Rigid Disposable Mold for Precise Joint Spacer Shaping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Molds for joint spacer devices made of elastically deformable materials like silicone fail to produce spacer devices with a precise shape, requiring machining and can lead to allergic reactions due to residual antibiotic traces from previous uses.
Innovation Solution
A mold made of elastically undeformable plastic material, such as polyethylene, with a rigid container body and cover that engage to form a joint spacer device, allowing for precise shaping and easy separation without the need for extensive finishing or reuse, minimizing the risk of allergic reactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If molds are made of elastically deformable material like silicone, then the mold can be easily removed from the spacer device, but the spacer device cannot obtain a definite shape and requires machining
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the mold from elastically deformable (silicone) to rigid (plastic), which fundamentally alters the molding capability. The rigid mold maintains its shape during spacer device formation, enabling precise geometric definition without requiring subsequent machining operations.
2Ease of manufacture
If molds are reused after washing, then costs are reduced, but residual antibiotic traces remain causing allergic reactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a disposable mold system where each mold is used once and then discarded. This eliminates the risk of allergic reactions from residual antibiotics by ensuring no mold reuse, while the low cost of the simple plastic mold structure makes the disposable approach economically viable.
3Manufacturing precision
If molds are made of rigid plastic material, then the spacer device obtains a definite shape requiring minimal finishing, but the mold cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid plastic mold is designed as a single-use component. Its simplicity and low manufacturing cost enable a disposable approach where the mold is discarded after one use, eliminating contamination risks while maintaining high shape precision for the spacer device.
4Productivity
If molds are made of rigid plastic material, then extensive finishing steps are not required, but the mold structure is more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from soft to rigid, which fundamentally improves the molding precision. The rigid structure inherently maintains geometric accuracy during the molding process, eliminating the need for post-processing finishing steps and actually simplifying the overall manufacturing workflow.
Data Source
AI summary
A mold for forming a joint spacer device or a part thereof includes a rigid container body having a first perimeter profile delimiting a first molding surface configured to shape a first portion of the joint spacer or part thereof; and a rigid cover provided with a second perimeter profile delimiting a second molding surface configured to shape a second portion of the joint spacer or part thereof. The rigid container body and the rigid cover are removably engageable to each other, at the first and the second perimeter profile, so as to delimit a cavity corresponding to the external configuration of the joint spacer or part thereof. The mold includes a weakening system on the rigid container body and on the rigid cover, making them separable into parts to enable the extraction of the spacer device or part thereof, molded therebetween.