Sealed Honeycomb Optical Table for Cleanable Mounting Holes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional honeycomb optical tables face challenges in easy and thorough cleaning due to spills and contaminants entering the interior through tapped holes, particularly in clean room environments where maintenance is critical.
Innovation Solution
The design features an optical table with an upper skin, a honeycomb core, and a lower skin where tubes connect the tapped holes on the upper skin to through holes on the lower skin, and small cups made of chemically resistant materials are used to cover these holes, preventing contaminants from entering the core, allowing for easy cleaning from the top down without compromising the table's rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If tapped holes are provided in the upper skin for mounting equipment, then equipment mounting capability is improved, but contaminants can enter the honeycomb core making cleaning difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The tapped holes are segmented into two functional parts: the upper portion in the top skin for equipment mounting, and the lower portion in the bottom skin for structural alignment. The honeycomb core section between them is sealed with cups, dividing the hole into a functional mounting section and a sealed structural section, preventing contaminant entry while maintaining mounting capability
Solution Approach 2:
Cups made of chemically resistant material are introduced as intermediary elements within the honeycomb core, positioned at the ends of tapped holes. These cups act as barriers that prevent contaminants from traveling along the tapped holes into the core, while still allowing the holes to serve their mounting function
2Ease of manufacture
If sealing sheets or cups are added to prevent contaminant entry, then cleaning ease is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cups serve multiple functions simultaneously: they seal the tapped holes from the honeycomb core to prevent contaminant entry, they provide structural support within the core, and they allow the tapped holes to maintain their mounting function. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate sealing components
Solution Approach 2:
The cups are designed as simple cylindrical or conical shells that can be easily inserted into the tapped holes. Their simple geometric form and uniform shape make them easy to manufacture and install, minimizing the increase in device complexity while effectively performing the sealing function
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional sealing methods are used with projections into honeycomb cells, then contaminant prevention is improved, but cleaning of exposed portions becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of projecting sealing elements upward into the honeycomb cells as in conventional designs, the cups are positioned with their open ends facing downward toward the bottom skin. This inverted orientation allows spills to be contained and cleaned from the top surface without entering the core, while the exposed portions remain accessible for easy cleaning
Data Source
AI summary
An optical table comprising an upper skin tapped with holes for mounting equipment, a lower skin with a plurality of through holes which is coaxial with the tapped holes on the upper skin in a one to one arrangement, a honeycomb core, a connecting side wall, and a number of tubes. The tubes are positioned between the interior of the upper and lower skins so as to connect the holes on both skins so that contaminants and residue will be unable to enter into the interior of the honeycomb core, and so that the optical table can be rapidly and thoroughly cleaned.