Jump to content


Photo

The Fountainbel bulk filler revealed !


  • Please log in to reply
3 replies to this topic

#1 fountainbel

fountainbel

    greenhorn

  • Members
  • PipPip
  • 17 posts

Posted 25 April 2012 - 12:20 PM

The "fountainbel" BULK FILLER filling system revealed :



The patents now being pending, I can finally reveal the details of my new filling system

Benefit of the new positive displacement filling system is the fact it allows huge ink intakes at minimum build-in length of the filling mechanism

Drawback of the actual "positive displacement" fountain pen filling systems being the fact the mechanism itself takes considerable length, restricting the ink intake to approximately half the length of the barrel.

The "Fountainbel" BULK FILLER system consists of syringe FILLER on which the syringe rod can be engaged to the piston prior to filling, and disengaged from the piston after filling.

Benefit being one can slide and store the syringe rod in the ink reservoir after filling, greatly reducing the build-in length .

Conventional syringe fillers have the drawback the rod remains out , so the build-in length greatly restricts the potential ink intake.

The new piston mechanism features a radial/axial locking system at the retracted piston position so one can slide the syringe rod only in after the piston is positively anchored with the back end barrel enclosure plug.

Another important issue was overcoming the "stick-slip" phenomenon of the piston seal.

As most of us already experienced when refilling a piston FILLER after longer time, the piston friction is initially higher and drops considerably after the piston advanced a little.

The piston seal "break-away" force - caused by the "stick-slip" phenomenon- increases in time, meaning that refilling a pen after 3 weeks the break-away force is considerably higher as when refilling after one day.

This is triggered by the fact the microscopic layer of ink between the seal lip and the barrel wall is gradually "creeping out" due to the static surface pressure

Overcoming this phenomenon, the new "bulk filler" filling system features an axial cam which forces the piston to move 1.0 mm forward while coupling the piston rod to the piston.

Reducing stick slip risks we also opted for a "quad ring" instead of a more stick-slip sensible O ring

The system also features an ink shut-off valve -mounted on the top of the syringe rod- which positively seals the ink reservoir and prevents any leakage triggered by temperature and/or air expansion in the ink chamber during air or high altitude travel.

This implies the pen can be stored horizontal or in whatever position even in the non-pressurized sections of the plane or when travelling in the mountains



Filling procedure:



Please note I've tried to capture all the technical aspects which occur when filling the pen. This may create the idea the filling procedure is complex, while in reality it really is simple and straight forward.


1- Start position
2-After unscrewing the filling knob from the barrel one pulls the syringe rod fully out.

3- When the rod is fully out one screws the threaded end of the rod in the piston, by turning the filling knob approximately 3 turns counter clockwise while slightly pulling at the rod.

3- Now the rod is positively coupled and the rod collar backs-up against the piston front.

4- By turning further 30°, the rod /piston assembly rotates and the piston is disengaged from its static anchor.

5- Continuing turning further to 270° the piston reaches the axial " stick slip breaker " cam on the barrel end plug and automatically moves 1.0 mm forward, while the piston at 300° radially backs-up against its stop on the barrel end plug

6- By pushing on the filling knob the piston now goes completely down.

7- Pulling the plunger back out - with the nib immersed in the ink - one pulls a full load of ink. Depending of the length of the pen the ink volume goes from 2 ml for the shortest pen to 3 ml for the longest version.

8-While slightly pulling and turning the filling knob clockwise one anchors the piston again on the barrel end plug, and - continuing turning - one unscrews the piston rod from the piston.

9-Now simply push the rod back in and screw the filling knob on the barrel.

After wiping the nib/feed, the pen is now ready for writing.



Note the top of the plunger rod is equipped with an O ring which seals on a conical seat in the section , obtaining an axial pretension of 0.3mm between the section seat and the O ring.

Doing so the pen can't leak due to expanding air, triggered by temperature or air pressure variations.

