Extrusion Die for Sheet Edge Strip Application
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for furnishing the edges of anode and cathode sheets with a plastic strip to prevent electrical conductivity are inefficient due to the need for long and expensive dies, difficulty in securing adhesiveness, and issues with temperature variations and pressure requirements, leading to incomplete fusion and oxygen infiltration.
Innovation Solution
Heating the die space and sheet edge to a temperature 10-200°C higher than the plastic material during the extrusion process, using a short extrusion die and controlled temperature to ensure strong adhesion and automation of the process, allowing for simultaneous application of strips to both edges without high pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a long die is used to furnish the sheet edge with a plastic strip, then the strip can be applied along the entire edge, but the die becomes expensive and complex, and high injection pressures are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional injection moulding mechanical system with a continuous extrusion system. Instead of using a complex injection moulding die to inject plastic material into a long die cavity, the invention uses a continuous extrusion process where plastic material is extruded directly along the moving sheet edge. This substitution eliminates the need for long, complex dies and high injection pressures while maintaining complete strip coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic elements by allowing the sheet to move continuously through the extrusion die during the strip application process. The extrusion die is designed to accommodate sheet movement, and the plastic material is extruded in real-time onto the moving sheet edge. This dynamic approach replaces the static, long die configuration with a compact, moving system that reduces complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If high injection moulding pressures are used to fill a long die, then the strip can be formed completely, but the process becomes difficult to control and automation is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the high-pressure injection moulding system with a low-pressure continuous extrusion system. The extrusion process operates at significantly lower pressures, allowing for easier control and integration with automated sheet handling systems. The continuous extrusion mechanism can be precisely controlled through motorized feed rates and extrusion speeds, enhancing automation capability while maintaining strip formation accuracy.
3Reliability
If the sheet edge is not preheated before applying the plastic strip, then the process is simpler, but the strip adhesion is insufficient and oxygen can infiltrate between the strip and sheet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary heating action to the sheet edge before the plastic material is extruded onto it. Heating elements positioned at the sheet edge raise the temperature of the sheet surface to facilitate better adhesion of the extruded plastic strip. This preliminary thermal preparation ensures strong bonding between the strip and sheet while preventing oxygen infiltration, and the heating system is integrated into the extrusion apparatus.
4Shape
If a ready-made profile strip is fitted on the sheet edge, then the strip shape is precise, but the method is difficult and sufficient fuse is not reached preventing oxygen infiltration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical fitting process of attaching ready-made profile strips with a thermal extrusion process. Plastic material is extruded in a molten or softened state directly onto the heated sheet edge, where it naturally conforms to the desired profile shape as it cools and solidifies. This eliminates the difficulty of mechanically fitting pre-formed strips while achieving precise profile accuracy through controlled extrusion geometry and thermal processing.
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 easy automation of strip application, compensates for sheet thickness variations, ensures strong adhesion through preheating and shrinking of the strip, and prevents oxygen infiltration, resulting in a reliable and efficient method for producing non-conductive sheet edges.
Implementation Method 1
the die space of the device is heated during the process and the sheet is heated in its edge portion at least 10-200° C. higher than the temperature of the plastic mass steered into the die
Implementation Method 2
by means of sheet edge preheating in the strip, a strong strip in the sheet keeping compression is achieved, and by cooling of the produced strip it is secured by shrinking which takes place lastly in the internal part of the strip
Data Source
AI summary
A method to furnish the edge portion of sheet (1) with a strip, as a strip (2) of plastic material using device (3) comprising a die space (7). The edge of sheet (1) is fitted inside device (3) that feeds plastic material to die space (7) and by means of restrictive organs (8) and die surfaces, of which device the escape of heated plastic material from a die space (7) is avoided, the sheet is arranged to move in regard to the feeding (3) device, the sheet edge being inside said device, die space (7) of device (3) is heated during the process.