Additive Sensor Housing with Planar Material Bond
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Solution Overview
Problem
Classic methods for producing sensor housings for pressure sensors, such as drilling, turning, milling, welding, and gluing, face limitations in shape complexity and detail resolution, as well as potential deformation due to weld seams, which can affect the elastic properties and reliability of the sensor.
Innovation Solution
The method employs additive manufacturing to create a sensor housing with a metallic sensor body and diaphragm stamp connected to a metal sheet via a planar, materially bonded joint, forming an annular membrane that maintains proportional deformation to pressure, eliminating the need for welds and enhancing gas-tightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If classic cutting and joining methods (drilling, turning, milling, welding, gluing) are used to manufacture sensor housings, then manufacturing flexibility and adaptability are limited, but manufacturing precision and structural integrity can be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing method from subtractive (cutting) and assembly (joining) processes to additive manufacturing. This parameter change enables complex three-dimensional geometries and fine details to be directly created without the limitations of traditional methods, while maintaining manufacturing precision through controlled material deposition and bonding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple manufacturing operations into a single additive manufacturing process. The sensor body, mounting structures, sealing features, and membrane integration are all created in one continuous build process, eliminating the need for separate cutting, drilling, and joining operations, thereby improving both flexibility and precision.
2Strength
If welding methods are used to join the diaphragm to the housing, then structural strength is improved, but deformation and distortion occur affecting elastic properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal welding process with a cold bonding process inherent to additive manufacturing. The material-bonded joint is formed through controlled material deposition and bonding at the atomic/molecular level without thermal input, eliminating the thermal deformation and distortion that would compromise the elastic properties of the diaphragm while maintaining joint strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the bonding parameter from thermal (welding temperature) to mechanical/chemical (material-bonded joint through additive manufacturing). This parameter change allows the diaphragm to be joined to the housing with full strength while preserving its elastic characteristics, as no thermal field is applied to the sensitive components.
3Manufacturing precision
If additive manufacturing is used to create the sensor housing, then shape complexity and detail resolution are improved, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple manufacturing steps into a single additive manufacturing process. The sensor body, mounting features, sealing structures, and diaphragm integration are all created in one continuous build operation, simplifying the overall manufacturing process despite the advanced technology used. This merging eliminates the need for post-processing operations like separate welding or assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The additive manufacturing device performs multiple functions simultaneously: it creates complex geometries, forms material-bonded joints, integrates the diaphragm, and ensures gas-tight sealing all in one process. This multi-functionality reduces the need for multiple specialized manufacturing设备和processes, thereby simplifying the overall manufacturing system.
4Reliability
If material-bonded joints are used instead of welds, then gas-tightness and elastic properties are improved, but joint strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces thermal welding with material-bonded joining through additive manufacturing. The material-bonded joint achieves superior gas-tightness by creating a continuous material structure without thermal degradation, while the controlled bonding process ensures adequate joint strength. The joint strength is maintained through the inherent bonding mechanism of the additive manufacturing process, which creates metallurgical or molecular-level bonds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different bonding characteristics to different regions of the joint. The material-bonded connection provides gas-tight sealing at the interface between the diaphragm and housing, while the additive manufacturing process ensures sufficient structural strength in the bonded region. The local quality of the joint is optimized for both sealing and strength requirements simultaneously.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing a sensor housing for a pressure sensor and to a sensor housing for a pressure sensor, to a pressure sensor having such a sensor housing, and to the use of an additive production device for producing such a sensor housing. A sensor body and/or at least one membrane stamp is applied to a provided metal plate by means of additive production. The additive production produces an integrally joined, in particular planar joint connection between the sensor body and/or the at least one membrane stamp, on the one side, and the metal plate, on the other side.