In-Plane Surface Offsets for Additive Manufacturing Geometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Additive manufacturing processes result in components with geometry deviations due to thermal, mechanical, and printer attributes, requiring tedious design compensations that fail to preserve critical dimensions and often apply uniform offsets across entire components, neglecting specific surface geometries.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of systems, methods, and computer-program products for generating and applying in-plane offsets to 3D digital models, specifically within sequential build planes perpendicular to the build direction, to address thermal and mechanical effects, preserving critical dimensions and surface geometries by adjusting point positions within the X-Y plane.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If uniform offsets are applied across entire components to address manufacturing effects, then manufacturing precision is improved, but surface geometry fidelity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the component surface into multiple distinct surfaces and further segments each surface into multiple regions based on geometric characteristics. This segmentation allows different offset values to be applied to different regions, thereby maintaining surface geometry fidelity while achieving manufacturing precision through localized compensations rather than uniform offsets.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by assigning different offset values to different regions of the component surface based on their specific geometric characteristics. Each surface region receives tailored offset compensations appropriate to its local geometry, ensuring that manufacturing precision is improved without compromising the overall surface geometry fidelity of the component.
2Manufacturing precision
If design compensations are engineered into the original digital model to address manufacturing effects, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by automatically calculating and applying surface offsets to generate a modified 3D model before the additive manufacturing process. This pre-processing step incorporates all necessary manufacturing compensations into the digital model automatically, eliminating the need for complex manual design compensations and reducing device complexity while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical design compensation processes with an automated computational system. The system automatically analyzes surface geometries, calculates appropriate offsets, and generates the modified 3D model, substituting complex manual engineering operations with an automated algorithmic approach that reduces device complexity while achieving the same manufacturing precision goals.
3Manufacturing precision
If manual design compensations are used to address manufacturing effects, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the system to automatically calculate surface offsets and generate modified 3D models without requiring manual design adjustments. The automated process analyzes the original model, determines appropriate compensations based on surface geometries and manufacturing parameters, and produces the final compensated model, thereby improving productivity while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by automatically adjusting geometric parameters of the 3D model based on calculated surface offsets. The system modifies vertex coordinates, surface definitions, and other geometric parameters programmatically, replacing time-consuming manual parameter adjustments with automated parameter changes that significantly improve productivity while ensuring manufacturing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, that when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to discretize distinct surfaces of a 3D model defining nominal geometry of a component to be manufactured using an additive manufacturing machine; define a build orientation of the 3D model, the build orientation comprises an initial build plane and a build direction; apply one or more in-plane offsets to at least one of the discretized distinct surfaces of the 3D model; and generate an offset 3D model for use by the additive manufacturing machine to manufacture the component such that a manufactured component comprises the nominal geometry defined by the 3D model, where the offset 3D model defines the nominal geometry of the component offset by the one or more in-plane offsets applied to the at least one of the discretized distinct surfaces of the 3D model.