3D-Printed Ceramic Coil Body for High-Temperature Flowmeters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coil arrangements for flowmeters, particularly Coriolis and magnetic-inductive flowmeters, face limitations in design complexity and manufacturing efficiency, with ceramic coil bodies often produced by injection molding which restricts fineness of structure and is resource-intensive.
Innovation Solution
The use of additive manufacturing processes, such as stereolithography or 3D printing, to create ceramic coil bodies with intricate structures, allowing for lighter, cost-effective designs suitable for high-temperature applications, and incorporating features like irregular or regular internal structures, back tapers, and ceramic sheathing for protection and thermal insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If injection molding process is used to produce ceramic coil bodies, then production efficiency is improved, but manufacturing precision and structural fineness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical injection molding process with an additive manufacturing process (3D printing). This substitution allows for the creation of complex, fine structures that cannot be achieved through traditional injection molding, while maintaining production efficiency. The additive process builds the ceramic coil body layer by layer, enabling precise control over structural fineness and internal geometries.
2Productivity
If injection molding process is used to produce ceramic coil bodies, then production efficiency is improved, but material usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous or lattice structures within the ceramic coil body that are manufactured via additive manufacturing. These porous structures reduce the overall material consumption while maintaining the necessary mechanical strength and thermal properties. The additive process allows for optimized material distribution, placing material only where structurally necessary, thereby reducing waste compared to solid injection-molded parts.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional coil body designs are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but thermal stability and high-temperature performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes ceramic materials with specific composite formulations that provide enhanced thermal stability and high-temperature performance. The additive manufacturing process enables the incorporation of ceramic powders or precursors that are then sintered or cured to form the final ceramic structure. This approach maintains manufacturing simplicity through digital modeling and automated printing while achieving superior thermal properties through material selection and processing parameters.
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 enables the production of coil arrangements with significantly reduced material usage, improved thermal stability, and enhanced protection, leading to lighter, more efficient, and cost-effective designs that minimize mechanical stresses and extend usability to high-temperature environments.
Implementation Method 1
the coil body is produced by means of an additive manufacturing process
Implementation Method 2
ceramics are much more insensitive to temperature than plastics, so that even measurement environments with more than 400° C. are no problem for the coil bodies
Implementation Method 3
In magnetic-inductive flowmeters, coil arrangements are needed to generate a magnetic field passing through the measuring tube
Implementation Method 4
In Coriolis flowmeters, for example, coil arrangements are used as actuators to excite the measuring tubes to oscillation
Data Source
AI summary
A coil arrangement for a flowmeter, in particular a Coriolis flowmeter or a magnetic-inductive flowmeter, having a coil, wherein the coil has a coil body and has at least one coil winding made of an electrically conductive material. The object of providing a coil arrangement that has an advantageous design in comparison to the coil arrangements known from the prior art is achieved in that the coil body is made of a ceramic material and that the coil body is produced by means of an additive manufacturing process. In addition, the invention relates to a flowmeter having a respective coil arrangement as well as a method for manufacturing such a coil arrangement.