Two-Stage Pressure Pin System for Mold Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing molded parts with prefabricated components, such as elastomer ampoule closures, face challenges in ensuring precise positioning and chemical resistance, leading to potential contamination and sealing issues due to inelastic inert coatings causing wrinkles and poor sealing.
Innovation Solution
A device with a two-stage pressure pin system that secures and inserts prefabricated parts into a mold with high precision, using a lowering device with actuators to maintain a minimum distance initially and then penetrate openings to place parts into cavities, ensuring accurate positioning and preventing slippage or loss during handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If inelastic inert materials are used for coating the rubber stopper surface, then chemical resistance and thermal stability are improved, but the coating develops wrinkles and causes sealing defects due to three-dimensional deformation in the mold
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the inert coating material from inelastic to elastic, allowing it to deform reversibly with the rubber stopper during molding without developing wrinkles. This enables the use of chemically inert materials like PTFE while eliminating the harmful deformation effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure consisting of an elastic base material (rubber) and an inert coating layer (PTFE). This composite approach combines the chemical resistance of the inert material with the elasticity needed for proper deformation during molding, preventing wrinkling while maintaining chemical stability.
2Ease of manufacture
If prefabricated parts are pressed into mold cavities using conventional single-stage insertion, then the process is simple, but precise positioning and placement accuracy are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the insertion process into two distinct stages: first, the pressure plate lowers to an intermediate position to secure parts in receptacles; second, the pressure plate lowers further to push parts into mold cavities. This segmentation enables precise positioning control while maintaining operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs a preliminary action by first securing the prefabricated parts in receptacles on the pressure plate before the final insertion into mold cavities. This preliminary positioning ensures accuracy and prevents part loss during handling, while the overall process remains straightforward.
3Device complexity
If prefabricated parts are handled and positioned manually or with simple mechanisms, then the device is simple, but parts may slip or be lost during handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a self-service mechanism where the pressure plate itself, through its two-stage lowering action, both secures and inserts the parts. The receptacles on the pressure plate automatically hold the parts during handling, eliminating the need for separate positioning mechanisms while ensuring reliable part placement.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device and a method for inserting prefabricated parts into a mold of a press for the production of molded parts, in particular for the production of elastomer molded parts. For this purpose, the device has a support element (2) with a top (3) and a bottom (4), which is intended for attachment to or near the press, and a holding device (9) for receiving at least one interchangeable plate (14) loaded with the parts. The holding device (9) is arranged on the support element (2) at a clear distance from its bottom (4), and the interchangeable plate (14) has a number of through-openings (16) for receiving the parts. Furthermore, the device has a pressure plate (17) with pressure pins (25) which is arranged between the bottom (4) of the support element (2) and the holding device (9), the pressure pins (25) being aligned with the through-openings (16).By means of a lowering device, the pressure plate (17) can be lowered from an upper first position, in which the pressure pins (25) aligned with the through-holes (16) maintain a clear distance to the at least one interchangeable plate (14), to a second lower position onto the at least one interchangeable plate (14), in which the pressure pins (25) penetrate the through-holes (16). To increase the precision with which the parts are inserted into the mold, the invention provides that the pressure plate (17) can be locked in an intermediate position between the first and second positions, and in this intermediate position, the ends of the pressure pins (25) are arranged directly in the area of the parts placed in or onto the through-holes (16) to secure their position. The invention further comprises a press with a mold equipped with a device according to the invention.