MICROWAVE ENERGY APPLICATION ONTO WET PARTS BETWEEN FORMING AND TRANSFER TOOLS

BACKGROUND

Various types of products may be fabricated from a pulp of material. Particularly, a pulp molding die that includes a forming mold and a wire mesh may be immersed in the pulp of material and the material in the pulp may form into the shape of the forming mold and the wire mesh. The main body and the wire mesh may have a desired shape of the product to be formed and may thus have a complex shape in some instances. The main body and the wire mesh may include numerous pores for liquid passage, in which the pores in the wire mesh may be significantly smaller than the pores in the main body. During formation of the product, a vacuum force may be applied through the pulp molding die, which may cause the material in the pulp to be sucked onto the wire mesh and form into a shape that matches the shape of the pulp molding die. The material may be removed from the wire mesh and excess liquid may be removed from the material through application of energy on the material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limited in the following figure(s), in which like numerals indicate like elements, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively, show diagrams of example apparatuses in which microwave energy may be applied to a wet part while the wet part is held within a molded fiber toolset;

FIG. 2A shows a diagram of an example forming tool during formation of a wet part from a slurry of fiber materials;

FIG. 2B shows a diagram of an example system that may include the example forming tool shown in FIG. 2A, an example transfer tool, and a microwave energy source; and

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of an example method for removing liquid from a wet part while the wet part is held between a forming tool and a transfer tool of a molded fiber toolset.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is described by referring mainly to examples. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be readily apparent however, that the present disclosure may be practiced without limitation to these specific details. In other instances, some methods and structures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present disclosure.

Throughout the present disclosure, the terms “a” and “an” are intended to denote at least one of a particular element. As used herein, the term “includes” means includes but not limited to, the term “including” means including but not limited to. The term “based on” means based at least in part on.

Following the formation of a wet part in a molded fiber toolset, the wet part may be placed in a dryer, e.g., an oven, a kiln, or the like. The dryer may apply heat to the wet part to cause the liquid in the wet part to evaporate. In applying the heat, the dryer may consume relatively large amounts of energy. In addition, the drying of the wet part by the dryer may add time to the manufacturing process of a molded fiber article thereby potentially being a bottleneck of the molded fiber article generation processes.

Disclosed herein are apparatuses that may include a molded fiber toolset and a microwave energy source that may apply microwave energy onto a wet part while the wet part is held within the molded fiber toolset. The molded fiber toolset may include a forming tool and a transfer tool. As discussed herein, the wet part may be formed on the forming tool from a slurry of fiber material and the transfer tool may be positioned such that the wet part is located between the forming tool and the transfer tool. In addition, while the wet part is located between the forming tool and the transfer tool, the microwave energy source may be controlled to apply microwave energy onto the wet part. That is, the wet part may receive the microwave energy applied by the microwave energy source through either or both of the forming tool and the transfer tool. According to examples, the transfer tool and/or the forming tool may be formed of a material through which the microwave energy may pass such that the microwave energy may pass through either or both of the transfer tool and/or the forming tool and into the wet part.

The application of the microwave energy onto the wet part may cause liquid in the wet part to be heated and evaporate. In this regard, the wet part may be de-watered and/or dried while the wet part is positioned between the transfer tool and the forming tool. As used herein, the de-watering of the wet part may be defined as the removal of some or all of the liquid in the wet part. The wet part may also be de-watered through application of pressure onto the wet part to squeeze liquid out of the wet part and/or through application of vacuum force through either or both of the forming tool and the transfer tool to draw liquid out of the wet part. In some examples, a vacuum force may be applied onto the wet part while the microwave energy is applied onto the wet part to extract gas, e.g., steam, that may be created during evaporation of the liquid from the wet part.

