Purge Valve Redesign to Avoid Leaking

OVERVIEW

Joe Tools, the Seeker for this Wazoku Crowd Challenge, is seeking innovative redesigns or new approaches to prevent leakage from purge valves, used as a key part in extrusion tooling.

The purge valve is a critical component in extrusion techniques, used to remove residual material, contaminants, and degraded polymer from the extruder. This is achieved by rotating the purge valve to redivert the flow of heated plastic downwards, to bleed excess or unwanted material towards the ground in a process known as ‘purging’.

While the current purge valves are effective in the main, there are still issues with leakage and broken seals. Joe Tools is using this open innovation Challenge to explore Solver techniques to improve or rethink the purge valve’s design, becoming more efficient and less faulty, while still remaining simple for the operators on the production line.

Solvers are asked to provide detailed descriptions and designs/blueprints/models of their new or improved purge valve which reduces leakage from the component and is able to be recreated in multiple sizes.

Your IP Rights are protected in this Prize Challenge; Joe Tools must award you to obtain them.

The best solution has the opportunity to win the award of $20,000 for meeting all solution requirements. This Challenge requires a written proposal to be submitted and Awards will be contingent upon the theoretical evaluation of the proposal by Joe Tools against the Solution Requirements. To receive an Award, Solvers are required to assign exclusive rights to the Intellectual Property (IP) in their proposed solution. Solvers will retain all rights to any proposal not Awarded.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on May 5th, 2025.

Please review the later Participation Guidance section before submitting a proposal.

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ABOUT THE SEEKER

Ever since its establishment in 2007, Joe Tools has been a cornerstone in the extrusion tooling sector, offering top-tier products at competitive prices.

Situated in metropolitan Atlanta, Joe Tools is your trusted partner for premium extrusion products, including our distinguished Crossheads, Tips, Dies, and Breaker Plates. With our expertise and commitment, Joe Tools is dedicated to enhancing your production efficiency and success.

THE CHALLENGE

Background

Extrusion is a commonly-used technique in manufacturing, used to shape material by forcing it through a small opening (a ‘die’) with the desired dimensions. This material (usually superheated metal or molten plastic) is pushed along a ‘barrel’ with sufficient force and pressure applied by a ‘ram’, pushing the material through the die to shape it to size/configuration. This process can be used in conjunction with other extrusion application products and accessories like tips, breaker plates, flanges, or crossheads, depending on the final characteristics required.

Manufacturers like Joe Tools use extrusion tools daily to create thousands of products. Extrusion is often responsible for applying coating to wires, cables, and tubing, used across many industries, including telecoms, electronics, and construction.

In order to change the materials used in extrusion processes, remove contaminants, or close out a production line for the day, purge valves are used to remove the molten material from the barrel. Purge valves are placed at strategic points along the barrel or installed just before the die.

Typical purge valves are made of steel or high-performance plastic, depending on the need and characteristics of material used in the extrusion process. Joe Tools uses purge valves made of 4140 steel, with sealant rings on either side of the valve consisting of typical O-rings purchased commercially. These current purge valves cost anywhere between $200-500 for Joe Tools to manufacture, depending on the size of the component, however the O-rings are purchased outside of this process.

Figure 1: a Joe Tools purge valve, in 4140 steel, with separate commercially-available O-ring.

Figure 2: Example cross section of a Joe Tools purge valve, in vertical position across the horizontal barrel.

Figure 3: Example cross section of a Joe Tools purge valve, in its ‘purge position’ to allow plastic to flow downward and purge the barrel.

Purge valves, in their ordinary configuration, allow plastic to flow through it en route to the die, but when rotated 90° the flow is diverted downwards to the floor – stopping the extrusion process and allowing for operators to change out the contents of the barrel. This is a manual operation conducted by operators several times a day.

When rotated 90° to the ‘purge position’, the purge valve itself does not change from vertical to horizontal. Instead, it only rotates the purge valve inside of the flange and allows the plastic to flow downward out of different ‘through holes’.

While effective in the main, Joe Tools is looking for innovative designs and suggestions to improve the purge valves to reduce the instances of leaking and broken sealant rings.
 

The Challenge

To improve the design of purge valves without compromising current effectiveness, Joe Tools is asking Solvers to submit:

1. inventive methods for altering the existing purge valve design to prevent leaking;
2. or to provide new purge valve designs that do not leak/leak as frequently.

Please provide detailed descriptions of your proposed innovative method to prevent leakage in purge valves, as well as specific and detailed designs, schema, blueprints, or models in order to prove the effectiveness of your approach.

Joe Tools requires submissions of designs that will achieve the avoidance or reduction of leaking from the purge valve, both from the steel portion of the component as well as from the sealant rings.

In order to be effective for Joe Tools’ use of purge valves, your design or improvement to the design must also be able to withstand temperatures of up to 700° Fahrenheit / 370° Celsius in order to maintain normal operation.

For best chance of favorable evaluation, Joe Tools requests solutions maintain the current ease of use by operators. Today, operators can rotate the valve at any point in the extrusion process to achieve purging. Your submission of a design must not include multiple steps to achieve purging of material within the barrel.

