3D-Printed Shell Panels With Hollow Ribs for Lightweight Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for producing large-sized shell-like or plate-like supporting structures, such as those for watercraft, aircraft, and motor-vehicle structures, struggle to simultaneously achieve the necessary characteristics of strength and lightness, often compromising surface finish and requiring complex, non-adaptable manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing additive-manufacturing technology, specifically FDM, to create structures with a lattice of stiffening ribs on the inner face, allowing for smooth outer surfaces and optimized rib configurations, while employing materials like metal, polymer, or composite materials, and incorporating hollow ribs for added strength and reduced weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional techniques (milling, fibre-placement, thread-winding) are used to produce shell-like structures with stiffening ribs, then structural strength and stiffness are improved, but manufacturing complexity and production time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the shell structure and stiffening ribs into a single integrated component manufactured in one additive printing process. This eliminates the need for separate manufacturing and assembly operations for ribs and shells, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining structural strength through optimized lattice rib designs
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the manufacturing approach from conventional subtractive or layer-by-layer composite techniques to additive manufacturing with variable lattice structures. By adjusting lattice parameters (density, orientation, geometry) during printing, the method achieves optimized strength-to-weight ratios without complex assembly procedures
2Strength
If stiffening ribs are added to thin-walled shell structures to increase strength, then structural stiffness is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the lattice structure density and geometry of stiffening ribs in different regions of the shell. Areas requiring higher stiffness have denser or more robust lattice patterns, while less critical areas use sparser structures, optimizing the overall strength-to-weight ratio of the component
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes composite materials (such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymers or metal matrix composites) in the additive manufacturing process. These composite materials provide high structural stiffness and strength with reduced density, allowing stiffening ribs to enhance structural performance while minimizing weight increase
3Reliability
If conventional manufacturing methods are used for large-sized shell structures, then structural integrity is maintained, but production time and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs preliminary digital modeling and simulation of the additive manufacturing process to optimize support structures, printing paths, and lattice configurations before actual production. This preliminary action ensures structural integrity is maintained while minimizing material usage and production time through optimized build parameters
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves continuity of useful action by manufacturing entire shell structures with integrated stiffening ribs in a single additive printing operation without interruption or assembly. This continuous manufacturing process eliminates downtime between operations, reduces cumulative errors, and maintains structural integrity while significantly improving production efficiency for large-sized components
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 method enables the production of lightweight, structurally strong supporting structures with smooth surfaces, adaptable to various designs without equipment modification, reducing production costs and time, and enhancing mechanical properties through optimized layer adhesion and reduced thermal losses.
Implementation Method 1
The term 'additive manufacturing' is used herein to refer to a wide range of techniques, where an object is manufactured starting from 3D computer models by adding layers on top of one another... A specific type of additive manufacturing is the FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technique, where an object is created layer by layer with the use of a dispensing head that deposits material in a continuous way along a pre-set path.
Implementation Method 2
enhancing mechanical properties through optimized layer adhesion
Data Source
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AI summary
Shell-like or plate-like supporting structures, for example for hulls of watercraft or aircraft structures, for instance wing or tail structures, motor-vehicle bodies or their subassemblies, propeller-blade structures or wind rotor-blade structures, are obtained by forming one or more panels (P) using an additive-manufacturing technology, for example FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technology, in such a way as to obtain panels with a lattice of stiffening ribs (3) on at least one face of the panels. In one example, the stiffening ribs are hollow and are formed simultaneously with forming of the panel, preferably using FDM technology, by moving a dispensing head (1) that dispenses a continuous thread of material according to a closed-loop path to form each layer, or else according to a path between two opposite ends that is followed back and forth in the two directions to obtain different layers of the panel and that includes loop shaped stretches to define the aforesaid hollow ribs. The loop-shaped stretches can be defined with or without overlaying of the portions of thread corresponding to the start and end of each loop. The cavities of the ribs can be filled with additional reinforcement material, for example resin (R) and/or are used for the passage of cables (4) or service ducts (5) or as ventilation ducts (6) and/or are used to engage within them elements of connection between the panels (P). The method makes it possible to obtain shell-like or plate-like supporting structures that are extremely light and that nevertheless present the necessary characteristics of structural strength, at the same time guaranteeing that smooth and fair surfaces are achieved on the outside of the structure.