Through implementation of features of the present disclosure, the wet part may be dried while the wet part is positioned between the forming tool and the transfer tool, which may reduce warpage in the article formed from the wet part following the wet part being dried. In addition, in some examples, as the application of the microwave energy may dry the wet part, additional drying in a dryer or oven may not be performed. This may reduce the amount of time consumed in forming an article from the wet part while also reducing an amount of energy consumed in drying the wet part.

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B. FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively, show diagrams of example apparatuses 100 in which microwave energy 102 may be applied to a wet part 104 while the wet part 104 is located within a molded fiber toolset 110. FIG. 2A shows a diagram of an example forming tool 120 during formation of a wet part 104 from a slurry 202 of fiber materials 204 (or fibers 204). FIG. 2B shows a diagram of an example system 201 that may include the example forming tool 120 shown in FIG. 2A, an example transfer tool 130, and a microwave energy source 150. It should be understood that the example apparatuses 100 and 200 depicted in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B may include additional attributes and that some of the attributes described herein may be removed and/or modified without departing from the scopes of the example apparatuses 100, 200 and/or the example system 201.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 18, the molded fiber toolset 110 may include a forming tool 120 and a transfer tool 130. Particularly, FIGS. 1A and 1B depict cross-sectional side views of the forming tool 120, the transfer tool 130, and the wet part 104. It should be understood that the forming tool 120, the transfer tool 130, and the wet part 104 have been depicted as having certain shapes for purposes of illustration and should thus not be construed as limiting the forming tool 120, the transfer tool 130, and the wet part 104 to the shapes shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

As discussed herein, and as shown in FIG. 1B, a controller 140 may control a microwave energy source 150 to apply microwave energy 102 into the wet part 104 while the wet part 104 is held between the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130. In addition, either or both of the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 may be formed of microwavable materials, e.g., materials through which the microwave energy 102 may pass. As a result, the wet part 104 may be partially or completely dried while the wet part 104 is held between the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130, which may reduce or minimize the amount of time consumed in fabricating an article from the wet part 104. In addition, as the microwave energy source 150 may consume relatively less energy than a heating dryer, the amount of energy consumed in fabricating the article may also be reduced or minimized.

The forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 may be movable with respect to each other such that, for instance, the forming tool 120 may be separated from the transfer tool 130 during formation of the wet part 104 on the forming tool 120. For instance, as shown in FIG. 2A, the forming tool 120 may be positioned within a volume of a slurry 202 of fiber material 204 and the wet part 104 may be formed on the forming tool 120 while the forming tool 120 is positioned within the volume of the slurry 202 of fiber material 204. In some examples, the forming tool 120 may include a forming mold 206 and a forming screen 208. The forming screen 208 may be mounted onto the forming mold 206 and the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208 may have shapes to which the wet part 104 may be molded when formed on the forming screen 208.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the forming mold 206 may have a relatively larger thickness than the forming screen 208. The larger thickness of the forming mold 206 may cause the forming mold 206 to be substantially more rigid than the forming screen 208. The forming mold 206 may provide structural support for the forming screen 208. By way of particular non-limiting example, the forming screen 208 may have a thickness in the range of about 1 mm and 2 mm and the forming mold 206 may have a thickness in the range of about 5-8 mm. The thicknesses of the forming screen 208 and/or the forming mold 206 may be based on, for instance, characteristics of the molded fiber part, characteristics of the fiber 204, processes that the forming tool 120 is to undergo, and/or the like. The characteristics may include the type of the fiber 204 in the slurry 202, the concentration of the fiber 204 in the slurry 202, the sizes of the fiber 204 in the slurry 202, the pressures applied through the forming tool 120 during formation of the wet part 104, the lengths and widths of the forming tool 120, and/or the like. The thicknesses of the forming mold 206 and/or the forming screen 208 may thus vary for different types of forming machines and applications.

