RP technology reflected in innovative packaging design and processing

Packaging design includes structural design, modeling design and decorating design. The structural design mainly solves the problems of scientificity and technology, embodies the containment, protection and convenience; the design is the use of aesthetic rules (point, line, surface, body and other forms of elements of the law) on the three-dimensional packaging The artistic design of the appearance mainly solves the problems of artistry and psychology, reflecting display and display. The two are complementary but independent.

Packaging structure design is the basis of packaging design. Different structural designs have a direct impact on the appearance of the packaging. Each innovative structure design also requires an innovative shape to match.

The same structural design can be used with different designs, but it is not possible to change the structural design based on the design. The sculptural expression techniques are flexible and can promote moderate structural adjustments. In particular, the shaped cosmetic bottle and shaped condiment bottle in the packaging product may be various shapes of polyhedrons, elliptic cylinders, combinations of various rotating bodies, and other art shapes other than ordinary round bottles.

These containers have different appearances and are updated rapidly. In design, they must pay more attention to the innovation of structure and styling. At the same time, it should take into account its complex structure, poor force, bottle thickness, special mold design and manufacturing, low production efficiency, is not suitable for automated production, production and transportation costs are higher issues.

Traditional packaging CAD three-dimensional model can not provide sufficient space and convenience for this kind of design and processing. RP technology has obvious advantages in this respect with its distinctive features. Now we use RP technology for the model of innovative packaging design and manufacturing. Explore as follows.

1. Innovative packaging design

In the stage of new product development, designers use drawings or computer simulation to express and display the structure and shape of packaged products. This is not intuitive, and it is not conducive to making correct judgments and modifications, which hinders timely access to market feedback information. .

If RP technology and equipment are used, the molding machine does not need a lot of installation cost and profound manufacturing process knowledge. It can quickly and inexpensively provide 3D solid model and sample in the design room for designers to directly measure and accept the user's direct Evaluation, at the same time can quickly make repeated changes in the structural model, the cost is not high.

Even if the design meets the expected structure, shape, and functional requirements, the new product design cycle and market evaluation cycle are greatly shortened, so that the product can be quickly and easily put into production and occupy the market in advance. According to statistics, 43% of rapid prototyping products are used to confirm the design.

2. Packaging product processing

Since the RP technology is not limited by the complexity of the container structure and the processing speed is high, it can directly realize the production of single pieces of plastic and ceramic packaging containers. It can also be used to make molds for plastic and ceramic containers. Mold manufacturing can be divided into two methods: indirect molding and direct molding. Indirect mold making is to use RP technology to make the product master mold, and then according to the master mold to produce plastic or metal molds.

Such as: according to the mother model replica silicon rubber mold production of metal parts, plastic parts or injection mold, or according to the mother model replica hard epoxy resin mold, manufacturing injection mold. It is also possible to use a master mold instead of a wood mold to make a sand mold and produce injection molds or metal parts. Or use RP die for investment casting. In direct molding, selective laser sintering (SLS) is mainly used to directly make metal molds. The metal powder is coated with an easily-disappearing polymer, a metal bonded body is obtained by selective laser sintering, the resin is decomposed and disappeared at a certain temperature, and the shaped metal powder is sintered at a high temperature to obtain a metal sintered part.

This sintering is often a low-density porous structure that can penetrate the metal with a lower melting point of the second phase and form the metal mold directly. The steel copper alloy injection mold produced by this method can have a life of more than 50,000 pieces.

Packaging design is a dynamic design activity whose vitality lies in continuous innovation. Especially in the fierce competition of goods, the time-related problem of packaging design is particularly prominent. RP technology is precisely because of its distinctive features and advantages to meet the rapidly changing market needs and become an effective means to achieve innovative design. Its prospects are very broad. Of course, as RP technology is still in the development stage, the molding accuracy and mechanical properties of the products need to be further improved.

The United States has the most applications of RP technology and equipment in the world, followed by the European Community and Japan. China's statistics in 1996 have imported 12 sets of various types of molding machines. In 1997, at the China International Machine Tool Exhibition, domestic AFS-300 SL molding machines and F-260 FDM molding machines were exhibited. This indicates that China's RP technology and equipment have entered the practical stage and will form an industry. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to study the use of rapid prototyping technology for innovative packaging design and manufacturing.