Patent Application
20240149531
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to additive manufactured component, and more particularly, to an additive manufactured component that includes witness lines.
Additively manufactured components are susceptible to a significant amount of distortion and residual stress, particularly following various secondary processes such as, for example, a heating process. To obtain shape accuracy, various techniques are employed to compensate for the dimensional change caused by the distortion that may occur during the secondary processes. Once such technique is to generate a pre-distortion model that takes into account or predicts the distortion that is expected to occur during the secondary processes.
According to a non-limiting embodiment, a method of manufacturing an (AM) component includes generating a computer-aided design (CAD) model of target AM component having a target physical profile, and predicting deformation of a target area that is expected to realize deformation. The method further comprises determining a pre-deformed profile of witness lines that are to be formed in the target area based on the predicted deformation of the target area and that are expected to deform into a target profile indicating the target physical profile is met. The method further includes performing an AM component build to build the AM component and form pre-deformed witness lines having the pre-deformed profile in the target area.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the pre-deformed witness lines deform into an expected profile indicating the target component has realized its predicted distortion to reach a final shape that yields the target physical profile.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the pre-deformed witness lines deform from the pre-deformed profile while settling during the AM component build prior to the thermal treatment.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the pre-deformed witness lines deform from the pre-deformed profile during the thermal heat treatment.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the pre-deformed witness lines deform from the pre-deformed profile while settling after completing the thermal heat treatment.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the target physical profile is confirmed in response the deformed profile of the witness lines matching the target profile.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the method further comprises generating a build file based on the CAD model, the target area to include the witness lines, and the pre-deformed profile of the witness lines, loading the build file into an AM build machine, and performing the AM build based on the build file. The AM build machine forms the pre-deformed witness lines having the pre-deformed profile in the target area.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, performing the AM build includes performing a series of AM material depositions and AM material deposition pauses to build the AM material layer-by-layer at a first target region of the target area while avoiding deposition of the AM material at a second target region of the target area to form the pre-deformed witness lines having the pre-deformed profile in the target area.
According to another non-limiting embodiments, an additive manufactured (AM) component comprises a target area expected to realize deformation during an AM build process, and a plurality of witness lines formed in the target area, the plurality of witness lines having a pre-deformed profile configured to match a target profile following deformation of the AM component.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the deformation of the AM component includes deformation of the target area.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, each of the pre-deformed witness lines includes layers of AM material deposited at a first target region of the target area which are separated by a space that excludes the AM material.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the AM material is a low-density material.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the low-density material includes one or a combination of a thermoplastic material, polylactic acid, and a microsphere composite material.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the AM material is a high-density material.
In addition to one or more of the features described herein, the high-density alloy material includes one or a combination of Inconel625 (IN625), Inconel718 (IN718), Hastelloy X (Hast-X), a nickel-base (Ni-base) superalloy, 17-4PH stainless steel, and Titanium (Ti).
The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
Additive manufacturing (AM) represents a large number of processes covering a wide range of materials. AM material such as a metal-based powder, for example, is deposited layer-by-layer in the build direction and can be processed based on the principle of melting or sintering the material. The melting is achieved by applying a heat source (i.e., laser or electron beam) which melts the powder and builds the physical part.
The design of AM industrial parts involves the use of computer-aided design (CAD) algorithms, models, and functionalities for the creation of a digital representation of the physical object which will be additively manufactured. The digital representation can involve the generation of pre-distortion models, which to take into account or predict the distortion that is expected to occur during AM secondary processes such as, thermal heating and/or thermal cooling, along with predicting residual stresses that are common in metal-based fabricated components. An AM tool build filed is generated based on the CAD algorithms and pre-distortion models, which is then loaded into the AM tool. The build file controls the locations and/or amounts of AM material to deposit on a layer-by-layer basis.