As also shown, the forming mold 206 may include holes 210 and the forming screen 208 may include pores 212, in which the holes 210 may have diameters that are larger than the diameters of the pores 212. For instance, the diameters of the holes 210 may be larger than the sizes of the fibers 204 whereas the diameters of the pores 212 may be smaller than the sizes of the fibers 204. That is, the pores 212 may have sufficiently small dimensions, e.g., diameters or widths, that may enable the liquid 205 to flow through the pores 212 while blocking the fibers 204 from flowing through the pores 212. In one regard, the diameters or widths of the pores 212 may be sized based on sizes of the fibers 204 in the slurry 202, e.g., the diameters of the pores 212 may be smaller than the sizes of the fibers 204. By way of particular non-limiting example, the pores 212 may have diameters of around 0.3 mm and around 0.9 mm, e.g., 0.6 mm, and the holes 210 may have diameters of around 1 mm and around 4 mm, e.g., 2 mm. However, in some instances, the pores 212 and/or the holes 210 may have irregular shapes as may occur during 3D fabrication processes and/or other shapes, such as hexagons, pentagons, triangles, etc.

According to examples, the liquid 205 may be water or another type of suitable liquid in which fibers 204 may be mixed into the slurry 202. The fibers 204, which may also be construed as a pulp material, may be fibers of paper, wood, fibrous crops, bamboo, and/or the like. In some examples, the forming mold 206 may be mounted onto a supporting structure (not shown), in which the supporting structure may be movable with respect to the slurry 202. The supporting structure may move the forming tool 120 into the slurry 202, for instance, as shown in FIG. 2A.

In some examples, the apparatuses 100, 200 may include a controller 140 that may control operations of the components in the apparatuses 100, 200. For instance, the controller 140 may control movement of the supporting structure to cause the forming tool 120 to be moved into the slurry 202. The controller 140 may be a computing device, a processor, an application specific integrated circuit, and/or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2B, in some examples, the forming tool 120 may be in communication with a plenum 209 to which a force application source 211 may be connected. The plenum 209, or equivalently, a duct 209, may be a space that may be provided for the flow of air from one area, e.g., the transfer tool 130 to another area, e.g., the force application source 211. The force application source 211 may be a vacuum device that may apply a vacuum pressure through the holes 210 in the forming mold 206 and the pores 212 in the forming screen 208. The controller 140 may control the force application source 211 to apply vacuum pressure through the holes 210 and the pores 212, which may cause some of the liquid 205 in the slurry 202 to be suctioned through the holes 210 and the pores 212 and flow into the plenum 209 as denoted by the arrows 214. As the liquid 205 flows through the holes 210 and the pores 212, the forming screen 208 may prevent the fibers 204 in the slurry 202 from flowing through the pores 212. As discussed herein, the force application source 211 may also be a pump or a blowing force device that may cause a blowing force to be applied through the holes 210 and the pores 212. In some examples, the airflow output by the force application source 211 may be reversible to cause the airflow to apply a vacuum force or a blowing force.

Over a period of time, which may be a relatively short period of time, e.g., about a few seconds, less than about a minute, less than about five minutes, or the like, some of the fibers 204 may build up on the forming screen 208. Particularly, some of the fibers 204 in the slurry 202 may be accumulated and compressed onto the forming screen 208 into the wet part 104 as shown in FIG. 2A. As the fibers 204 are accumulated, the wet part 104 may take the shape of the forming screen 208 and may have a relatively smooth first surface 203. The thickness and density of the wet part 104 may be affected by the types and/or sizes of the fibers 204 in the slurry 202, the length of time that the vacuum pressure is applied while the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208 are placed within the volume of the slurry 202, etc. That is, for instance, the wet part 104 may be formed to have a greater thickness the longer that the vacuum pressure is applied while the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208 are at least partially immersed in the slurry 202.

