3D-Printed Chemically Resistant Seals for Non-Planar Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Chemically resistant sealing components with complex shapes are difficult and expensive to fabricate, especially when used to seal non-planar surfaces and accommodate changes in relative positions during use.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing three-dimensional printing to deposit successive layers of a coreactive composition and cure them to form a chemically resistant sealing component with fracture energy similar to that of an individual layer, ensuring isotropic physical properties and smooth surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sealing components are prefabricated to seal complex-shaped surfaces, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but manufacturing difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing component is fabricated using additive manufacturing by depositing successive layers of curable composition, dividing the manufacturing process into discrete layer deposits that can be sequentially formed and cured. This segmentation enables complex geometries to be built up layer-by-layer without requiring complex tooling or assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from traditional subtractive or formative manufacturing to additive manufacturing in the vertical dimension, building the sealing component through successive layer deposition. This dimensional approach allows complex three-dimensional sealing surfaces to be created directly without complex fixtures or multi-step processes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If sealing components are made with complex shapes for non-planar surfaces, then adaptability to surface variations is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the manufacturing parameters by using curable compositions with specific rheological properties (viscosity, cure rate) that enable precise layer deposition and rapid curing. This parameter optimization allows complex geometries to be manufactured cost-effectively through additive processes rather than traditional methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces complex mechanical manufacturing systems (molding, machining, forming) with a chemical-based additive manufacturing system that deposits and cures material layer-by-layer. This substitution eliminates the need for complex tooling and fixtures required for traditional manufacturing of complex sealing components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If sealing components are fabricated to accommodate changes in relative position, then functional performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing component is manufactured with dynamic compliance through the additive fabrication process, allowing the material to be deposited in flexible geometries that can accommodate movement and position changes. The layer-by-layer construction enables integration of compliance features directly into the sealing surface without separate adjustment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method enables the fabrication of sealing components with robust environmental seals, high mechanical strength, and chemical resistance, accommodating non-planar surfaces and changes in relative positions, while maintaining consistent fracture energy and physical properties.
Implementation Method 1
The actinic radiation-curable composition can comprise a monomer and a photoinitiator
Data Source
AI summary
Sealing components having complex shapes and smooth surfaces are may be fabricated using coreactive three-dimensional printing. More specifically the invention relates to chemically resistant sealing components and methods of making said sealing components using three-dimensional printing, and that may be used in vehicle applications.