Weld Positioning Clip for Uniform Cable Joint Encapsulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge during the encapsulation process of exposed cable joints is maintaining the correct position of the splice within the mold to ensure an adequate thickness of encapsulation sealant, which is often difficult to control, leading to potential insulation gaps.
Innovation Solution
A positioning clip with a loop-shaped body and outwardly extending posts is used to engage around the exposed conducting core of a cable. The posts maintain a minimum spacing between the mold and the clip, ensuring a consistent thickness of encapsulation sealant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mold cavity is oversized to minimize the risk of insufficient encapsulation material thickness, then the risk of insufficient insulation is reduced, but the join size becomes oversized causing packaging issues and fitting problems
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning clip is placed around the cable splice before the encapsulation process begins. The clip's posts are positioned to define the exact spacing required between the splice and mold wall, ensuring that when encapsulation material is injected, the minimum thickness is automatically maintained without requiring an oversized mold cavity.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning clip acts as an intermediary element between the cable splice and the mold cavity. It physically defines the spacing relationship, allowing the mold to be optimally sized while guaranteeing minimum encapsulation thickness through the clip's structural intervention rather than relying on oversized dimensions.
2Ease of manufacture
If the splice position in the mold is not precisely controlled, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but insufficient insulation thickness may occur on one side of the splice
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning clip is designed to be self-positioning within the mold cavity. Its posts engage with the mold walls to automatically establish the correct spacing, eliminating the need for complex positioning mechanisms or manual adjustment while ensuring uniform minimum insulation thickness around the splice.
3Manufacturing precision
If a positioning mechanism is added to control splice position, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning function is segmented into simple, discrete posts extending from the clip body. Each post independently defines the spacing in its local region, breaking down the complex positioning task into simple geometric elements that are easy to manufacture and assemble without requiring complex mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A cable clip for engaging around an exposed conducting core of a cable during an encapsulation process. The clip is formed as a rectilinear loop having an inner surface and an outer surface and opposed ends which define an opening in the loop therebetween by means of which the clip can be engaged around the exposed core. The clip has posts distributed around, and extending outwardly from, its outer surface. The posts engage with an inner surface in an encapsulation mold enclosed around the clip so as to maintain a minimum spacing between the mold and the outer surface of the body around the entire clip and thereby ensure a minimum thickness of encapsulation sealant is formed around the exposed core of the cable during the encapsulation process.