After the period of time, e.g., after the wet part 104 having desired properties, e.g., thickness, density, porosity of the fibers 204, concentration of the fibers 204, and/or the like, has been formed on the forming screen 208, the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208 may be removed from the volume of slurry 202. For instance, the controller 140 may cause a supporting structure onto which the forming tool 120 may be mounted may move the forming tool 120 away from the volume of slurry 202. In some examples, the supporting structure may rotate with respect to the volume of slurry 202 such that rotation of the movable mechanism may cause the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208 to be removed from the volume of slurry 202. In other examples, the supporting structure may be moved laterally or vertically with respect to the volume of slurry 202. As the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208 are removed from the volume, some of the excess slurry 202 may come off of the wet part 104. However, the wet part 104 may have a relatively high concentration of liquid 205.

Following the formation of the wet part 104 on the forming screen 208 and movement of the forming screen 208 and the wet part 104 out of the volume of slurry 202, the controller 140 may cause the transfer tool 130 to be positioned with respect to the forming tool 120. Particularly, as shown in FIG. 2B, the transfer tool 130 may be positioned such that the wet part 104 is sandwiched between the transfer tool 130 and the forming tool 120. In some examples, the controller 140 may cause the transfer tool 130 and the forming tool 120 to apply pressure onto the wet part 104, e.g., the transfer tool 130 may function as a press on the wet part 104, to cause some of the liquid 205 to be expelled from the wet part 104.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the transfer tool 130 may include a transfer mold 220, which may be supported on a movable supporting structure that the controller 140 may control to move the transfer tool 130 with respect to the forming tool 120. In some examples, the transfer tool 130 may also include a transfer screen 224 that may be mounted to the transfer mold 220. The transfer mold 220 may have a relatively larger thickness than the transfer screen 224, which may cause the transfer mold 220 to be substantially more rigid than the transfer screen 224. The transfer mold 220 may provide structural support for the transfer screen 224. By way of particular non-limiting example, the transfer screen 224 may have a thickness in the range of about 1 mm and 2 mm and the transfer mold 220 may have a thickness in the range of about 5-8 mm. The thicknesses of the transfer screen 224 and/or the transfer mold 220 may be based on, for instance, characteristics of the molded fiber part processes that the transfer tool 130 is to undergo and may be similar to those listed above with respect to the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208.

As also shown in FIG. 2B, the transfer mold 220 may include holes 222 and the transfer screen 224 may include pores 226, in which the holes 222 may have diameters that are larger than the diameters of the pores 226. For instance, the diameters of the holes 222 may be similar to the diameters of the holes 210 in the forming mold 206 and the diameters of the pores 226 may be similar to the diameters of the pores 212 in the forming screen 208 as discussed herein.

According to examples, a three-dimensional (3D) fabrication system may fabricate the forming screen 208 and/or the transfer screen 224. The 3D fabrication system (not shown) may be any suitable type of additive manufacturing system. Examples of suitable additive manufacturing systems may include systems that may employ curable binder jetting onto build materials (e.g., thermally or UV curable binders), print agent jetting onto build materials (e.g., fusing and/or detailing agents), selective laser sintering, stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, etc. In a particular example, the 3D fabrication system may form the forming screen 208 and/or the transfer screen 224 by binding and/or fusing build material particles together. In any of these examples, the build material particles may be any suitable type of material that may be employed in 3D fabrication processes, such as, a metal, a plastic (such as a nylon), a ceramic, an alloy, and/or the like. Generally speaking, higher functionality/performance forming and transfer screens 208, 224 may be those with the smallest pore size to block fibers 204 of smaller sizes, and hence some 3D fabrication system technologies may be more suited for generating the forming and transfer screens 208, 224 than others. In some examples, the 3D fabrication system may also fabricate the forming mold 206 together with or separately from the forming screen 208. Similarly, the 3D fabrication system may fabricate the transfer mold 220 together with or separate from the transfer screen 224.

As also shown in FIG. 2B, the transfer tool 130 may be in fluid communication with a plenum 223 to which the force application source 211 may be connected such that the force application source 211 may apply a vacuum pressure through the holes 222 in the transfer mold 220 and the pores 226 in the transfer screen 224. Although a common force application source 211 is depicted in FIG. 2B as applying vacuum force to both of the plenums 209, 223, it should be understood that vacuum force may be applied to the plenum 223 by a separate force application source.

