Regenerating AM Components With Internal Passageways to Remove Voids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Additive manufacturing processes often result in components with subsurface defects such as voids and contaminates, leading to resource-intensive rejection of finished parts.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating an intermediate component with a ceramic core and shell mold, encasing the component to melt and solidify it, thereby eliminating defects and achieving a defectless component of the same complex shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If additive manufacturing is used to produce components, then manufacturing time and cost are reduced, but subsurface defects such as voids and contaminates are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The component is additively manufactured with intentional excess material (up to 15% additional volume) and embedded ceramic cores before the defect removal process. This preliminary preparation enables subsequent defect elimination through melting and solidification without requiring re-manufacturing of the entire component.
Solution Approach 2:
The component undergoes phase transformation from solid to liquid and back to solid through controlled melting and solidification. This parameter change enables the elimination of subsurface defects (voids and contaminates) while maintaining the complex geometry achieved through additive manufacturing.
2Manufacturing precision
If additive manufacturing produces components with subsurface defects, then component quality deteriorates, but rejecting these components causes material and resource waste
Solution Approach 1:
The defective component is extracted from the manufacturing process and subjected to a regeneration process. The excess material and ceramic cores are removed after the defect elimination process, leaving only the refined component with eliminated subsurface defects. This extraction approach saves the base component material from complete rejection.
Solution Approach 2:
The process discards the ceramic cores and excess material after they have served their purpose as placeholders and process aids. However, the primary component material is recovered and refined through melting and solidification, transforming a potentially rejected defective component into a high-quality finished product.
3Manufacturing precision
If excess material is added to the component, then the component volume increases, but this enables subsequent defect elimination
Solution Approach 1:
Excess material is intentionally added during the additive manufacturing process as a preliminary step. This excess material serves as a reservoir that enables subsequent defect elimination through melting, where the material can be fully remelted and resolidified without requiring additional material input during the regeneration process.
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 approach allows for the regeneration of additively manufactured components to be substantially free of subsurface defects, reducing material waste and enabling the use of previously rejected parts.
Implementation Method 1
melted, and then solidified to produce a substantially defectless component
Implementation Method 2
an outer ceramic shell mold encasing an entirety of the component, such that an entire external surface of the component is covered by the outer ceramic shell mold
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
An intermediate component (10) with an internal passageway (18), the intermediate component comprising a solid metallic additively manufactured component (10) with an internal passageway (18) in a near finished shape, wherein the component has voids greater than 0 percent but less than approximately 15 percent by volume and up to 15 percent additional material by volume in the near finished shape compared to a desired finished configuration; a ceramic core (20) disposed within the internal passageway (18) of the component; and an outer ceramic shell mold (22) encasing an entirety of the component, such that an entire external surface of the component (10) is covered by the outer ceramic shell mold.