Two-Arm Mold Holder with Kinematic Chain for Hollow Containers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Mold-holders with three arms for manufacturing hollow containers are bulky, heavy, complex, and expensive, making them difficult to position and assemble on molding machines, and can cause wear and sealing issues due to asynchronous rotations.
Innovation Solution
A modified mold-holder with two arms that uses a kinematic chain to allow rotation and translation movements of a mold with three radial sectors, featuring pins and slots for precise alignment and replacement, ensuring synchronous movements and reducing wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mold-holder with three arms is used to support a mold with three radial sectors, then the mold can be properly supported and operated, but the mold-holder becomes bulky, heavy, complex, and expensive, making positioning and assembling difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into three radial sectors that can be independently mounted on the two arms of the mold-holder. The first and second radial sectors are mounted on the first and second arms respectively, while the third radial sector is restrained through a kinematic chain. This segmentation allows the mold-holder to maintain stability with fewer arms, reducing complexity while preserving functional reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The third radial sector is restrained to both arms through a kinematic chain configured to cause it to make translation movement from and towards the axis of the mold-holder simultaneously with the rotation of the first and second arms. This dynamic restraint mechanism ensures synchronous movement and proper sealing without requiring a third arm, thereby reducing structural complexity while maintaining operational reliability.
2Reliability
If a mold-holder with three arms is used, then the mold with three radial sectors can be supported, but the mold-holder becomes more bulky and heavy
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the mold into three radial sectors and distributing them across two arms with a kinematic restraint, the system achieves the same support stability as a three-arm configuration would provide, but with significantly reduced weight since only two arms are required.
Solution Approach 2:
The third arm is extracted from the mold-holder structure entirely. Its function is replaced by the kinematic chain that restrains the third radial sector to both existing arms, eliminating the unnecessary weight of the third arm while maintaining the required support stability.
3Reliability
If a mold-holder with three arms is used, then the mold can be supported, but the mold-holder becomes more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The segmentation of the mold into three radial sectors mounted on two arms reduces the amount of material and manufacturing processes required compared to a three-arm configuration, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining support stability.
Solution Approach 2:
By extracting the third arm from the design, the manufacturing cost is reduced due to less material usage, simpler assembly procedures, and fewer manufacturing operations. The kinematic chain provides the necessary restraint functionality at lower cost than adding a full third arm.
4Device complexity
If a mold-holder with two arms is used, then the assembly is simpler and less expensive, but it cannot properly support a mold with three radial sectors
Solution Approach 1:
The kinematic chain acts as an intermediary mechanism that connects the third radial sector to both arms of the mold-holder. This intermediary structure enables the two-arm mold-holder to properly support and control the position of the third radial sector, achieving the same support capability as a three-arm configuration would provide.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic kinematic chain allows the third radial sector to move synchronously with the rotation of the arms while maintaining proper positioning and sealing. This dynamic restraint provides the necessary support capability with a simpler two-arm structure.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to a molding assembly (100) for the manufacturing of hollow containers, said molding assembly comprising a mold (200) and a mold-holder (300), wherein said mold (200) comprises a body (210) having a generally cylindrical shape provided with a flange radially protruding from its shell, said body (210) being made up of three separable radial sectors (212, 213, 214) and comprising an internal cavity (211) suitable to receive a preform of a container to be manufactured, and wherein said mold-holder (300) comprises a first and a second arms (310, 320) pivotally restrained to each other about an axis (B). A first and a second radial sectors (212, 213) of the mold (200) are respectively mounted on the first and second arms (310, 320) of the mold-holder (300) and are rotatable therewith about said axis (B), while a third radial sector (214) of the mold (200) is restrained to both the first arm and the second arm (310, 320) of the mold-holder (300) through a kinematic chain (410, 420, 510, 520) configured so as to cause the third radial sector (214) to make a translation movement from and towards the axis (B) of the mold-holder simultaneously with the rotation of the first and second arms (310, 320).