It is required that your submission of an improved design or new design does not drastically increase the cost of production of purge valves, e.g. not using out-of-budget materials or requiring extensive changes to the manufacturing process. The ideal cost limit for manufacturing the new purge valve (either with adjusted design or new design) is, at most, $500 USD.

The adjusted or new design must also be effective at various sizes, and able to be replicated up or down to account for different standard barrel and die sizes used by Joe Tools. Your flexible design must be able to work for Joe Tools to create purge valves with ‘through hole’ diameters from ¼ inch up to 1.25 inches. The purge valve itself with have a wider diameter in order to accommodate for this through hole, or means to purge. Please note: this does not mean that one purge valve must be able to be applied to each different barrel size, rather that the design of an improved or new purge valve must be functional whether created with example ¼ inch diameter or up to 1.25 inch diameter through holes, or any size required by Joe Tools.

Figure 4: the through hole of the purge valve, with Joe Tools’ desired diameters of ¼ inch to 1.25 inches for this space.

Creative solutions to the problem are welcomed, provided that they do not drastically increase the cost of manufacturing the component or adjust the ease of use by operators.

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

Joe Tools is interested in solutions with the potential to/which meet the following requirements.

Must have:

1. Effectively prevent or reduce leakage from the purge valve – whether suggesting improvements to the current design or new designs, Joe Tools will primarily measure submissions by their ability to reduce leakage from the purge valves.
2. Ability to operate at high temperatures – your design or improvement must be able to function at 700° Fahrenheit / 370° Celsius to account for the molten plastic pushed through Joe Tools’ extrusion barrels.
3. Maintained simple operation – Joe Tools operators can achieve purging of the barrel by simple rotation of current purge valves to the floor. In your submission, please detail any alterations to the process to achieve purging. Joe Tools requests as simple a process as possible.
4. Able to be recreated at several sizes – Joe Tools operates a multitude of barrels in creating its products, and therefore the diameter for the ‘through hole’ in your design or redesign of a purge valve must range from ¼ inch to 1.25 inches (or can be created between these sizes as needed as needed). In addressing the issue of leakage from the purge valve, please ensure your new design or edits to the design of a purge valve ensure that the through hole of the purge valve can be recreated at different sizes and are not e.g. faulty at larger diameters or too complex to be created at smaller diameters.

Additionally, Joe Tools would be encouraged to see Solvers address the following nice-to-have criteria:

1. Greater technology readiness level (TRL) displayed in your submission – in this Challenge, Joe Tools is looking for detailed descriptions and designs/schema/blueprints for purge valve designs or redesigns. However, it is encouraged that Solvers provide further information – in the form of 3D models, created prototypes, or commercially-ready products – in order to show that your solution meets the listed solution requirements.

Solutions with Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 3-9 are invited.

This Prize Challenge has the following features:

1. Your IP Rights are protected; Joe Tools must pay you an award to obtain them.
2. The best solution has the opportunity to win the award of $20,000 USD for meeting all must have solution requirements, as solely determined by Joe Tools.
3. Awards will be contingent upon the theoretical evaluation of the proposal by Joe Tools against the Solution Requirements.
4. To receive an Award, Solvers are required to assign exclusive rights to the Intellectual Property (IP) in their proposed solution. Solvers will retain all rights to any proposal not Awarded.
5. Joe Tools may also issue “Honorable Mention” recognitions for notable submissions that are not selected for monetary awards.
    

YOUR SUBMISSION

Please login and register your interest, to complete the submission form.

The submitted proposals must be written in English and can include:

1. Participation type – you will first be asked to inform us how you are participating in this challenge, as a Solver (Individual) or Solver (Organization).
2. Solution Level - the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your solution.
3. Problem & Opportunity - highlight the innovation in your approach to the Problem, its point of difference, and the specific advantages/benefits this brings (up to 500 words).
4. Solution Overview - detail the features of your solution and how they address the SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS (500 words, there is space to add more in the summary field, and attach supporting data, diagrams, etc).
5. Solution Feasibility – Supporting Information and Rationale, such as references and precedents, that will help Joe Tools evaluate and validate the feasibility of the solution (up to 500 words).
6. Experience - Expertise, use cases and skills you or your organization have in relation to your proposed solution.  (up to 500 words).
7. Solution Risks - any risks you see with your solution and how you would plan for this (up to 500 words).
8. Timeline, capability and costs - describe what you think is required to deliver the solution, estimated time and cost (up to 500 words).
9. Online References - provide links to any publications, articles or press releases of relevance (up to 500 words).

PARTICIPATION GUIDANCE

1. Submission Close Date: Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on May 5th, 2025.
2. Late submissions: Late submissions will not be considered.
3. Multiple submissions, 3 Maximum: In case of multiple submissions by the same Solver, only 3 submissions – the final 3 submitted – will be considered. Any other submissions will be deleted prior to evaluation.
4. Submission form and attachments: Your submission will be evaluated by the evaluation team first reviewing the information and content you have submitted at the submission form, with attachments used as additional context to your form submission. Submissions relying solely on attachments will receive less attention from the evaluation team.
5. Evaluation notification steps: After the Challenge submission close date, Joe Tools will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the winning solution(s) according to the timeline in the Challenge header. All Solvers who submit a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions.
6. Use of AI: Please note that any submissions produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.
7. Learn more: Find out more about participation in Wazoku Crowd Challenges.