Self-Cleaning Plastics Coating Device with Shuttle Valve Rinsing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plastic coating devices for printed circuit boards face challenges in achieving precise and rapid coating while maintaining cost-effectiveness, and they struggle with residual plastic mixture hardening in mixing and supply lines, necessitating complex cleaning processes.
Innovation Solution
A plastic coating device equipped with two applicators, a static mixer, a switching valve, and a shuttle valve, allowing for precise coating and self-cleaning by alternating component flow directions to prevent hardening, using a first component for rinsing and maintaining device readiness for subsequent uses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single applicator is used in the coating device, then the device structure is simpler, but coating precision and speed are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The coating device is divided into two separate applicators (first applicator and second applicator) that can be selectively connected to the mixer outlet via the shuttle valve. This segmentation allows each applicator to be optimized for specific coating tasks, improving both coating precision and speed while maintaining manageable device complexity through modular design
2Duration of action of moving object
If the mixer and supply lines are used continuously without cleaning, then operational time is maximized, but plastic mixture hardens in the system
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cleaning action by connecting the first supply line to the mixer outlet through the switching valve and shuttle valve configuration. This allows the first component to be pumped through the mixer and supply lines before actual coating operations begin, preventing plastic mixture from hardening in the system and ensuring reliable operation throughout the working cycle
3Ease of manufacture
If complex cleaning processes are implemented to remove hardened plastic, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and operational downtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-cleaning by utilizing its own first component supply line to flush the mixer and second supply line. The switching valve and shuttle valve automatically redirect the first component flow to clean the system, eliminating the need for external cleaning equipment or complex manual cleaning processes, thereby reducing both cleaning complexity and operational downtime
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
Enables precise and rapid coating with reduced downtime and operational costs by ensuring the device remains clean and ready for immediate reuse, preventing hardening of plastic mixtures in mixing and supply lines through self-cleaning mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
A mixing coil or a structure influencing the component flow is arranged in the container. The coil or structure is each designed to mix the first component and the second component together—in particular by creating swirls—and thus produce a particularly homogeneous component mixture
Implementation Method 2
a switching valve coupled—in particular serially—into the second supply line for the second component. The switching valve is designed to connect the supply line section of the second supply line extending between the switching valve and the mixer, in particular the second inlet opening, either to the connection for the storage container for the second component or to a rinsing container
Implementation Method 3
The supply line section of the second supply line can be rinsed during rinsing, in particular with the first plastic component, which forms a matrix material for the plastic, in a flow direction opposite to the mixing operation of the device
Implementation Method 4
a first pump for the first component arranged in the first supply line, and a control unit connected to the first pump
Implementation Method 5
The control unit is configured to generate a control signal for switching the switching valve and a control signal for the pump for the first component
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for coating an object. The device comprises a static mixer having: a first inlet opening for a first plastics component; and a second inlet opening for a second plastics component; and a mixer outlet for a component mixture comprising both components. The device also comprises: a first connection for a reservoir for the first component, which is connected to the first inlet opening via a first supply line; and a second connection for a reservoir for the second component, which is connected to the second inlet opening by a second supply line. The device comprises two applicators (39, 40), specifically an applicator (39) and a further applicator (40) for the component mixture (8), and the plastics coating device (1) comprises a shuttle valve (32) which is designed to selectively connect the mixer outlet (5) of the mixer (2) to the applicator (39) or the further applicator (40).