes required by conventional methods.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional production methods are used, then components are manufactured, but considerable tooling costs arise for casting molds and milling cutters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive physical tooling with digital models and additive manufacturing processes. Instead of investing in costly casting molds, milling cutters, and other specialized tooling, the company uses software-based design and digital fabrication. This eliminates tooling costs entirely while maintaining or improving manufacturing efficiency, especially for low-volume and custom production runs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental parameters of the manufacturing system from physical tooling-based processes to digital model-based processes. This parameter change transforms the cost structure by eliminating the need for expensive, dedicated tooling while enabling flexible, cost-effective production of small batches and custom components without sacrificing productivity.
5Ease of manufacture
If conventional production methods are used, then components are manufactured, but manufacturing must often be assigned to subcontractors creating risk of industrial espionage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces external subcontractor manufacturing with in-house additive manufacturing capability. By bringing the manufacturing process internally through digital fabrication technology, the company maintains complete control over its intellectual property and manufacturing processes, eliminating the risk of industrial espionage associated with outsourcing to subcontractors while preserving manufacturing expertise.
6Adaptability or versatility
If conventional production methods are used, then components are manufactured, but production of individual small batches is difficult and not profitable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mass-production-oriented manufacturing systems with additive manufacturing technology that is inherently suited for small batch and custom production. The digital fabrication process requires no expensive tooling setup, allowing economically viable production of individual components or small batches without sacrificing profitability, while maintaining high adaptability to customer-specific requirements.
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
This approach enables the production of painting plant components with improved rinsability, reduced development and manufacturing times, lower tooling costs, and the ability to produce complex geometries and small batches cost-effectively, while minimizing the risk of industrial espionage by maintaining manufacturing know-how within the company.
Implementation Method 1
The rapid prototyping machine (3) is actuated with the control data in order to produce the painting plant component (7).
Implementation Method 2
The use of rapid prototyping methods like stereolithography, selective laser sintering, and 3D printing to build components layer by layer
Data Source
AI summary
Exemplary production methods for producing a paint plant component, e.g., for producing a component of a color changer, a color valve, or a spray device, are disclosed. According to the exemplary illustrations, the paint plant component may be produced in a rapid prototyping method. The exemplary illustrations also include a paint plant component that is produced accordingly.