Hyperelastisch materiaal
People Creating Value is a design company for integrated product development. At People Creating Value, professionals from different disciplines work together to devise and apply new ideas. This includes all activities required, from a simple product idea – via a product portfolio – to a full-fledged product. A metal ring covered with a silicone ring is placed in an automatic used coffee maker. The silicone ring must be cleaned so now and then. During the cleaning operation this ring must be taken out. This can only be done by a qualified maintenance technician. When too much force is used there is a danger of spilling liquids and damaging components. The force of this hyper-elastic ring required for this material should ideally be between 10 and 14 N.
Strength calculations
The existing model is tested in the FEM software with a non-linear simulation of a hyper-elastic material to determine the force required for disassembly. The forces are consistent with laboratory testing of the existing model. Based on the experience with the non-linear model, a new design is proposed, and the disassembly force is now 11 N. Resulting in a new prototype for testing.
A metal ring covered with a silicone ring is used in an automatic coffee maker. The silicone ring must be removed from the machine during the cleaning operation. This can be done by a qualified service man using, and ideally a gentle force sould be used in order to avoid spilling of liquids. The force required for this from this hyper-elastic material should ideally be between 10 and 14 N.
Strength calculations
The new geometry showed a gradual build-up of force, and in the lab the maximum forces were between 11 and 14 N. It was then decided to market the product worldwide. This improvement project subsequently led to greater customer satisfaction. The time to market was short, and resulted in an appropriate customer satisfaction.
Project presentation on COMSOL conference 2013: