Slab Cooling with Controlled Air Flow and Flat Support
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing slabs using thermosetting resin binders often results in defects such as warping or twisting due to non-uniform heating, leading to 30% of slabs having deformations of up to 3-4 mm in length and 2 mm in width, making them unusable.
Innovation Solution
A method and device for uniform cooling of the slab surfaces using a controlled air flow at room temperature after high-temperature catalysis, ensuring the slab is statically supported on a perfectly flat, rigid metallic structure with spacers to maintain flatness and distribute cooling fluid uniformly, allowing the slab to readjust and assume a flat configuration as it cools below the glass transition temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If direct heat transmission from hot surfaces through moulding support to slab surfaces is used during hardening, then hardening process is simplified, but non-uniform heating occurs causing warping and twisting defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a moulding support as an intermediary element between the hot surfaces and the slab. This support structure distributes heat uniformly across the slab surfaces, preventing direct concentrated heating that causes warping. The moulding support acts as a thermal mediator that maintains uniform temperature distribution during the hardening process.
2Ease of manufacture
If slab is cooled naturally after hardening, then cooling process is simple, but deformations of 3-4 mm in length and 2 mm in width occur making slabs unusable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary cooling action immediately after the hardening process while the slab is still in the moulding support. The support structure is designed to facilitate controlled cooling from the outset, preventing deformations before they can develop. This preliminary cooling approach ensures the slab maintains its flat configuration as it cools, eliminating the need for complex post-cooling correction processes.
3Productivity
If 30% of slabs have deformations within tolerances, then production yield is reduced, but implementing uniform cooling systems increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The moulding support structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a heat distribution medium during hardening, provides a flat supporting surface for the slab, and facilitates uniform cooling after hardening. By making this single component multi-functional, the patent achieves high production yield without requiring separate complex cooling systems, as the same support structure handles both heating and cooling operations.
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 reduces deformations to within acceptable tolerances, with all slabs having maximum deformations of 1.0 mm lengthwise and 0.5 mm widthwise, ensuring flatness and usability.
Implementation Method 1
uniform cooling of the slab surfaces using a controlled air flow at room temperature
Implementation Method 2
high-temperature catalysis step
Implementation Method 3
catalytic step for polymerization of the thermosetting resin
Implementation Method 4
the slab being statically supported in a perfectly flat condition
Data Source
AI summary
During the manufacture of slabs of stone or stone-like material using the technology which envisages preparation of a mix formed by a granular product and by a binder consisting of a hardening synthetic resin, vacuum vibrocompression of a layer of said mix and hardening of the resultant rough slab by means of a catalytic action and by heating, the slab is cooled to room temperature by directing onto both its surfaces a flow of cooling fluid, in particular air at room temperature, while controlling the flowrate of the air, so as to ensure gradual and controlled cooling, and supporting the slab in a static and perfectly flat condition. The device consists of a flat structure provided with a plurality of spacers (20) which keep the slab in a perfectly flat condition and allow the flow of cooling fluid to perform its action.