Digital Screen Pore Alignment for Pulp Molding Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pulp molding technologies face challenges in accurately crafting complex shapes and ensuring uniform pore distribution in molding tools, which affects the quality and consistency of molded fiber products.
Innovation Solution
The use of computer-readable media and processors to modify digital models of features and screens to include a plurality of pores at determined locations, allowing for precise placement and distribution of pores in the molding tools, thereby enhancing the accuracy and complexity of the shapes that can be molded.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional methods are used to craft mesh and main body, then manufacturing process is simpler, but manufacturing precision and pore distribution uniformity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining pore locations, sizes, and distributions in the digital models of the main body and mesh before physical manufacturing. The pore parameters are determined and fixed during the digital design phase, allowing precise replication during manufacturing without requiring complex real-time adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating digital models (virtual copies) of the main body and mesh with embedded pore information. These digital models serve as precise templates that can be replicated multiple times through additive manufacturing or other fabrication processes, ensuring consistent pore distribution across all produced components.
2Manufacturing precision
If pore locations are determined without digital modeling, then processing is faster, but manufacturing precision and detail accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary determination of pore locations, sizes, and distributions during the digital model creation phase. By pre-calculating and embedding pore parameters in the digital models before manufacturing, the system achieves high manufacturing precision without requiring time-consuming computations during the actual production process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual or mechanical methods of determining pore locations with automated digital modeling and computational algorithms. The computer-readable media and processors automatically calculate optimal pore distributions based on design parameters, substituting manual trial-and-error approaches with efficient computational methods.
3Manufacturing precision
If mesh pore size is significantly smaller than main body pores, then product detail quality improves, but material suction and formation efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing different pore size characteristics in different regions of the molding tool. The mesh contains smaller pores for detail formation, while the main body has larger pores for efficient material suction. This spatial variation in pore quality allows each component to fulfill its specific function optimally without compromising overall productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the pore distribution system into two distinct components: the main body with larger pores for bulk material intake and the mesh with smaller pores for detailed surface formation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for its specific function while working together as an integrated molding tool.
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 simplifies the determination and placement of pores, reduces computational intensity, and ensures more accurate and evenly distributed pores, leading to improved mechanical strength and reduced weak points in the molded products.
Implementation Method 1
a perforated matrix (suction mold) produced by means of 3D printing or a process associated with rapid prototyping
Implementation Method 2
During formation of the product, a vacuum force may be applied through the pulp molding die which may cause the material in the pulp to be sucked onto the mesh
Implementation Method 3
The main body and the mesh may include numerous pores for liquid passage
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
According to examples, a processor may obtain a digital model of a screen including pores that is to be implemented in a formation of a wet part from a slurry. The processor may obtain a digital model of a feature to be added to the screen, in which the feature is to impart a detail onto the wet part during formation of the wet part and may incorporate the digital model of the feature with the digital model of the screen. The processor may also identify locations in the digital model of the feature that are in line with pores in the digital model of the screen and modify the digital model of the feature to add pores at the identified locations in the digital model of the feature to extend the pores in the digital model of the screen through the digital model of the feature.