Moulded-On Pump Seal with Internal Overflow Chamber Filling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in manufacturing injection-moulded components with moulded-on seals, particularly pump components, lies in achieving consistent and fault-free geometry due to fluctuations in process parameters and material quality, which often result in gas bubbles and incomplete moulding, especially when overmoulding or using elastomer materials.
Innovation Solution
A method involving an injection-moulding tool with an overflow chamber inside the component's contour, allowing excess sealing material to flow into this chamber, reducing pressure fluctuations and ensuring complete cavity filling without losing useful installation space, and maintaining consistent injection pressure and speed throughout the process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sufficient sealing material is injected to fill the cavity and compensate for volume variations, then manufacturing precision and reliability are improved, but injection pressure and material consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The injection system is segmented into a cavity region and an overflow chamber region, allowing the sealing material to be distributed to different zones. The overflow chamber acts as a separate volume that receives excess material, decoupling the pressure requirements of cavity filling from the total material injection volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The system intentionally injects excessive sealing material beyond what is strictly needed to fill the cavity. This excessive action ensures that volume variations in the cavity are compensated, and the overflow chamber captures the surplus material, maintaining consistent cavity filling despite variations in component dimensions or cavity geometry.
2Volume of moving object
If the overflow chamber is provided inside the component contour, then useful installation space is preserved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The overflow chamber is nested inside the contour of the component, effectively hiding the compensation volume within the existing component boundaries. This nested arrangement allows the overflow chamber to occupy space that would otherwise be unused or wasted, preserving the external dimensions and installation space of the component while providing the necessary overflow volume.
3Productivity
If injection pressure is maintained until cavity is completely filled, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to pressure fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The overflow chamber serves as an intermediary volume between the injection system and the cavity. It absorbs pressure fluctuations and material flow variations, acting as a buffer that protects the cavity filling process from pressure instability. This allows continuous injection at high pressure without compromising seal quality.
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 method enhances the quality of moulded components by reducing rejects and processing time, ensuring consistent geometry and fault-free seals on opposite end faces, suitable for pump housings, with improved robustness and reduced installation complexity.
Implementation Method 1
sufficient sealing material is injected for part of the sealing material to pass from the cavity, via an overflow channel connected to the cavity, into an overflow chamber
Implementation Method 2
sealing material flowing into the overflow chamber encloses and compresses a gas present in the overflow chamber. The compressed gas causes a counter-pressure on the sealing material
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The invention concerns a method for manufacturing a component (10) with moulded-on seal (12), in particular a pump component, wherein the component is laid in an injection-moulding tool, then a sealing material is injected from an injection gate (26) into the injection-moulding tool and fills a cavity on one side of the component, wherein sufficient sealing material is injected for a part of the sealing material to pass from the cavity, via an overflow channel connected to the cavity, into an overflow chamber (34) which is provided inside the contour of the component. The invention furthermore concerns a component with moulded-on seal (12).