Patent Application
20190319436
The invention generally relates to method of manufacturing an electrical assembly by overprinting material using an additive manufacturing process.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.
Presented herein is method of manufacturing an electrical assembly. The method includes the steps of forming an electrical circuit assembly having at least two terminating elements and forming a casing by overprinting a dielectric material over the electrical circuit assembly using an additive manufacturing process such as stereolithography, digital light processing, fused deposition modeling, fused filament fabrication, selective laser sintering, selecting heat sintering, multi-jet modeling, multi-jet fusion, electronic beam melting, laminated object manufacturing, or 3D printing, thereby encapsulating a portion of the electrical circuit assembly. The terminating elements extend from the casing. The terminating elements are not overprinted with the dielectric material.
STEP 102, FORM AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT ASSEMBLY, includes forming an electrical circuit assembly 10 having at least two terminating elements. In the example illustrated in
STEP 104, FORM A CASING BY OVERPRINTING A DIELECTRIC MATERIAL OVER THE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT ASSEMBLY USING AN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESS, includes forming a casing 18 around the electrical circuit assembly 10 by overprinting a dielectric material, e.g. a polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material, over the electrical circuit assembly 10 using an additive manufacturing process, such as stereolithography, digital light processing, fused deposition modeling, fused filament fabrication, selective laser sintering, selecting heat sintering, multi-jet modeling, multi-jet fusion, electronic beam melting, laminated object manufacturing, or other processes generally referred to as 3D printing to form a connector body, thereby encasing or encapsulating a portion of the electrical circuit assembly 10. The terminating elements, i.e. wires 12, extend from the casing 18 and are not overprinted with the dielectric material.
As used herein “overprinting” refers to using an additive manufacturing process distinguished by computer controlled application of the dielectric material directly to the electrical circuit assembly 10 rather than using of a mold to contain material as it is injected or poured into the mold as is used in traditional encapsulating processes.
While the example presented herein is directed to a wire feed-through connector, alternative embodiments may be electrical circuit assemblies that include passive electrical components, such as resistors or capacitors, and/or active electrical components, such as transistors or diodes, and/or conductors such as stamped lead frames or conductive traces on a printed circuit board interconnecting the electrical components and providing the termination elements. Yet other alternative embodiments of the invention may include forming a casing using an additive manufacturing process to encapsulate mechanical or biological components.
Accordingly, a method 100 of manufacturing an electrical assembly is provided. The method 100 provides the benefit of avoiding stresses in the casing 18 that could cause damage to the electrical circuit assembly 10 that may be produced while forming the case using an injection molding process. The method 100 also avoids displacement of portions of the electrical circuit assembly 10 that could damage the electrical assembly caused by injecting material into a mold holding the electrical circuit assembly 10. The method 100 also reduces the occurrence of voids undesirably forming in the casing 18 that could occur in a molding process to form the casing 18.
While this invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiments thereof, it is not intended to be so limited, but rather only to the extent set forth in the claims that follow. For example, the above-described embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to configure a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Dimensions, types of materials, orientations of the various components, and the number and positions of the various components described herein are intended to define parameters of certain embodiments, and are by no means limiting and are merely prototypical embodiments.
Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the following claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
As used herein, ‘One or more’ includes a function being performed by one element, a function being performed by more than one element, e.g., in a distributed fashion, several functions being performed by one element, several functions being performed by several elements, or any combination of the above.
It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. does not denote any order of importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact.
The terminology used in the description of the various described embodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “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, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Additionally, directional terms such as upper, lower, etc. do not denote any particular orientation, but rather the terms upper, lower, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another and establish a relationship between the various elements.
