阅读说明：本技术 生产反模板的方法以及使用此类的反模板制造具有复杂形状部件的方法 (Method for producing a countermould and method for manufacturing a part with a complex shape using such a countermould ) 是由 亚尼克·贝内特 罗曼·埃费尔 于 2019-10-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种通过加压烧结致密化生产用于制造复杂形状部件(24)的反模板的方法。反模板(20)由通过数字控制的三维(3D)增材打印根据以下步骤所生产的连续层来形成：-在三维增材打印系统的控制单元中数字地记录待生产的部件(24)的三维负片以便建构待生产的反模板的正形式；-通过3D增材打印技术生产反模板(20)。具有复杂形状部件(24d)接着通过加压烧结所制造,然后从也被进行烧结的反模板(20d)中分离。(The invention relates to a method for producing a countertemplate for producing a component (24) of complex shape by pressure sintering densification. The counter template (20) is formed by a continuous layer produced by digitally controlled three-dimensional (3D) additive printing according to the steps of: -digitally recording a three-dimensional negative of the component (24) to be produced in a control unit of the three-dimensional additive printing system in order to construct a positive form of a counter template to be produced; -producing a counter template (20) by 3D additive printing techniques. The component (24d) with the complex shape is then produced by pressure sintering and then separated from the counterdie plate (20d) which is also sintered.)

1. A method for producing a counter-template (20; 30a, 30b) for manufacturing a complex-shaped component (1; 24D) by pressure sintering densification, characterized in that the counter-template (20; 30a, 30b) is formed by a continuous layer produced by digitally controlled three-dimensional (3D) additive printing according to the following steps:

-digitally recording a three-dimensional negative (3) of the part (1; 24d) to be produced in a control unit of a three-dimensional additive printing system, in order to print the counter-form (20; 30, 30b) to be produced, the remaining part of the counter-form having faces adapted to the shape of the mould used to manufacture the part (1; 24 d);

-producing the counter-template (30a, 30b) by a 3D additive printing technique, the dimensions of the counter-template (20; 30a, 30b) being increased by a density-stretch coefficient which compensates for shrinkage of the dimensions of the part to be manufactured (1; 24D) in the direction of a uniaxial pressure (F) applied during sintering densification of the part to be manufactured; and

-completing the additive printing of the counter template (20; 30a, 30b) by sintering.

2. The method of producing a countertemplate according to claim 1, wherein the 3D additive printing technique is selected from stereolithography, adhesive jetting, controlled extrusion, fused deposition modeling, inkjet printing, and aerosol jet printing.

3. A method for producing a counter-template according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the counter-template (20; 30a, 30b) is produced from a porous material selected from the group consisting of ceramics, silica, metal silicates and composite materials.

4. Method for producing a counter-template according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall thickness of the counter-template (20; 30a, 30b) is less than or equal to 5mm when the printing is performed.

5. Method of producing a counter plate (20; 30a, 30b) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the step of removing adhesive from the counter plate (30a, 30b) is performed by heat treatment at a temperature between 200 ℃ and 600 ℃ at a ramp rate between 0.1 and 1 ℃/min at the output of the 3D additive printing.

6. Production method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that, after the step of removing the binder, a step of pre-sintering by heat treatment of the counter-template (3a, 30b) at a temperature between 600 ℃ and 1500 ℃.

7. A method of producing a counter plate according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the counter plate is divided in a subsequent step into at least two parts (30a, 30b) joined along at least one joining plane (P) for eliminating at least one undercut, said joining plane (P) being interposed between said parts (30a, 30b) for separating the complex shape into parts (30a, 30b) that can be removed directly from the mould.

8. Method for manufacturing a complex-shaped component (1; 24d) by sintering using a countermould plate (20; 30a, 30b) produced by the method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it is carried out according to the following steps:

-gathering the plurality of counter-template portions (20, 30a, 30b) in a densified mould for sintering under uniaxial pressure;

-introducing the powdered or porous material to be densified into at least one duct (4) passing through a counter-template portion (30 a);

-densifying the powdered or porous material by sintering under uniaxial pressure (F); and

-separating said counter-formwork sections (30a, 30b) in order to release the component (1; 24d) thus produced.

