Toggle Joint Sealing Adjustment in Injection Molding Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Long-term operation of injection molding machines leads to wear of seal members, necessitating frequent maintenance for replacement, which affects maintainability.
Innovation Solution
An injection molding machine design featuring a toggle mechanism with a bush, connection pins, a lubricant supply and discharge channel, a seal member, and an adjustable tightening mechanism to maintain sealing performance between the seal member and connection pin, allowing for improved maintainability by extending the seal member's lifespan.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the injection molding machine is operated for a long time, then productivity is improved, but the seal member is worn and maintenance frequency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pressing member is made adjustable to dynamically adapt to the wear of the seal member. By changing the pressing force according to the seal member's wear state, the system maintains optimal sealing performance throughout the operational lifecycle, extending the seal member's usable life and reducing maintenance frequency while ensuring continuous productive operation.
2Reliability
If the seal member is tightened to improve sealing performance, then reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the tightening mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The pressing force parameter is made adjustable through the tightening mechanism. By changing this parameter according to the seal member's wear state, optimal sealing performance is maintained. The mechanism allows parameter adjustment without requiring complex structural changes, balancing reliability improvement with device simplicity.
3Reliability
If the seal member is replaced frequently to maintain sealing performance, then reliability is maintained, but loss of time increases due to maintenance interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The tightening mechanism allows for preliminary adjustment of the pressing force before the seal member becomes completely worn. By proactively adjusting the pressing force as wear progresses, the seal member's service life is extended, and maintenance is performed less frequently, reducing downtime and maintaining reliability.
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 design enables adjustable sealing performance, allowing for prolonged use of seal members and reducing the frequency of maintenance, thereby enhancing the maintainability of the injection molding machine.
Implementation Method 1
a supply channel through which a lubricant is supplied to a bearing gap which is a gap between the bush and the connection pin
Implementation Method 2
a seal member which seals the bearing gap
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
An injection molding machine (10) includes a toggle mechanism (150) which connects a movable platen (120) and a rear platen (130) . The toggle mechanisms (150) includes a plurality of links (151, 152, 153, 154), a first connection portion (40) which connects the movable platen (120) and the link (152), a second connection portion (40) which connects the links (152, 153) to each other, and a third connection portion (40) which connects the rear platen (130) and the link (154). At least one of the first to third connection portions (40) includes a bush (55), a connection pin (50) which is inserted into the bush (55), a supply channel (62, 63) through which a lubricant is supplied to a bearing gap (65) which is a gap between the bush (55) and the connection pin (50), a discharge channel (67, 68) through which the lubricant is discharged from the bearing gap (65), a seal member (70) which seals the bearing gap (65), and a tightening mechanism (73, 73A) for tightening the seal member (70).