阅读说明：本技术 使用动量传递方法的增材制造 (Additive manufacturing using momentum transfer methods ) 是由 G·戴恩 A·维韦克 于 2020-02-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：通过增材制造方法生产一种金属产品。一种用于实践的装置具有控制器,所述控制器具有用于实现所述金属产品的制造的存储指令集。通过与所述控制器双向通信的打印头在目标平台上以分段或分层的方式制造所述金属产品。所述打印头以动量传递技术操作,其中来自脉冲源的脉冲能量用于朝向所述目标平台发射金属件,所述金属件在所述目标平台处粘结以制造所述金属产品。(A metal product is produced by an additive manufacturing method. An apparatus for practicing has a controller with a stored set of instructions for enabling manufacture of the metal product. The metal product is fabricated in a segmented or layered manner on a target platform by a print head in bidirectional communication with the controller. The print head operates in a momentum transfer technique in which pulsed energy from a pulsed source is used to launch a metallic article toward the target platform where it is bonded to produce the metal product.)

1. An apparatus for additive manufacturing of a metal product, the apparatus comprising a controller having stored therein a set of instructions for enabling manufacturing of the metal product; a target platform on which the metal product is manufactured in a segmented or layered manner; and a printhead in bidirectional communication with the controller, the apparatus characterized by:

the print head receives pulsed energy from a pulse source to emit a metallic article using momentum transfer techniques toward the target platform where the metallic article is bonded to produce the metal product.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the momentum transfer technique is laser shock welding.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the print head comprises a back plate having an aperture of a predetermined area and shape and a flyer metal web of a predetermined thickness and composition positioned between the back plate and the pulse source such that the pulse energy accelerates a flyer metal through the aperture, thereby launching the flyer metal toward the target platform.

4. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the set of instructions implements a three-dimensional model of the metal product by sequentially launching flyweight metal pieces having a predetermined mass toward a predetermined location of the target platform using a predetermined amount of pulse energy from the pulse source.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the metal product is a body constructed of the flying sheet metal on the target platform.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the flyweight metal piece fills cracks or fissures in a pre-existing metal body to produce the metal product.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the flyweight metal piece adds features to a pre-existing metal body to produce the metal product.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the flyweight metal piece produces a homogenous or heterogeneous weld of two or more pre-existing pieces.

9. The device of claim 4, wherein the flyweight metal piece provides a surface coating to a pre-existing metal body.

10. A method for additive manufacturing of a metal product, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining a three-dimensional model of the metal product and a set of instructions to implement the three-dimensional model using a print head;

providing the set of instructions to a controller that is in operational control of at least the printhead and a pulse source;

transmitting the set of instructions from the controller to the print head and the pulse source in a sequential manner, wherein each instruction in the set of instructions instructs the pulse source to direct a predetermined pulse of energy toward a flying metal web atop a backing plate having an aperture therein such that the flying metal piece is sheared off the web and launched toward a predetermined location of the target platform at a speed sufficient to bond the launched piece to the metal product constructed according to the three-dimensional model on the target platform; and

repeating the transmitting step until the end of the set of instructions is reached, thereby producing the metal product.

Technical Field

The disclosed embodiments relate to additive manufacturing methods based on the use of momentum transfer techniques to bond metal articles in a layer-by-layer manner. Such techniques allow precise placement without the damage to the microstructure inherent to heat input.

Background

Additive manufacturing builds a product by predetermining a segmented or layered placement of materials based on control of a print head of a three-dimensional printer by a set of instructions to a controller, the set of instructions based on a three-dimensional model of the product. In one known approach, a length of wire is selectively melted onto the piece being built using a source such as an electron beam. Known as processor workpieces, one known way of building up the metal layer by layer involves applying molten metal at a print head as a heated wire at a build point. The other is the so-called "cold spray" technique, in which micron-sized particles impact the surface at high velocity. One example of a cold spray technique is U.S. patent No.10,315,218. One known limitation of cold spraying is that it is commonly used as a coating technique, rather than as a way to build parts into a near-net shape. Another additive manufacturing technique known in the art is the sintered metal technique using powdered metal.

