Device and process for the manufacture of hollow fiber membrane bundles

A device for producing a bundle of hollow fiber membranes, comprising a base featuring a trough in the shape of a cylinder section;

• and
• a rigid lid with a bottom surface featuring a cylinder section and being
• connected to the base via at least one hinge, so that the lid is moveable between a first position and a second position, wherein the device is configured to receive a plurality of hollow fiber membranes when the lid is in the first position, and
• the base and the lid together frame a cylindrical void when the lid is in the second position, characterized in that both the base and the lid feature longitudinal edges having the form of a periodic curve oscillating around a mean value where base and lid contact each other when the lid is in the second position, the periodic curve being selected from
• i. a cosine curve, A*cos(x), having maxima at both ends of the device,
• ii. an inverted cosine curve, A*−cos(x), having minima at both ends of the device, iii. a sine curve, A*sin(x), the amplitude of the curve corresponding to the mean value at both ends of the device, or
• iv. a periodic curve comprised of consecutive circular or ellipsoidal segments in alternating orientation.