Lamination Planning for Inter-Pass Temperature and Build Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
In additive manufacturing, managing inter-pass temperature is challenging due to shape changes and varying welding conditions, leading to inefficiencies and potential deformation of built-up objects, especially when building complex shapes, which requires extensive experimentation and can result in prolonged manufacturing times and thermal stress-related issues.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that use three-dimensional shape data to create a depositing plan for additive manufacturing, performing heat transfer calculations to set and adjust inter-pass times, ensuring inter-pass temperatures fall within a preset range, and adjusting welding conditions to optimize building time, while also considering thermal contraction and deformation to maintain shape accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If extensive experiments are performed to obtain appropriate waiting time data for complex shapes, then manufacturing precision can be improved, but productivity deteriorates due to very long experiment times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs heat transfer calculations and determines optimal inter-pass waiting times before the actual additive manufacturing process begins. By pre-calculating the temperature evolution and cooling rates for different waiting times, the system establishes optimal parameters in advance, eliminating the need for time-consuming experiments during production while ensuring precise temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical experimentation with computational heat transfer modeling. Instead of conducting repeated physical experiments to determine waiting times, the system uses numerical simulations to predict temperature evolution, allowing rapid optimization of process parameters without the time and resource costs of physical trials.
2Manufacturing precision
If inter-pass temperature is kept low to prevent dripping and bead collapse, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to longer cooling time required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the inter-pass waiting time based on calculated cooling rates and temperature evolution. By optimizing this parameter, the system achieves the minimum necessary waiting time to reach the target inter-pass temperature, preventing both overheating (dripping) and excessive waiting (time loss), thus balancing precision and productivity.
3Device complexity
If inter-pass temperature is managed without considering shape changes, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to thermal stress and deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent accounts for local variations in heat capacity and thermal conduction that occur as the object shape evolves during additive manufacturing. By considering the changing geometry and its impact on thermal properties at different stages of building, the system optimizes inter-pass waiting times for each specific configuration, preventing thermal stress and deformation while maintaining manageable process complexity.
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 efficient management of inter-pass temperature and building time, reducing the risk of deformation and thermal stress, enabling the production of complex shapes within optimal timeframes while maintaining shape accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
A 3D printer that builds a metal material melts a metal powder or a metal wire using a heat source such as a laser, an electron beam, or an arc
Implementation Method 2
since the material is melted and solidified to perform the building, the built-up object is thermally contracted and deformed
Implementation Method 3
calculating an inter-pass temperature by performing heat transfer calculation in the inter-pass time
Data Source
AI summary
A building time for building an additively-manufactured object is calculated on the basis of the inter-pass time and the welding pass time and is compared with a preset upper limit value, and welding conditions in a depositing plan are repeatedly modified until the building time is equal to or less than the upper limit value. Alternatively, corrections are repeatedly performed until the shape difference between a building shape of built-up object shape data relating to the additively-manufactured object created on the basis of the inter-pass time and the inter-pass temperature, and a building shape of three-dimensional shape data, is smaller than a near net value.