Metal Additive Manufacturing Heat Control to Prevent Oxidation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing additive manufacturing apparatuses for metal additive manufactured products face challenges with oxidation due to heat storage accumulation, especially in air atmospheres, leading to material property degradation and failure to meet predetermined standards, as they require either extensive gas replacement or enlarged shielding gas nozzles that interfere with processing accuracy.
Innovation Solution
An additive manufacturing apparatus and method that includes a material supply unit, an irradiation unit, a gas supply unit, a temperature measurement unit, and a control device to monitor and control the processing temperature, stopping or reducing the heat source output when the temperature reaches the oxidation temperature of the material, thereby preventing oxidation without the need for a vacuum or extensive inert gas use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the atmosphere in the entire processing range is replaced with vacuum or inert gas, then oxidation of products is prevented, but gas consumption increases and processing time increases due to replacement requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing shielding gas specifically to the deposition region where material is being processed, rather than replacing the entire processing atmosphere. The gas supply unit delivers shielding gas locally to the deposition region, creating an inert environment only where needed to prevent oxidation, while the rest of the processing chamber can maintain atmospheric pressure and allow continuous operation without time-consuming atmosphere replacement.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If shielding gas flow rate is increased to prevent oxidation, then oxidation resistance improves, but interference with sensors near the melting area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the gas supply function by providing shielding gas specifically to the deposition region rather than the entire processing chamber. This localized approach creates sufficient shielding against oxidation at the material deposition site while minimizing gas flow interference with sensors positioned in other areas of the processing chamber, thereby maintaining processing accuracy.
3Productivity
If continuous processing is performed in atmospheric conditions, then processing efficiency improves, but heat storage accumulation causes oxidation of products
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by supplying shielding gas to the deposition region before oxidation can occur. The gas supply unit continuously provides inert gas protection to the deposition region during the entire processing operation, preventing oxidation proactively even when heat storage accumulation occurs during continuous atmospheric processing.
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 solution effectively inhibits oxidation of metal additive manufactured products in air atmospheres, maintaining material properties and improving processing accuracy by dynamically controlling the heat source and shielding gas distribution.
Implementation Method 1
an irradiation unit to irradiate the processing region with a heat source that melts the material
Implementation Method 2
a heat source that melts the material
Implementation Method 3
a gas supply unit to eject a shielding gas to the processing region
Data Source
AI summary
An additive manufacturing apparatus for metal additive manufactured products supplies material of the metal additive manufactured products to a processing region, performs irradiation with a heat source that melts the supplied material, ejects a shielding gas to the processing region, and measures a temperature at a measurement point in the processing region. When the temperature at the measurement point during processing reaches a temperature set on the basis of an oxidation temperature of the material, a control device performs at least one of control of stopping the output of the heat source, control of reducing the output, or control of reducing the speed of movement or stopping the movement of the heat source moving in the processing region.