9. Manufacturing method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the counter template (20; 30a, 30b) is produced from a porous material, the porous material being chosen such that the material of the counter template (20; 30a, 30b) and the material of the component (1; 24d) to be manufactured exhibit the same behaviour upon sintering.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 8, characterized in that the sintering start temperature or the sintering end temperature of the ceramic of the counter template (20; 30a, 30b) is higher than or equal to or higher than the sintering start temperature or the sintering end temperature, respectively, of the component (1; 24d) to be manufactured.

11. Manufacturing process according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the ceramic is chosen from YSZ, ATZ, ZTA and alumina powders, the degree of densification of which can be between 40% and 80%.

12. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterised in that at least one open conduit (4) for filling the powdered or porous material for forming the component (1; 24d) is provided outside the countermould plate (20; 30a, 30 b).

13. The production method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the sintering of the counter template (20; 30a, 30b) is carried out simultaneously with the sintering of the component (1; 24d) to be produced.

14. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the porous or powdered material of the part (1; 24d) to be manufactured is selected from ceramics, metal alloys, polymers and composite materials.

15. Manufacturing method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that at least one of the outer walls of the counter-template portion (30a, 30b) is empty and then filled with ceramic powder having a sintering temperature equal to that of the ceramic of the counter-template portion (30a, 30 b).

16. Manufacturing method according to any one of claims 8 to 15, characterised in that an interface of porous or powdered material (22; 42) is provided between the countermould plate (20; 30a, 30b) and the material (24) to be densified.

17. Manufacturing method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the interface (22; 42) is formed by at least one layer of material chosen from graphite, yttrium oxide and boron nitride.

18. Manufacturing method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the interface layer (22; 42) is applied in a form selected from the group consisting of a spray, a powder deposit and a sheet of suitable shape.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method of producing a counter-form for manufacturing a component of complex shape, and to a method of manufacturing a component of complex shape by pressure sintering using such a counter-form.

The present invention relates to the field of manufacturing parts, in particular industrial mechanical parts by densifying porous or powdered materials. The art encompasses various densification techniques by sintering under uniaxial or multiaxial isostatic load (isostatic load), such as thermal, in particular isostatic, pressurized, high pressure spark sintering (known as Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS)), or selective laser sintering.

More specifically, the SPS sintering technique involves consolidating (consolidating) a volume of ceramic, polymer, or metal powder in a conductive mold to rapidly obtain a dense material with a good microstructure. This consolidation is achieved by applying simultaneously a load (under high uniaxial pressure applied on the mould, for example a pressure of 100 MPa) and a heating of 500 to 2000 ℃ provided by a high intensity pulsed direct current (for example 500 to 10000A) in the mould, the subsequent complete sintering of the powder taking only a few minutes.

The main advantage of this SPS sintering technique is that densification of the material is not accompanied or accompanied by little crystal growth, given the high temperature rise rate and the relatively short residence time at high temperatures.

Background

Uniaxial pressing applied by SPS sintering techniques has the disadvantage of leading to densification heterogeneity, particularly for complex shaped parts with large differences in thickness, which results in non-uniformities in the removal of material between regions of different thickness with respect to limited space and time. In general, complex shapes refer to shapes with variable curvature with or without thickness variation, or with or without curvature variation and with large thickness variation, and/or with geometric breaks.

In order to overcome the drawback of non-uniform densification (inhomogenity), patent document FR 3042992 provides for the addition of a deformable interface layer between the powdered (or porous) material and the counter-form (counter-form) face of the mould for the production of the part to be customized.

However, the sintering technique also presents a problem in that when the part has a complex shape, the use of a mould or a counter-form of the mould does not easily allow the part to be removed from the mould, in particular to form undercuts which are difficult to access, and therefore the taper is difficult to remove from the mould without partially damaging the part.

The countertemplate may be a printed piece obtained by pressing a layer of ceramic powder agglomerated by a binder or by bonding the ceramic powder to a polymeric preform, with an inert (inert) interface covering the countertemplate. These techniques have significant limitations in terms of accessible geometry due to the undercut problem of complex shapes and the surface topography of these counterforms that require interface coverage.

In order to produce a countermold that is compatible with undercuts that are removable from the mold, it is necessary to double the number of countermolds in order to avoid the problem of dislodging from the mold. The tools customized for each countertemplate then need to be manufactured, resulting in additional design and processing steps. The assembly of these many counter-templates is also a source of defects (mismatched geometry of the final part, initial cracks, material loss, etc.).