Various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure provide an AM component including witness lines, and method for fabricating the same. According to one or more non-limiting embodiments, an AM build file can be generated which controls the AM tool to form witness lines during the initial AM fabrication build of the component. The witness lines can be formed with a pre-deformed profile that is defined based in part on the predicted distortion expected for the component. During the secondary processes, the component will realize the expected distortion, which in turn deforms the witness line into a target shape or profile that indicates the component has realized its predicted distortion to reach a targeted physical profile, e.g., a final shape that yields the expected or targeted accurate shape.
With reference now to
The non-limiting embodiment of the AM component 100 illustrated in
The AM component 100 includes one or more witness line regions formed on the part 100. According to a non-limiting embodiments, the witness line regions include a first witness line region 110, a second witness line region 112, and a third witness line region 114. Although three witness line regions 110, 112 and 114 are shown, it should be appreciated that more or less witness line regions can be formed on the AM component 100 without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the locations of the witness line regions 110, 112 and 114 are not limited to those described herein, but rather can be formed at additional or different regions of the AM component 100 without departing from the scope of the invention.
Referring to
In any of the examples described above, the witness lines 120 are initially formed in their respective witness line regions 110, 112, 114 with a pre-deformed profile. Turning to
At
In one or more non-limiting embodiments, the witness lines 120 can be utilized as reference mechanism when performing one or more secondary manufacturing processes. When performing a polishing process, for example, the witness lines can indicate a region that is targeted for polishing. Accordingly, the polishing can be performed on the witness line region and performed until the witness lines 120 are removed (e.g., planarized) and the surface is smooth to the touch. In other embodiments, the witness lines 120 can indicate a region to be excluded from polishing. In this manner, the witness lines 120 can be utilized as reference lines indicating the location to stop a polishing process.
Turning to
Turning to operation 610, the build file is loaded into an AM manufacturing tool and the AM build is started at operation 612. At operation 614, the AM manufacturing tool deposits the AM material in the witness line regions according to the pre-deformed witness line profiles included in the build file. The deposition of AM material includes performing a series of AM material depositions and AM material deposition pauses to build the AM material layer-by-layer at a first target region of the target area while avoiding deposition of the AM material at a second target region of the target area to form a plurality of layered AM witness having the target pre-deformed profile and separated from one another by a space or area that exclude the AM material.
At operation 616, the build process continues after applying a thermal heat treatment to the built AM component. The thermal heat treatment can include, for example, performing thermal cycling in the build chamber to set and cure the sintered AM material. According to one or more non-limiting embodiments, the pre-deformed witness lines can realize deformation while settling during the AM component build prior to the thermal treatment, during the thermal heat treatment, and/or while settling after completing the thermal heat treatment. In one or more non-limiting embodiments, the pre-deformed witness can be formed with a pre-deformed profile that is expected to deform into a target profile following a curing process. In this manner, the AM component can be built with the pre-deformed witness lines by a first party such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and transferred to a second party such as an original design manufacturer (ODM), where curing is performed. The second party can then confirm that the AM component has met its target physical profile when the deformation of the witness lines following the curing matches.
At operation 618, the build process concludes and the curing process is completed such that the pre-deformed witness lines are deformed into a targeted profile indicating that the AM component has realized its predicted distortion to reach a final shape that yields the expected or targeted accurate shape. After confirming the witness lines correspond to an accurate profile, the method ends at operation 620.
As described herein, various non-limiting embodiments provide an AM component including witness lines, and method for fabricating the same. According to one or more non-limiting embodiments, an AM build file can be generated which controls the AM tool to form witness lines during the initial AM fabrication build of the component. The witness lines can be formed with a pre-deformed profile that is defined based in part on the predicted distortion expected for the component. During the secondary processes, the component will realize the expected distortion, which in turn deforms the witness lines into a target shape or profile that indicates the component has realized its predicted distortion to reach a targeted physical profile, e.g., a final shape that yields the expected or targeted accurate shape. In this manner, target specifications and profiles of an AM component following the AM build process can be quickly and accurately ascertained by a human without the need to rely on additional analysis tools or devices.
The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this present disclosure, but that the present disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/423,211 filed Nov. 7, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63423211 | Nov 2022 | US |
