Dosingneedle

For a highly automated bonding process, metal dosing needles have previously been used; these are components for the exact dosing of a highly viscous adhesive. Particularly resilient and wear-resistant components are needed here, because downtimes of production lines cause enormous costs – therefore the service life of the installed parts is of great importance. Bosch Advanced Ceramics, in close cooperation with the manufacturer STIWA, has now developed an alternative dosing needle made of technical ceramics using the 3D printing process. The dispensing needle has a unique internal geometry: an internal cone that tapers from a few millimetres to 0.8mm, while still having a complex curvature. This design could not be produced using conventional manufacturing technologies; only 3D printing can reproduce the component in all its complexity. The high precision of the Bosch Advanced Ceramics process also ensures the necessary low surface roughness. This allows the adhesive to flow through the bore with little friction.

In order to convey the adhesive precisely and continuously, it must flow through the bore with little friction. As it is an internal cone, no subsequent machining of the surface can take place: The manufacturing process must already have the required accuracy. This requirement also poses no difficulty for the 3D printing process from Bosch Ceramics.