It is also known from document US 2017/291221 to use thin-walled containers produced by additive printing, depending on the shape of the part to be manufactured. The container is integrated into a Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) technology press in order to densify the powdered metal. Document US 2017/368780 uses additive printing of multiple materials in a HIP press in order to impart specific properties to the component according to instructions.

In document EP 2551040, which also relates to HIP technology, the material of the container previously manufactured with the additive layer is the same as the material of the component to be manufactured. Other documents, US 2017/361490, US 2016/144432 or US 2016/030654 use additional stages to implement HIP techniques: a gel stage, or a ceramic mold previously made by a wax-based (wax-based) method and HIP technique is used.

However, these documents implement HIP techniques which involve the use of very large, complex and time consuming means.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention aims to overcome this problem, in particular to avoid the development of special tools for producing counter-forms and to facilitate the joining of counter-form parts while controlling the surface state of the counter-forms. To this end, the invention provides, in particular, a method of using a countertemplate whose structure is formed from a numerically controlled additive technique, and a method of dimensioning a countertemplate in order to anticipate a reduction of the material to be densified along an axis of applied pressure.

More specifically, one subject of the invention is a method for producing countertemplates for the manufacture of parts of complex shape by pressure sintering densification. In this method, the counter template is formed from successive layers deposited by digitally controlled three-dimensional (3D) additive printing according to the following steps:

-digitally modelling a three-dimensional negative (three-dimensional negative) of the part to be produced in a control unit of a three-dimensional additive printing system for printing a counter-form to be produced, the remainder of the counter-form having a plurality of faces adapted to the shape of the mould used to make the part;

-producing a countertemplate by 3D additive printing technique, the dimensions of which are increased by a density stretch factor (density stretch factor) that compensates for shrinkage of the dimensions of the part to be manufactured in the direction of the pressure applied during sinter densification of the part to be manufactured; and

-completing the additive printing of the counter template by sintering.

In particular, the combination of increased template size and previously sintered features enables the provision of adaptability

Through adaptability during sintering of the countertemplate and subsequently of the material of the component to be produced, it leads to a rigorous application of the target degree of densification of this material, and to the obtainment of physicochemical characteristics (physico-chemical characteristics) -obtaining a higher homogeneity (porosity) of the porosity and a predetermined porosity of the component to be produced-as well as precisely obtained geometrical characteristics (size and structure).

According to some advantageous embodiment:

the 3D additive printing technique may be selected from stereolithography (stereolithography), binder jetting (binder jetting), controlled extrusion (controlled extrusion), fused deposition modeling (fused deposition modeling), inkjet printing (inkjet printing), and aerosol jet printing (aerol jet printing;

-the porous material used for producing the counter-template is selected from ceramics, silica, metal silicates and composite materials;

printing is performed on a countertemplate having a wall thickness of less than or equal to 5mm, so as to avoid any cracks in the component during the subsequent sintering;

-in a subsequent step, the counter plate is divided into at least two parts, which are joined along at least one joint surface for eliminating at least one undercut, which joint surface is interposed between the parts for separating the complex shape into parts that are directly removable from the mould.

The step of removing the adhesive from the counter plate may advantageously be performed at the output of the 3D additive printing by a thermal treatment at a temperature between 200 ℃ and 600 ℃ at a ramp rate between 0.1 and 1 ℃/min, depending on the material of the counter plate. This step can remove organic compounds introduced into the material during the counter template production process.

Furthermore, the step of removing the binder may be followed by a step of pre-sintering comprising a heat treatment of the counter-form at a higher temperature, between 600 ℃ and 1500 ℃, depending on the material of the counter-form, which may start to densify the counter-form, give it mechanical strength and facilitate the application of the interface.

Another subject of the invention is a method for manufacturing a complex-shaped part by sintering using a countermould produced as described in the preceding method, said method for manufacturing a part being carried out according to the following steps:

-gathering a plurality of counter-template portions in a densification mould for sintering under uniaxial pressure;

-introducing the powdered material to be densified into at least one duct passing through the counter-form part;

-densifying the material to be densified by sintering under uniaxial pressure; and

-separating said plurality of counter-template portions in order to release the component thus manufactured.

The porous or powdered material of the part to be manufactured may be selected from ceramics, metal alloys, polymers and composite materials. In addition, at least one outer wall of the counter-form part may be formed with a void and then filled with ceramic powder having a sintering temperature equal to that of the ceramic of the counter-form part.

