Additive Manufacturing Surface Smoothing via Braze Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Additively manufactured components often exhibit surface roughness and imperfections, such as cracks and gaps, which can compromise performance and require costly post-processing, affecting flow dynamics and structural integrity in turbine components like combustor components and micromixer tubes.
Innovation Solution
A surface treatment involving a braze film is applied to additively manufactured components, using metallic powders like nickel-based and cobalt-based superalloys, to form a brazed coating that smooths surfaces, fills imperfections, and enhances corrosion, oxidation, and thermal resistance, reducing the need for extensive post-processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If additive manufacturing is used to create components, then manufacturing complexity and cost are reduced, but surface roughness and imperfections increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a braze coating to the additively manufactured component before final assembly or use. This preliminary surface treatment fills in the roughness and imperfections created during additive manufacturing, achieving a smooth surface without requiring extensive post-processing machining or finishing operations.
2Manufacturing precision
If post processing is applied to reduce surface roughness, then surface quality improves, but manufacturing cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using mechanical post-processing methods like machining, grinding, or polishing to smooth surfaces, the patent substitutes these mechanical operations with a thermal process - applying a braze coating that melts and flows into surface irregularities, then solidifies to create a smooth surface. This replaces costly and time-consuming mechanical post-processing with a more efficient coating operation.
3Manufacturing precision
If post processing is applied to reduce surface roughness, then surface quality improves, but fine structures and complex geometries may be altered
Solution Approach 1:
The braze coating process selectively addresses only the surface level irregularities without affecting the underlying fine structures and complex geometries. The coating material flows into and smooths surface roughness while the controlled application parameters ensure that internal channels, cooling passages, and other delicate features remain unchanged, preserving the component's designed functionality.
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 surface treatment significantly reduces surface roughness, extends the operating life of components, minimizes post-processing needs, and enhances performance by improving flow rates and reducing leaks, while allowing the use of less costly materials.
Implementation Method 1
applying a surface treatment to all or at least a portion of one or more of the internal and external surfaces of the additively manufactured component or component portion, the treatment comprising application of a braze alloy to form a brazed coating
Implementation Method 2
providing at least one metallic powder that is heated to a temperature sufficient to join at least a portion of the metallic powder, and the process iterated to form a plurality of layers
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Manufactured articles, and methods of manufacturing enhanced surface smoothed components (100) and articles. More particularly, surface smoothed components (100) and articles, such as combustor components of turbine engines, having surface treatment conferring reduced roughness for enhanced performance and reduced wear related reduction in part life.