Segmented Rubber Foam Surface Layer for Flexible Color Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rubber foam products with a black substrate require the entire raw material to be changed for different colors, making it inefficient and costly for producing small orders or custom colors, as the color only appears on the surface and not within the foam.
Innovation Solution
A process of extruding a green rubber foam substrate and separately forming a thin, functional surface layer with pigments and additives, which is then laminated and thermally bonded onto the substrate, allowing for flexible and economic production of colored rubber foam products without altering the entire product.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If pigments are added into the rubber foam compound by blending and dispersing, then the rubber foam sheet appears colored on the surface, but the entire raw material must be changed for different colors, making it inefficient and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The rubber foam product is divided into two independent parts: a black rubber foam substrate and a separate colored surface layer. The surface layer can be independently prepared with different pigments and applied only where needed, allowing color changes without changing the entire substrate material.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of coloring the entire rubber foam compound, the invention applies color locally only to the surface layer. This allows different colors to be used on different products or even different areas of the same product without requiring different substrate materials.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the entire rubber foam compound is changed for different colors, then the product can be produced in various colors, but it becomes inefficient and costly for producing small orders or custom colors
Solution Approach 1:
The product is segmented into a standard black substrate and a separate colored surface layer. This allows the same substrate to be used for multiple color variations, enabling efficient production of small orders or custom colors by only changing the surface layer rather than the entire product.
Solution Approach 2:
The color parameter is changed by modifying only the surface layer composition and appearance, while keeping the substrate parameters (material, thickness, structure) constant. This allows versatile color production without affecting the base product characteristics.
3Manufacturing precision
If pigments are incorporated into the interior of the rubber foam sheet, then the color appears throughout the material, but it requires changing the entire raw material which is costly and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention separates the colored surface layer from the black substrate, allowing pigments to be concentrated in the surface layer rather than distributed throughout the entire foam sheet. This maintains color consistency on the surface while avoiding unnecessary material changes in the substrate.
Solution Approach 2:
The colored surface layer is extracted as a separate component from the black substrate. This allows the pigment to be applied only where needed (on the surface) rather than being forced into the entire material structure, reducing material waste while maintaining color consistency.
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 enables versatile and cost-effective production of colored rubber foam products by allowing for easy switching between surface layers, reducing material waste, and enhancing manufacturing flexibility, while maintaining or improving mechanical properties like tear and tensile strength.
Implementation Method 1
which is then laminated and thermally bonded onto the substrate
Implementation Method 2
which is then laminated and thermally bonded onto the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A process for flexibly making a wetsuit or the like is disclosed by integrally forming a functional surface layer on a rubber foam substrate sheet, thereby rendering the function of the surface layer for the wetsuit or the like.