According to some preferred features:

the material of the counter-template is chosen so that it exhibits, when sintered, the same behaviour as the material of the part to be manufactured, which results from the prior sintering of the counter-template material;

-the sintering start temperature or the sintering end temperature of the ceramic of the counter template is higher than or equal to, or respectively higher than, the sintering start temperature or the sintering end temperature of the component to be manufactured;

the ceramic may be selected from powdered yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ), zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA), said ceramic exhibiting a degree of densification of 40 to 80%;

-at least one open conduit is provided outside the countermould plate in order to fill the countermould plate with the powdered or porous material used to form the component and to remove any excess powder;

the additive printing of the counter-master is done by sintering of the counter-master, possibly applied simultaneously with the sintering of the part to be manufactured.

According to an advantageous embodiment, a layer of porous and/or powdered material is provided as an interface between the countermold and the material to be densified. Such a separation interface prevents any interaction between the counterdie plate and the powder of the part to be obtained.

Advantageously, the interface is formed by at least one layer of a material selected from graphite, yttrium oxide and boron nitride. The interfacial layer may be applied in a form selected from the group consisting of spraying, powder deposition and suitably shaped sheet.

Drawings

Further information, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the following non-limiting description, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, which respectively show:

figure 1a, an exemplary complex-shaped part to be produced according to the method of the invention;

FIG. 1b, a digital model of a three-dimensional negative of the part to be produced in FIG. 1 a;

fig. 2, a schematic cross-sectional view of the main steps 2a to 2e of a method for manufacturing a complex-shaped component according to the invention by sintering using a countertemplate produced by the method according to the invention;

figures 3a to 3c, a view of two countertemplates produced in the case of the manufacture of the component of figures 1a and 1b, and a view of placing the two countertemplates together in a mould for densification by SPS pressure sintering (figure 3c), and

figure 4, a perspective view of the part being manufactured.

In the drawings, like elements are identified by like reference numerals, which refer to one or more of the paragraphs mentioned in the description.

Detailed Description

With reference to fig. 1a, an exemplary component 1 of complex shape produced according to the manufacturing method of the present invention is presented. Parallel to the reference plane XOZ) is the joining face of two pre-produced counter-forms (as described below) in order to easily remove the part from the mould after production: in particular, the component 1 has in particular a recess "C" forming an undercut, which makes removal from the mould difficult. According to the invention, the recess "C" is then located completely on one side of one counter-template.

Fig. 1b shows a digital model 3 of a three-dimensional negative (negative)10 of the component 1 of fig. 1 a. This digital model 3 is generated in a control unit of the three-dimensional additive printing system (not shown) in order to make a positive form of the part of the counter-form to be produced. To facilitate removal from the mould, the positive form is divided into two parts, as shown in fig. 1 a. The next step is to produce individual counter-template portions by 3D additive printing techniques, in this case stereolithography (stereolithography), the results of which refer to the two counter-template portions 30a and 30b of fig. 3.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a method implemented in the main steps 2a to 2e of the method according to the invention for manufacturing a component of complex shape 24D by sintering under uniaxial pressure, using a counter-template 20 produced from a bonded ceramic powder by a 3D additive printing technique (in this case stereolithography) according to the invention (step 2 a).

In the illustrated example, a single dihedral reverse template is sufficient to be conveniently removed from the mold of the prismatic part 24d (see step 2e), said shape being considered complex in the present simplified example. A graphite interfacial layer 22 of constant thickness is then deposited by spraying on the countertemplate 20 (step 2b), and then the material 24 to be densified is added to this interfacial layer 22 (step 2 c). This interface 22 serves to prevent interaction between the counter-form 20 and the powder 24 to be manufactured.

The materials to be densified used in the examples for the manufacture of components are metal alloys, titanium and aluminum alloys (TiAl) and nickel-based superalloys of the Ren family.

Advantageously, the material of the counter template 20 is chosen such that the counter template material and the material of the component 24 to be manufactured have a similar sintering behavior in sintering with respect to the sintering start and end temperatures and the degree of densification.

In the case of alloys for the components to be produced, the ceramic used for the countermold is alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ) for components made of TiAl and yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) for nickel-based superalloys selected from the rene family. More generally, the sintering start temperature (or sintering end temperature) of the ceramic used for the countertemplate is higher than or equal to (or respectively higher than) the sintering start temperature (or sintering end temperature) of the metal alloy of the part to be made.

