- Client
- MEDIA MIX s.r.o.
- Software
- SolidWorksMotion StudyVisualize
- Type
- Design concept
- Role
- Concept design, 3D model and animation
Introduction
MEDIA MIX makes products from polyurethane foam cast in a mould. So that the product doesn't stick in the mould, release agent has to be applied before every pour, and that is done by hand.
The cycle went like this: the mould opens, the operator sprays on release agent, pours the foam, the mould closes and, after curing, the product is pulled out. Then the release agent is applied by hand again for the next piece. The company asked me whether this step could be automated.
The mould is opened by two large pistons, which the production already has. I connected a simple mechanism to them: one piston lifts the upper half of the mould vertically, and the other slides along rails a structure made of copper tubes with nozzles at the ends between the two halves. The nozzles spray release agent onto both parts of the mould, and the structure moves back out.
I didn't get the mould dimensions or drawings, so I measured everything needed by hand. The frame is a plain welded structure of hollow steel sections, which any workshop can build. I modelled the whole cycle in SolidWorks, moved it in Motion Study and rendered it in SolidWorks Visualize as an animation with step-by-step labels.
Video
01Whole cycle in an animation with labels
Result
The operator would only pour the foam and pull out the finished product; the release agent would be applied automatically, the same way every time. The step that repeats for every piece goes away, and with it the need to reach into an open mould by hand.
I'm not giving the dimensions, wiring or anything about the client's production here; I only show the model and the animation of the principle.
Specifications
- cycle without manual application
- Faster
- operator doesn't reach into an open mould
- Safer
- Drive
- Two pistons: mould lift and nozzle slide-in
- Application
- Copper tubes with nozzles, travel along rails
- Frame
- Welded from hollow steel sections
- Dimensions
- Measured by hand, not disclosed
What I learned
01
No data from the client
I didn't have the mould drawings. I measured the dimensions on site by hand and built the concept around them.
02
Getting the nozzles to both halves
Release agent has to cover both the upper and the lower mould part. So the mould is first lifted, and the copper tubes with nozzles travel between the two halves.
03
Production as simple as possible
The structure had to be buildable without special parts: a welded frame of hollow steel sections, rails and two pistons.