Material Extraction Tool for Additive Manufacturing Residual Powder
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Solution Overview
Problem
Additive manufacturing techniques face challenges in removing unused materials, such as residual powder or granular materials, from the hollow interiors of components, especially when these materials are inaccessible or difficult to extract due to sealed interior spaces and complex designs, which can interfere with operation and reduce manufacturing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A material extraction tool is designed to sealingly engage an aperture of a component, featuring a first passage for compressed air and a second passage for extracting unused materials, allowing for the removal of entrained materials through a connected repository, effectively addressing the issue of inaccessible residual materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If additive manufacturing is used to form components from metal powder, then manufacturing efficiency and cost are improved, but unused material remains trapped in hollow interiors and is difficult to remove
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates extraction passages and apertures into the component design before the additive manufacturing process completes. These features are built in advance to enable subsequent removal of unused material, rather than attempting to remove material after the component is fully formed and sealed.
Solution Approach 2:
The component is designed with segmented features including apertures and internal passages that divide the hollow interior into accessible regions. This segmentation allows unused material to be accessed and removed through specific pathways rather than requiring access to the entire enclosed space.
2Strength
If sealed interior spaces are used in component design, then structural integrity is improved, but access to hollow interiors for material removal is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
Extraction apertures and passages are incorporated into the component design before final sealing occurs. This preliminary action ensures that material removal pathways are established while maintaining the ability to access the hollow interior, before the component becomes fully sealed and structurally complete.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses intermediate structures such as extraction passages and apertures that serve as mediators between the external environment and the sealed hollow interior. These intermediary features allow material removal without compromising the overall sealed structure and structural integrity of the component.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex component designs with distinct physical characteristics are used, then functional performance is improved, but accessibility for material removal is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Complex component designs are segmented to include specific extraction passages and apertures that provide access pathways through the complex structure. This segmentation allows unused material to be accessed through designated routes without requiring access to the entire complex geometry, maintaining both functional performance and material removal accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent addresses accessibility issues by introducing new dimensional pathways through internal passages and apertures. Rather than attempting to access material through the external complex geometry, extraction pathways are created through internal three-dimensional routes that bypass the complexity of the external form.
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
The tool enables efficient removal of unused materials from components, improving manufacturing efficiency by ensuring that components are free of residual materials, which can then be reused or recycled, thereby enhancing the operational integrity and reducing waste.
Implementation Method 1
a first passage within the body, the first passage fluidly connecting the hollow interior of the component to an air conduit outside the body, the air conduit fluidly coupled to a compressed air supply
Implementation Method 2
injecting a compressed air into the hollow interior of the component through the first passage of the body to extract an unused material from the hollow interior of the component through the second passage
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a material extraction tool, including: a body shaped to sealingly engage an aperture in a component, the aperture defining a fluid connection between a hollow interior of the component and an exterior of the component; a first passage within the body, the first passage fluidly connecting the hollow interior of the component to an air conduit outside the body, the air conduit fluidly coupled to a compressed air supply; and a second passage within the body, the second passage fluidly connecting the hollow interior of the component to an extraction conduit outside the body, the extraction conduit fluidly coupled to a material repository positioned outside the hollow interior of the component.