The controller 140 may control the force application source 211 to apply the vacuum force through the holes 222 and the pores 226. Application of the vacuum pressure on the wet part 104 through the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 may result in some of the liquid 205 in the wet part 104 being removed from the wet part 104 as denoted by the arrows 214, 225. As a result, the application of the vacuum pressures through the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 may result in the wet part 104 being partially de-watered. The partial de-watering of the wet part 104 may reduce the amount of energy and time at which microwave energy 102 may be applied to dry the wet part 104.

Application of the vacuum pressure through the transfer tool 130 on the wet part 104 may further result in a surface contacting the transfer tool 130 having a contour that matches the contour of the transfer tool 130, e.g., the transfer screen 224. In addition, the contacting surface may be caused to have a relatively smooth surface. In some examples, the contacting surface may have a smoothness that is equivalent to the smoothness of the surface contacting the forming tool 120. In some examples, the contour of the transfer tool 130 may match the contour of the forming tool 120. In other examples, however, the contour of the transfer tool 130 may differ from the contour of the forming tool 120. For instance, the transfer tool 130 may include a ribbing structure that may cause the surface of the wet part 104 contacting the transfer tool 130 to have an embossed feature, such as a logo, text, and/or the like.

According to examples, the controller 140 may control a microwave energy source 150 to apply microwave energy 102 onto the wet part 104 while the wet part 104 is held between the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130. For instance, the microwave energy source 150 may emit energy 102 in the form of electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths that may range from about one meter to about one millimeter. In some examples, the wavelengths at which the microwave energy source 150 may emit energy 102 may be based on, e.g., tuned, to the removal of liquid 205 from the wet part 104. Thus, for instance, the wavelengths at which the microwave energy source 150 may emit the energy 102 may vary for wet parts 104 formed of different types of fibers 204, formed at different density levels, formed with different concentrations of liquid 105, and/or the like. The wavelengths at which the microwave energy source 150 may emit the energy 102 may be determined through testing, historical data, simulations, modeling, and/or the like.

The application of the microwave energy 102 may cause the liquid 205, which may be water, inside of the wet part 104 to become heated and evaporate. The application of the microwave energy 102 may thus de-water (partially dry) or completely dry the wet part 104 while the wet part 104 is located between the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130. In some examples, the controller 140 may deactivate the force application source 211 during application of the microwave energy 102 onto the wet part 104. In other examples, the controller 140 may activate the force application source 211 during at least part of the application of the microwave energy 102 onto the wet part 104. In these examples, the vacuum force may extract gas, e.g., steam, that may be created during evaporation of the liquid 205 from the wet part 104, which may facilitate formation of an article from the wet part 104 having intended features.

According to examples, the forming tool 120 and/or the transfer tool 130 may be formed of microwavable materials. In other words, the forming tool 120, e.g., the forming mold 206 and the forming screen 208, and/or the transfer tool 130, e.g., the transfer mold 220 and the transfer screen 224, may each be formed of materials that are safe for use in microwave energy applications. The forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 may be formed of materials that may not become overheated and may thus not damage the wet part 104. Examples of suitable materials for the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 may include plastic, glass, microwavable metals, ceramics, microwave safe metallic alloys, and/or the like. In any of these examples, the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 may be fabricated through additive 3D fabrication processes.