Accordingly, it would be an unmet advantage of the prior art to provide an additive manufacturing method that employs momentum transfer techniques.

Disclosure of Invention

The apparatus and methods described and illustrated in greater detail below provide this and other unmet advantages.

In some embodiments, an apparatus for additive manufacturing of a metal product includes a controller having stored therein a set of instructions for enabling manufacturing of the metal product; a target platform on which a metal product is manufactured in a segmented or layered manner; and a print head in bidirectional communication with the controller. The apparatus is characterized in that the print head receives pulsed energy from a pulse source to emit a metallic article towards a target platform using momentum transfer techniques, where the metallic article is bonded to produce a metallic product.

In some of the embodiments, the momentum transfer technique is laser shock welding. In such a case, the printhead includes a back plate having an aperture of predetermined area and shape and a flying sheet metal web (web) of predetermined thickness and composition positioned between the back plate and the pulse source such that the pulse energy accelerates the flying sheet metal part through the aperture, thereby launching the flying sheet metal part toward the target platform.

In some embodiments, the set of instructions implements a three-dimensional model of the metal product by sequentially launching flying metal pieces having a predetermined mass toward a predetermined location of the target platform using a predetermined amount of pulse energy from the pulse source. In some of these embodiments, the metal product is a body constructed from flying sheet metal on a target platform.

In some embodiments, the flyer metal pieces fill cracks or fissures in a preexisting metal body to produce a metal product.

In some embodiments, the flyer metal piece adds features to a pre-existing metal body to produce a metal product.

In other embodiments, the flyer metal piece produces a homogenous or heterogeneous weld of two or more pre-existing pieces.

In still other embodiments, the flyer metal provides a surface coating to a preexisting metal body.

A method for additive manufacturing of a metal product, comprising the steps of:

obtaining a three-dimensional model of the metal product and a set of instructions to implement the three-dimensional model using a print head;

providing the set of instructions to a controller that controls operation of at least the printhead and the pulse source;

transmitting the set of instructions from the controller to the printhead and the pulse source in a sequential manner, wherein each instruction in the set of instructions instructs the pulse source to direct a predetermined energy pulse toward the flying sheet metal web atop the backplane having an aperture therein such that the flying sheet metal pieces are sheared off the web and launched toward a predetermined location of the target platform at a velocity sufficient to bond the launched pieces to a metal product constructed according to the three-dimensional model on the target platform; and

the transmitting step is repeated until the end of the set of instructions is reached, thereby producing the metal product.

Drawings

A better understanding of the disclosed embodiments will be obtained from the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals, and wherein:

fig. 1 is a schematic view of an additive manufacturing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a printhead and target for an additive manufacturing apparatus; and is

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a printhead and target for an additive manufacturing apparatus.

Detailed Description

The small pieces of metal may be bonded to each other provided that they gradually add together at the appropriate impact velocity and angle. This can be used to build bodies in near net shape, or to fill cracks, add features, create homogenous or heterogeneous welds, or provide surface coatings.

The methods and apparatus of the present application use particles of significantly larger size. The interface and porosity resulting from the cold spray technique provide poor characteristics. In the concept presented here, solid state welding is achieved with metal units of millimeter or centimeter size. This may provide a much higher deposition rate and better mechanical properties for the deposit.

There are a number of methods for accelerating a flyer plug to a target to provide a momentum transfer effect. Three of these methods are particularly notable.

The first method is ablative laser firing. The general concept of this process is described in U.S. patent No.8,084,710 to Daehn (inventor herein) and Lippold. Modifications of the method may be suitable for high throughput applications required for additive manufacturing.

The second method is to vaporize a foil actuator. The general concept of this method is described in U.S. patent No.9,021,845 to Vivek (inventor herein). The method can be used with automated feeding to launch continuous metal blocks (slugs) at high speed and with appropriate contact angles with high productivity.

The third method is a conventional ballistic gun. The apparatus can be used to achieve the desired impact velocity (typically in excess of 500m/s) and continuous impact welding can be achieved as long as the gun can be positioned to provide a suitable impact angle (typically about 20 °) relative to the target surface.

