2-i-1 Munstycke för Industriell Rengöring : Produktutveckling i samarbete med Lagafors

Sammanfattning

In the global food industry, industrial cleaning is a resource- and time-intensive process. Traditional methods require manual changes of nozzles when switching between chemical cleaning foam and high-pressure water, leading to inefficiency and lost production time. The purpose of this bachelor's thesis was to develop, in collaboration with the company Lagafors, a combined 2-in-1 nozzle with an automatic mechanical switching function to eliminate the need for these manual changes. The work followed a structured product development process. To dimension the internal switching mechanism, analytical extreme-case calculations were combined with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, where the high expansion foam was idealized as a homogeneous, continuous fluid. The final concept is based on an optimized water nozzle placed inside the foam nozzle, controlled by a mechanical spring. The results showed that a spring force of 5 N is sufficient for the mechanism to remain stable under the low-pressure during foam application and subsequently be activated by the higher pressure of the water flow. Physical tests using 3D-printed prototypes confirmed that the function is feasible, yielding an approved spraypattern and foam quality. The conclusion is that the design is practically functional, and the project is considered a successful proof-of-concept. Further development, including high-pressure tests with steel prototypes and optimization of the sealing mechanism, is recommended prior to a future market introduction.