According to examples, the apparatuses 100, 200 and the system 201 may include a microwave energy enclosure 160 that may at least partially enclose the molded fiber toolset 110 as shown in FIG. 1B. The inner walls of the microwave energy enclosure 160 may be composed of any suitable material that may reflect the microwave energy 102 applied into the enclosure 160. For instance, the inner walls of the microwave energy enclosure 160 may be formed of a metallic material, such as silver, copper, and/or the like. The reflection of the microwave energy 102 may increase the amount of microwave energy 102 being directed into the wet part 104. In addition, the microwave energy enclosure 160 may include openings through which the energy 102 may be directed into the enclosure 160. The microwave energy enclosure 160 may also include openings through which vacuum pressure may be applied through the molded fiber toolset 110 to, for instance, remove liquid 205 from the wet part 104.

The openings in the microwave energy enclosure 160 may have any suitable shape, such as circular, rectangular, hexagonal, or the like. In addition, the openings may be sized to enable sufficient air pressure to be generated in the plenums 209. 223 to cause at least an intended amount of vacuum force to be applied onto the wet part 104 through the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130. The sizes and/or the shapes of the openings in the microwave energy enclosure 160 may be determined through testing, historical data, modeling, simulations, and/or the like.

In some examples, the microwave energy enclosure 160 may include a first portion 162 and a second portion 164, in which the first portion 162 and/or the second portion 164 may be movable with respect to each other. For instance, the first portion 162 may be mounted to or may otherwise move with the transfer tool 130 and the second portion 164 may be mounted to or may otherwise move with the forming tool 120. In these examples, the transfer tool 130, the forming tool 120, and the wet part 104 may be enclosed within the microwave energy enclosure 160 when the transfer tool 130 is positioned with respect to the forming tool 120 to hold the wet part 104.

In other examples, the microwave energy enclosure 160 may extend at a distance from the molded fiber toolset 110 and may enclose the molded fiber toolset 110 while the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 are at any of multiple positions with respect to each other. In these examples, the microwave energy enclosure 160 may provide shielding around multiple molded fiber toolsets 110 within a molded fiber machine.

In some examples, following a predefined length of time after the transfer tool 130 has been positioned on the wet part 104 and the microwave energy 102 has been applied, the wet part 104 may be dried. In addition, the dried part may be removed from the forming screen 208. The predefined length of time may correspond to a length of time during which the microwave energy 102 and/or the vacuum force may be applied onto the wet part 104 to dry the wet part 104, e.g., cause the wet part 104 to have at most a predefined amount of moisture. The predefined length of time may depend upon any of a number of factors, such as the concentration of the liquid 205 in the wet part 104, the density at which the fibers 204 are arranged in the wet part 104, the amount of vacuum force applied, the amount of microwave energy 102 applied, and/or the like. In addition, the predefined length of time may be determined through testing, modeling, simulations, and/or the like.

In other examples, the apparatus 100 may include a moisture sensor (not shown) that may detect the moisture content in the wet part 104 as the microwave energy 102 is applied onto the wet part 104. A section of the moisture sensor may be positioned within either or both of the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 such that the section may contact top and/or bottom surfaces of the wet part 104. In addition, the controller 140 may receive the detected moisture content in the wet part 104 and may control the microwave energy source 150 to apply the microwave energy 102 until the moisture content in the wet part 104 is determined to have reached a certain intended level. In these examples, the length of time at which the microwave energy 102 is applied may not be predefined, but instead, may vary from wet part 104 to wet part 104.

To remove the dried part from the forming screen 208, the controller 140 may control the force application source 211 to continue to apply the vacuum force onto the dried part through the transfer tool 130 while the transfer tool 130 is moved in a direction away from the forming tool 120. In addition, the controller 140 may control the force application source 211 to cease application of the vacuum force through the forming tool 120 while the transfer tool 130 is moved away from the forming tool 120. In other examples, the controller 140 may control the force application source 211 to apply a blowing force through the pores 212 of the forming screen 208 to push the dried part off of the forming screen 208 toward the transfer tool 130.

