Vacuum Table Spacer Array for Flat Bed Printer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum tables with metal honeycomb spacers face high air resistance and costly suction system requirements due to the need for extensive airflow hole drilling, which increases production time and costs.
Innovation Solution
A spacer array formed by accurately dimensioned plates with through-holes, connected by a connection element that maintains the flatness of the medium support surface, allowing for low air resistance and easy, cost-effective manufacturing through punching and bending processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a metal honeycomb structure is used as a spacer, then the vacuum table achieves lightweight and rigid support, but the air resistance through the spacer becomes relatively high, requiring a high power suction system
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer is divided into multiple individual spacer elements arranged in an array, each with through-holes. This segmentation allows air to flow through multiple parallel paths simultaneously, reducing overall air resistance and the power required by the suction system, while maintaining structural rigidity through the distributed array configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer employs a porous plate structure with through-holes instead of a solid honeycomb structure. This porous design enables direct air flow through the spacer material itself, significantly reducing air resistance compared to the tortuous flow paths in honeycomb structures, thereby lowering the power consumption of the suction system.
2Reliability
If extensive airflow holes are drilled in the metal honeycomb structure, then adequate suction is provided to all vacuum holes, but the production time and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple spacer elements with through-holes are combined into a single integrated spacer array structure. This merging approach provides adequate suction distribution across all vacuum holes while eliminating the need for extensive individual hole drilling in a solid structure, thereby reducing production time and costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The through-holes are formed in the spacer plates during the manufacturing process itself, before assembly. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent time-consuming drilling operations to create airflow holes, as the air flow paths are already established in the finished spacer components.
3Manufacturing precision
If the spacer provides sufficient structural support for the medium support surface, then flatness is maintained for print quality, but the air resistance increases requiring higher power suction
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer array segments the support function across multiple individual spacer elements distributed throughout the medium support surface. This segmentation maintains structural support and flatness while creating multiple parallel air flow paths that reduce overall air resistance and power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
Each spacer element in the array provides localized structural support and localized air flow capability. This local quality approach ensures that flatness is maintained across the entire surface while air can flow through numerous local paths simultaneously, reducing the power required for suction.
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 reduces air resistance, lowers power consumption of the suction system, and decreases production costs by simplifying assembly and reducing the number of components, achieving a more efficient and affordable vacuum table.
Implementation Method 1
The medium is held onto the medium support surface by a suction force applied via vacuum holes in the medium support surface
Implementation Method 2
The suction force applied via vacuum holes creates a pressure difference between the medium support surface and the atmosphere
Implementation Method 3
The spacer provides an airflow distribution manifold for providing a vacuum to all the vacuum holes in the medium support surface
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4B
Figure 4C~5B
AI summary
A vacuum table for a wide format printing system, wherein a medium support surface with vacuum holes therein is spaced apart from a bottom plate by a spacer array. The spacer array is formed by an integrally formed spacer structure with a first and a second longitudinal plate positioned between the bottom plate and the medium support surface. These plates comprise a plurality of air flow through-holes as well as a top support edge and a bottom support edge extending equidistantly to one another. A connection element connects the first longitudinal plates and is positioned between the bottom support plane and the top support plane.The use of longitudinal plates allows the spacer to be cheaply and easily produced by punching. The plates further offer the advantage of a low air flow resistance while maintaining a high rigidity of the spacer array.