3D Mold Generation With Automated Defect Checking for Casting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing 3D printing processes for custom molds are time-intensive, prone to errors, and costly, with quality assurance typically performed after casting, incurring significant expenses and relying on external imaging systems.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a processor to receive product design information, preprocess it, create mold designs, analyze for defects using machine learning algorithms, nest the designs, and generate printing instructions for additive manufacturing, thereby automating the mold generation process and reducing human error.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual 3D file generation is used for custom molds, then design flexibility is maintained, but production time and error rate increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where the mold generation process automatically processes design inputs, performs quality checks, and produces ready-to-manufacture files without manual intervention. The automated workflow includes file validation, design rule checking, and error detection that operates independently, eliminating human error while maintaining design flexibility through programmable parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical processes of mold design and validation with automated computational systems. Software algorithms automatically generate 3D mold files from 2D drawings, perform quality assurance checks, and validate designs against manufacturing constraints, substituting human operators with intelligent software agents that increase both speed and reliability.
2Reliability
If quality assurance is performed after casting, then manufacturing flexibility is maintained, but cost and time expenditure increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary quality assurance actions by validating mold designs before manufacturing begins. Automated design rule checking, file format validation, and error detection occur during the digital design phase, identifying potential defects before physical production starts. This prevents costly rework and eliminates the need for extensive post-casting inspection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary automated quality check system between design and manufacturing. This intermediary layer includes software-based validation tools that analyze mold designs for errors, compatibility issues, and manufacturing constraints before production begins, acting as a bridge that ensures quality without requiring expensive external imaging systems or post-manufacturing inspection.
3Measurement precision
If external imaging systems are used for quality assurance, then detection accuracy is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates digital copies and virtual models of mold designs that can be analyzed and validated without physical prototypes. Automated software generates 3D digital representations from 2D drawings, allowing virtual inspection and error detection before manufacturing. This digital copying approach achieves high measurement precision without requiring complex external imaging hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of creating a mold design for casting a metal product are described herein. The method can include receiving, by a processor, product design information for one or more metal products, preprocessing, by the processor, the product design information to create a pre-processed file, creating, by the processor, one or more mold designs using the preprocessed file, analyzing, by the processor, the one or more mold designs to detect the presence or absence of defects, nesting, by the processor, the one or more mold designs in a work area, and generating, by the processor, printing instructions for the one or more mold designs.