Additive Manufacturing Internal Cleaning via Vibrating Impactor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for cleaning internal cavities of additively manufactured components, such as those in aerospace applications, are inefficient and labor-intensive, requiring significant time and manual effort due to limited access and slow erosion rates, leading to potential damage of external features and high labor costs.
Innovation Solution
An automated method using a retained impacting element within the component, which is vibrated to loosen and remove powder from internal portions, with the element being made from the same material as the component to prevent contamination and allow for recycling, and optionally formed during the manufacturing process to enhance automation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high pressure air blasting and manual chiselling are used to remove powder from internal channels, then powder removal capability is improved, but the process becomes labor-intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The impacting element is contained within the internal portion of the component itself, allowing the component to clean itself through vibration without requiring external manual intervention or complex automated equipment to access internal channels
Solution Approach 2:
The component is vibrated to cause the impacting element to repeatedly impact on and loosen powder from internal portions, replacing manual chiselling with automated vibration-based cleaning
2Manufacturing precision
If vibro-finishing is used to clean internal cavities, then surface smoothing is improved, but the process takes significant time and rounds off external features
Solution Approach 1:
The impacting element is localized within the internal portion of the component, concentrating the cleaning action only where needed internally without affecting external surfaces, thus avoiding rounding off external features while maintaining surface quality
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning process is segmented into internal and external zones, with the impacting element confined to internal portions to perform cleaning without interfering with external feature integrity
3Productivity
If manual chiselling is used to clear powder from internal channels, then powder removal is improved, but labor costs increase and bends are difficult to clear
Solution Approach 1:
Vibration causes the impacting element to dynamically impact and loosen powder throughout the internal channels, including bends, without requiring manual tool manipulation that is limited by line-of-sight requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The impacting element automatically navigates and cleans internal channels including bends through vibration-induced motion, eliminating the need for manual tool guidance and making complex geometries accessible
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
This method significantly reduces the time required to clear internal channels and cavities, minimizes damage to external features, and lowers labor costs by enabling an automated, efficient powder removal process while allowing for recycling and integration into the manufacturing workflow.
Implementation Method 1
vibrating the component so as to cause the impacting element to repeatedly impact on the powder of the internal portion
Implementation Method 2
The erosion rate of the powder in the channel with respect to the erosion of the external surfaces
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of cleaning internal portions of additively manufactured components are provided, together with an apparatus for carrying out the cleaning. The methods use an impacting element which is contained within the internal portion and the component is vibrated to clean material from the component and leave one or more hollow portions. Various embodiments for retaining the impacting element are set out, which preferably use a grid which allows loosened powder to fall out of the component and, optionally, be recycled for use in further manufacturing processes. The methods are described in relation to components for gas turbine engines but have wider application in relation to any additively manufactured component in which it is desired to have a hollow internal portion.