Thin-Walled Optical Obturator Using High-Flow Polycarbonate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art optical obturators with integral tips and shafts face challenges in manufacturing thin-walled designs due to material limitations, leading to increased trauma during surgery and higher production costs compared to multiple-piece designs.
Innovation Solution
A single-piece optical obturator is injection molded using high-flow polycarbonate material with a wall thickness less than 1.11 mm, featuring an integral tip and shaft, facilitated by a specialized injection mold with core support pins and multiple gates to ensure complete filling and reduced viscosity, allowing for visualization and reduced trauma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If prior art single-piece optical obturators are injection molded with standard materials, then the obturator can be manufactured as a complete part, but the wall thickness must be relatively thick (about 1.18 mm or larger) making it difficult to mold and increasing patient trauma
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter by using high-flow polycarbonate material with specific flow properties that enable injection molding of thin-walled structures. This material parameter change allows the wall thickness to be reduced from 1.18 mm or larger to thinner dimensions while maintaining moldability and structural integrity during the injection molding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite approach by combining high-flow polycarbonate material with a specifically designed injection mold system that includes core support pins and multiple gates. This composite solution of material and tooling design enables the manufacturing of thin-walled single-piece optical obturators that would otherwise be difficult to mold.
2Strength
If prior art optical obturators use multiple-piece design with stainless steel shaft and bonded plastic tip, then structural strength is improved, but manufacturing cost increases due to fabrication cost, raw material cost, and assembly operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the shaft and tip into a single integrated component molded from high-flow polycarbonate material. This eliminates the need for separate stainless steel shaft fabrication, separate plastic tip injection molding, and the bonding assembly operation between them. The unified design maintains structural strength while significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adopts a disposable single-piece plastic obturator design that eliminates expensive stainless steel materials and complex assembly processes. The high-flow polycarbonate material provides sufficient strength for single-use surgical applications while being far more cost-effective than metal-based multi-component designs.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the wall thickness of optical obturator is reduced to minimize patient trauma, then patient trauma is reduced, but the obturator becomes difficult to mold as a complete single-piece part
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material flow parameters by using high-flow polycarbonate material that can successfully fill thin-walled mold cavities during injection molding. This material parameter change enables the production of obturators with reduced wall thickness that minimize patient trauma while remaining manufacturable as complete single-piece parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces core support pins as intermediary elements in the injection mold tooling system. These pins provide structural support during the injection molding process, enabling the successful formation of thin-walled structures that would otherwise be too difficult to mold. The core support pins act as a mediator between the molding process and the thin-walled part geometry.
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
The solution enables the production of a thin-walled, cost-effective optical obturator that minimizes patient trauma and maintains visualization capabilities, while reducing manufacturing costs by eliminating secondary assembly operations.
Implementation Method 1
injecting a transparent, molten polymeric material that has high flow properties into the injection mold
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a thin-wall, single-piece optical obturator having an integral tip and shaft. The invention includes providing an injection mold defining a mold cavity having a core pin positioned within the mold cavity. The mold includes at least one gate and multiple core support pins between the core pin and the mold cavity walls, with at least one primary core support pin positioned on a side opposite the at least one gate. The method also includes injecting a transparent molten polymeric material having high flow properties into the injection mold such that the polymeric material flows between the surface of the mold cavity and the core pin. The core support pins substantially prevent the core pin from shifting while the polymeric material is injected into the mold. The high-flow nature of the polymeric material allows for complete filling of the mold cavity.