Additive Manufactured Spectacle Temple Core Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional additive manufacturing processes for eyeglass temples, such as SLS, struggle to integrate a metal core or wire due to material properties and manufacturing limitations, resulting in limited adjustability and potential damage during core insertion, leading to suboptimal fit and visual imperfections.
Innovation Solution
Employing a flexible cannula for blowing out or sucking out loose powder from the channel in the temple blank, allowing precise insertion of a core without damaging the structure, and using a sharpened core that rotates during insertion to follow the curvature, along with strategic channel design and closure options to prevent powder escape during dyeing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a metal core is shot into an additively manufactured temple blank, then adjustability is improved, but the material structure is damaged and visual imperfections occur
Solution Approach 1:
The channel is pre-formed during the additive manufacturing process itself, rather than attempting to insert the core into an intact blank. This preliminary creation of the insertion pathway prevents damage to the material structure while enabling subsequent core insertion for adjustability
Solution Approach 2:
The temple blank is segmented into distinct regions: a channel portion formed during printing and a surrounding material portion. This segmentation allows the core to be inserted into the channel without compromising the integrity of the overall material structure
2Adaptability or versatility
If a channel is formed in the temple blank during additive manufacturing, then core insertion is enabled, but loose powder remains in the channel causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
Loose powder is actively removed from the channel through extraction methods such as blowing with compressed air or suction, preventing contamination while maintaining the channel structure for core insertion
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary substance (blowing agent or suction medium) is introduced to remove the harmful loose powder from the channel, mediating between the channel structure and the core insertion process
3Ease of operation
If the temple material is heated for core insertion, then deformability is improved, but the material becomes brittle and may break
Solution Approach 1:
The channel is pre-formed during additive manufacturing before any heating or core insertion attempts. This eliminates the need to heat the material for channel creation, maintaining material strength while still enabling deformability during subsequent adjustment processes
4Ease of operation
If the channel is left open for core insertion, then accessibility is improved, but powder escapes during dyeing and processing
Solution Approach 1:
Loose powder is extracted from the channel before processing steps like dyeing begin, preventing powder escape while maintaining channel openness for core insertion
Solution Approach 2:
Powder removal is performed as a preliminary action before dyeing and other processing steps, ensuring the channel remains accessible for core insertion while preventing contamination during subsequent 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
Enables the successful integration of a core into additively manufactured eyeglass temples, enhancing adjustability and reducing the risk of damage or visual imperfections, while maintaining the structural integrity and aesthetic quality of the temples.
Implementation Method 1
blowing out the channel by means of compressed air
Implementation Method 2
sucking out the loose powder from the channel
Implementation Method 3
additive manufacturing process, such as selective laser sintering (SLS)
Implementation Method 4
the core is rotated about its own longitudinal axis during its introduction into the channel
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing spectacle temples (1) with a core (20), such as a metal or plastic core, wherein the blank of the individual spectacle temples is manufactured ("printed") in an additive manufacturing process, such as selective laser sintering (SLS), using a suitable plastic. During the manufacturing process (printing process), an elongated channel (2) is formed (co-printed) within the temple blank (1) along its longitudinal axis, wherein the channel (2) of the temple blank is open at one of its ends and thus has a channel entry opening. Subsequently, after blowing, suctioning, or rinsing out any loose powder from the channel, the core (20) is inserted into the channel (2) of the temple blank (1).