Hybrid Manufacturing Process Planning With Partial Order Constraints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hybrid manufacturing processes face challenges in efficiently determining the optimal sequence of additive and subtractive manufacturing actions to produce complex 3D objects, leading to increased time-to-market and costs due to separate execution of AM and SM steps and additional post-processing operations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that constrain a search space using partial order constraints to determine optimized hybrid manufacturing process plans by representing manufacturing actions as Boolean operations and using a search tree to find cost-effective orderings of actions that produce a desired final state, incorporating cost models and heuristics to prune the search space and identify optimal plans.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If AM and SM steps are performed separately by different machines, then each manufacturing technology can be optimized independently, but additional re-fixturing and post-processing operations are required, increasing time-to-market and manufacturing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines additive manufacturing (AM) and subtractive manufacturing (SM) operations into a single hybrid machine system. The machine integrates an AM nozzle for material deposition and an SM spindle for material removal, allowing both processes to occur on the same workpiece without removal or re-fixturing. This merging eliminates the time loss associated with transferring workpieces between separate machines while maintaining the precision benefits of both technologies.
Solution Approach 2:
The hybrid machine is designed with universal capabilities to perform multiple manufacturing functions. The same machine platform can execute AM operations (laser cladding, material extrusion), SM operations (milling, drilling, grinding), and hybrid sequences of both. This multi-functionality allows a single machine to replace multiple specialized machines, reducing overall manufacturing time and complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If AM and SM steps are performed separately, then process planning is simpler for each individual technology, but additional post-processing operations are required, increasing manufacturing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges AM and SM process planning into a unified hybrid process planning framework. The system uses a common process plan data structure that sequences AM and SM operations together, eliminating the need for separate planning processes and subsequent integration. This unified approach reduces manufacturing costs by eliminating re-fixturing operations and post-processing steps while maintaining ease of manufacture through integrated planning tools.
3Ease of manufacture
If current HM approaches complete AM steps first to produce a near-net shape followed by SM steps, then the scaffolding process is simple to implement, but the range of manufacturable 3D objects is limited and cost-effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic hybrid process planning that can adapt the sequence of AM and SM operations based on the specific geometry and requirements of the target object. Rather than following a fixed AM-then-SM scaffolding sequence, the system dynamically determines the optimal ordering of operations, allowing interleaved sequences where SM may precede AM or alternate with AM multiple times. This dynamic approach expands the range of manufacturable objects while maintaining implementation feasibility through automated planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of operation sequencing from a fixed static sequence to a dynamic variable sequence. By allowing the process plan to specify different orderings of AM and SM operations based on object characteristics, the system achieves both adaptability for diverse object geometries and ease of manufacture through automated parameter optimization. The cost-effectiveness improves by selecting sequences that minimize material waste and operation count.
4Adaptability or versatility
If interleaved AM and SM steps are performed in nontrivial orderings, then the range of manufacturable objects increases and cost-effectiveness improves, but determining the optimal ordering becomes computationally challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual or heuristic mechanical process planning methods with an automated computer-based planning system. The system uses software algorithms to generate, evaluate, and optimize hybrid process plans, substituting computational intelligence for complex manual planning. This automation handles the computational complexity of determining optimal AM-SM sequences, allowing nontrivial interleaved orderings to be generated efficiently without proportionally increasing user-facing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The hybrid process planning system performs self-service by automatically generating optimized process plans without requiring extensive user intervention. The system takes object geometry and manufacturing requirements as input, then autonomously determines the optimal sequence of AM and SM operations, selecting appropriate parameters and toolpaths. This self-service capability reduces the perceived complexity for users while enabling sophisticated interleaved manufacturing sequences.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system and method for facilitating a search for a hybrid-manufacturing process plan for manufacturing an object. During operation, the system can obtain a set of partial order constraints constraining the order in which a set of at least two manufacturing actions, corresponding to addition or removal of predefined regions of space, appear in a process plan. The system can constrain, based on the set of partial order constraints, a search space. The search space can correspond to a tree in which the nodes represent the object's state and the edges represent available actions at each node. The system can then determine a set of optimized process plans represented by orderings of the actions, corresponding to paths on the search tree, that produce the desired final state in a cost-effective manner.