One can simply remove the O ring if one does not want the shut-off valve, but surely on the larger volumes the shut-off is recommended

Using the shut-off valve implies however the filling knob should be opened for –let's say- 1.5 mm for longer writing sessions.

Note there are two O rings inside the piston which seal on the syringe rod.

Contrary to the rod seals on plunger fillers these O rings are "static" during filling and emptying the pen and therefore not prone to leakage.

There is also no "back-up" pressure build up behind the piston when pulling the plunger out, since the rod has 0.2 backlash in the barrel enclosure nut bore.



More about BULK FILLER pens :



Prototypes were intensively evaluated over a one year period by 4 "frequent writers" test people.

Thanks to their valued input we were able to optimize the design details.

"CONID" in Antwerp-Belgium, is actually making series of 60 demonstrators which will become available early May 2012.

Export price will be around 420€€.
Note the pen parts are completely precision machined from solid bar stock.
When interested please contact Werner at Conid directly : werner@conid.be

-"bulk filler" pens use standard "off the shelf" seals and are very maintenance friendly.

-Nothing is glued nor shellacked, elements are sealed with O rings, pen can be completely disassembled in 3 minutes. No heat required!

-Bock screw in nib units with steel nibs are standard ( Titanium or18K Bock nibs possible)

-The large volume displacement- inherent to syringe fillers- en :sures simple and efficient flushing in no time, an important advantage when regularly changing inks.

-Barrel/ cap mating threads in different materials avoiding thread fretting and wear risks

-No "step" between section and barrel, ensuring optimum ergonomic writing comfort.

- Cap actuated ink shut-off valve optional in the future ( not yet!)

-Child prove filling system : no ink will be released even when unscrewing the filling knob and pulling the rod out.

- Posting occurs cylindrically, deep in the cap, eliminating "wedging" cap cracks, and bringing the gravity point down for a perfect balance

The attached pictures show most of the details mentioned above.

Please send me an E-mail if you should want further technical information's.

Thanks for reading so far !

Edit :
The pen shown is one of my prototype "test" pens made in my shop, not new !
.
Francis

1- Starting position, closed filling knob
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
2- Unscrew filling knob and pull rod fully out
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
3- Screw rod in piston till axial back-up contact
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
4- Rotating the piston disengages radial /axial anchor
Resized to 83% (was 768 x 576) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
5- Rotating piston enters static axial "stick-slip breaker" cam
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
6- Stick-slip breaker cam pushes piston 1 mm forward
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
7- Piston pushed down, ready for filling
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
8- Nib under inkt level, piston retracted for full load of ink !
Resized to 83% (was 768 x 576) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
9 - Piston re-anchored
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
10- Rod screwn out piston, rod stored in barrel, filling knob closed
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image
11-Bulk FILLER posted, cylindrically deep in cap!
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted ImageBulkfiller 12-Bulk FILLER capped
Resized to 80% (was 800 x 600) - Click image to enlargePosted Image

#2 stevekolt

stevekolt

    greenhorn

  • Members
  • PipPip
  • 16 posts
  • LocationNJ - Soon to be WV

Posted 24 April 2013 - 11:59 PM

Looks sweet!

#3 Marsilius

Marsilius

    journeyman

  • Members
  • 127 posts

Posted 25 April 2013 - 12:57 AM

I got of these and really love it. It allows and takes some tweaking, so I keep trying different nibs, but keep coming back to an old #8 warranted nib from the 1930s. The irony is that it holds so much ink I always want to try another before it is empty. I have found it is smoothest with Sailor Jentle inks, so far.Best wishes,Mars

#4 Earthdawn

Earthdawn

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 62 posts
  • LocationLong Island, NY

Posted 25 April 2013 - 04:20 AM

Wow that looks pretty awesome and holds a lot of ink !

Im glad this got bumped back up.

Great pics and discription of whats going on and how it works.




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users