The controller 140 may continue to control the force application source 211 to apply the vacuum force onto the dried part while the transfer tool 130 is continued to be moved away from the forming tool 120. When the transfer tool 130 reaches a certain destination, such as a location corresponding to a next phase in a process of forming an article, the transfer tool 130 may release the dried part from the transfer screen 224. For instance, the transfer tool 130 may transfer the dried part from the forming tool 120 to a conveyor that may carry the dried part for visual inspection. To release the dried part from the transfer tool 130, the controller 140 may cause the force application source 211 to cease application of the vacuum force onto the dried part. In some examples, the controller 140 may control the force application source 211 to apply a blowing force through the transfer tool 130 to push the dried part off of the transfer screen or transfer tool 130.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown a flow diagram of an example method 300 for removing liquid from a wet part 104 while the wet part 104 is located between a forming tool 120 and a transfer tool 130 of a molded fiber toolset 110. It should be understood that the example method 300 depicted in FIG. 3 may include additional attributes and that some of the attributes described herein may be removed and/or modified without departing from the scope of the method 300.

At block 302, a wet part 104 is formed on a forming tool 120 from a slurry 202 of fiber material 204. As discussed herein, a controller 140 may control a movable mechanism on which the forming tool 120 is mounted to insert the forming tool 120 into a volume of the slurry 202. The controller 140 may also control a force application source 211 to cause suction force to be applied through the forming tool 120, in which the suction force may cause some of the fiber 204 to be compressed onto the forming tool 120 and form into the wet part 104.

At block 304, a transfer tool 130 applies pressure onto the wet part 104 formed on the forming tool 120. As discussed herein, the controller 140 may control the movable mechanism on which the forming tool 120 is mounted to move the forming tool 120 out of the slurry 202. In addition, the controller 140 may control a movable mechanism on which the transfer tool 130 is mounted to move the transfer tool 130 toward and engage the wet part 104 on the forming tool 120. As shown in FIG. 2B, the wet part 104 may be held between the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130.

At block 306, while the wet part 104 is located between the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130, microwave energy 102 is applied onto the wet part 104 to remove liquid 205 from the wet part 104. For instance, the controller 140 may control the microwave energy source 150 to apply microwave energy 102 onto the molded fiber toolset 110 while the wet part 104 is held within the molded fiber toolset 110. As discussed herein, the controller 140 may also control a force application source 211 to apply vacuum forces onto the molded fiber toolset 110 to pull liquid 205 from the wet part 104 while the wet part 104 is held within the molded fiber toolset 110. The controller 140 may further control the movable mechanism on which the transfer tool 130 is mounted to move the transfer tool 130 closer to the forming tool 120 while the wet part 104 is positioned between the forming tool 120 and the transfer tool 130 to squeeze some of the liquid 205 out of the wet part 104. The controller 140 may still further control the movable mechanism to move the transfer tool 130 away from the forming tool 120 while vacuum pressure is applied on opposite sides of the wet part 104 to de-densify the wet part 104.

Some or all of the operations set forth in the method 300 may be included as utilities, programs, or subprograms, in any desired computer accessible medium. In addition, the method 300 may be embodied by computer programs, which may exist in a variety of forms both active and inactive. For example, they may exist as machine-readable instructions, including source code, object code, executable code or other formats. Any of the above may be embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

Examples of non-transitory computer readable storage media include computer system RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and magnetic or optical disks or tapes. It is therefore to be understood that any electronic device capable of executing the above-described functions may perform those functions enumerated above.

Although described specifically throughout the entirety of the instant disclosure, representative examples of the present disclosure have utility over a wide range of applications, and the above discussion is not intended and should not be construed to be limiting, but is offered as an illustrative discussion of aspects of the disclosure.

What has been described and illustrated herein is an example of the disclosure along with some of its variations. The terms, descriptions and figures used herein are set forth by way of illustration and are not meant as limitations. Many variations are possible within the scope of the disclosure, which is intended to be defined by the following claims—and their equivalents—in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.

MICROWAVE ENERGY APPLICATION ONTO WET PARTS BETWEEN FORMING AND TRANSFER TOOLS

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