It is believed that several potential patentability concepts are provided. These include the use of a series of flyweight bodies to build, repair, shape or join the bodies. They also include applying this concept to the fabrication of shapes. It is believed that this may be applied to cold repairs or field repairs. It also involves the use of long (i.e., 50ns-500ns) high strength (i.e., about 10 GW/cm)²) A laser pulse.

Turning now to the drawings, fig. 1 shows a schematic view of an additive manufacturing apparatus 10. In additive manufacturing, a three-dimensional model of a product to be built is obtained. The model is converted into a set of instructions that may be stored in the dedicated controller 12 or transmitted to the controller by a general purpose computer. The controller 12 is associated with a platform 14 on which the product is to be built and a print head 16 for implementing instructions from an instruction set. Thus, the print head 16 is in at least one-way communication with the controller 12 to receive instructions, and preferably in two-way communication, particularly for sending information regarding the position and orientation of the print head relative to the target platform 14.

In the example of an additive manufacturing device 10 that uses momentum transfer to stimulate operation of a printhead 16, it is also desirable to have a pulse source 18, as described herein, particularly one that communicates with the controller 12 to receive instructions and inform the controller about its operating conditions.

Directing attention to FIG. 2, a first embodiment of a printhead 116 is depicted in schematic form in combination with a first embodiment of a target platform 114. In this case, the printhead 116 has a back plate 120 with holes 122. While shown in side view, it should be understood that the aperture 122 may be configured in a number of different shapes, including circular, square, rectangular, and the like. The backing plate 120 is positioned between the target platform 114 and the flying sheet metal web 124. When a laser pulse 119 from a pulse source strikes the flying sheet metal web 124, the impact of the laser pulse directed at the aperture 122 accelerates the flying sheet metal. Flying sheet metal in the web 124 positioned over the apertures 122 is unconstrained, causing it to be sheared off the web and accelerated toward the target platform 114. These shear members 126 of flyer metal impact the target platform at an angle α and at a velocity sufficient to cause bonding. Because the thickness of the flyer metal web is known, and because the area and shape of the apertures 122 can be varied by selecting the backing plate, the volume and three-dimensional profile of the shear 126 may be predetermined. By varying the composition of the flyer metal web, the material and density of the shear members 126 may be predetermined. The power and duration of the laser pulse 119 may also be predetermined.

This technique can be used to fill cracks or fissures in the metal used as the target, and it can also be used to impart a coating to the target surface or to build up features on the surface of the target. The difference in these techniques is only one of the differences in the three-dimensional models used in the controller.

Directing attention to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of a printhead 216 is depicted in schematic form in combination with a second embodiment of a target platform 214. In this case, the printhead 216 has a backing plate 220 with an aperture 222. While shown in side view, it should be understood that the aperture 222 may be configured in a number of different shapes, including circular, square, rectangular, and the like. The backing plate 220 is positioned between the target platform 214 and the flying sheet metal web 224. When a laser pulse 219 originating from a pulse source strikes the flying sheet metal web 224, the impact of the laser pulse directed at the aperture 222 accelerates the flying sheet metal. Flyer metal in the web 224 positioned over the apertures 222 is unconstrained, causing it to be sheared off of the web and accelerated toward the target platform 214. In this case, the target platform 214 has two metal pieces 228, 229 to be joined. These shear members 226 of flyer metal impact members 228, 229 or shear members that have previously been impacted into the fill zone 230. The impact of shear 226 transfers momentum at a rate sufficient to cause bonding. Because the thickness of the flyer metal web 224 is known, and because the area and shape of the apertures 222 may be varied by selecting the backing plate, the volume and three-dimensional profile of the shear 226 may be predetermined. By varying the composition of the flyer metal web, the material and density of shear 226 may be predetermined. The power and duration of the laser pulses 219 may also be predetermined. It will be appreciated that the pieces 228, 229 may have the same or different metals or compositions, and that the fill region 230 may even comprise different metals.