SPS sintering of the material 24 to be densified under uniaxial pressure also densifies the countermold plate 20 in this example (assuming shrinkage of-10% to-45%), with the material 24 and the countermold plate 20 being introduced into an SPS mold (not shown).

When such densification is contemplated, the dimensions of each countermold portion 20 are increased to predict shrinkage of the part 24 in the direction of SPS sintering where uniaxial pressure "F" is applied (step 2 d). Thus, the geometry of the component 24 is stretched beforehand by a stretch factor "Fe" in order to compensate for such shrinkage of the component dimensions. The factor Fe is defined by the ratio of the density of the powder to be densified to the density of the powder after densification. Advantageously, the simplified geometry of the countertemplate portion 20 can be easily changed in the case of a variation of the value of the coefficient Fe.

Thus, in the present exemplary embodiment, the uniaxial pressure "F" results in a reduction of the maximum height of the counterdie plate 20 by 40%, said height changing from the value "H" (step 2c) to the value "H" (step 2 d). This reduction in height allows the part 24d to be manufactured at a desired height, with the initial height "H" being increased by the application of the factor Fe. The concentrated templates and parts (numbers 20d and 24d) are then easily separated (step 2 e).

The views of fig. 3a and 3b present, in the form of portions 30a and 30b, a countertemplate made of ATZ ceramic, which has a similar behavior on sintering as in the example of the production of a component 1 made of TiAl according to fig. 1a and 1 b. These counterdie plate portions 30a and 30b have engagement surfaces 40a and 40b in engagement surface "P" (see fig. 1 a).

Advantageously, the removal of the adhesive from the counter-template portions 30a, 30b is achieved by a thermal treatment at a temperature between 200 ℃ and 600 ℃ (400 ℃ in the example) with a ramp rate between 0.1 and 1 ℃/minute (0.5 ℃/minute in the example). This step enables the removal of organic compounds that may be introduced into the ceramic powder during the 3D printing for creating the counter-template portion.

Preferably, the binder is removed before pre-sintering. This pre-sintering involves treating the counter-template portions with the adhesive 30a, 30b removed at a higher temperature, for example between 600 ℃ and 1500 ℃ (1200 ℃ in the example, depending on the material used). This heat treatment enables the counter-template portions to begin to densify in order to impart their mechanical strength, facilitating the application of one or more interface layers, as described below.

The two half-impressions (half-impressions)41a and 41b of the part to be manufactured are covered by spraying with graphite 42 and then with a layer based on yttrium oxide, in order to prevent reactions between the ceramic and the material (in the example TiAl) of the part to be manufactured. In order to produce the counter template by stereolithography, the counter template divided into two parts allows to remove the unpolymerized binder. In addition, the countermould plate portions 30a, 30b advantageously have a maximum thickness of 5mm, so as to avoid any risk of cracking during sintering and the heat treatment for removing the binder when recovering the component.

Referring to fig. 3c, the two counter-template portions 30a, 30b are joined together in the SPS sintering mold 2 so that the two half-impressions 41a, 41b form a single impression (negative) corresponding to the part to be manufactured. The filling of the indentations with TiAl powder is carried out through three hollow ducts 4. These conduits 4 pass through a face 42a (see figure 3a) opposite the engagement face 40a of the counter-form portion 30 a. The tube 4 also allows any excess TiAl powder to be removed as required.

The outer walls of one or more counter-template portions 30a, 30b may advantageously form voids to facilitate production by 3D printing. These voids are then filled with YSZ (yttrium stabilized zirconia) powder, which has a sintering temperature corresponding to the sintering temperature of the ATZ countertemplate ceramic used.

In an SPS sintering process under uniaxial pressure, the ceramic and the metal alloy of the part to be manufactured will be sintered simultaneously, with the sintered ceramic covering the metal part. By virtue of the interfacial layer of graphite and yttria 42 (see fig. 3a and 3b), the ceramic is easily separated from the component by mechanical and/or chemical removal of the ceramic. Fig. 4 shows the final component 1 with some ceramic residue 43 still to be removed.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described and shown. Thus, the counter template may be divided into a minimum number of parts in order to avoid undercuts in the component to be manufactured.

Furthermore, the counterdie plate may adopt the structure of local weak areas without field constraints, so as to facilitate the final removal from the mould.

Furthermore, the component to be manufactured may be composed of metal alloy powder, ceramic, composite material or any type of suitable material.