Telescopic Manipulator Shaft for EB/PVD Coating Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing EB/PVD coating apparatuses for turbine blades have complex manipulator designs in the high-temperature, dust-laden process zone, leading to increased maintenance, energy consumption, and apparatus size, with seals and movable parts being particularly prone to faults.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus features telescopic segments and a manipulator with a shaft that runs through these segments, allowing the drive unit to be outside the process zone, reducing the number of components and seals within the high-temperature area, and using anti-twist devices and seals in intermediate regions to minimize wear and facilitate maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If seals and movable parts are provided in the treatment chamber to enable manipulator movement, then the workpiece can be moved and rotated for coating, but the reliability decreases due to increased maintenance requirements and component failures in the high-temperature, dust-laden environment
Solution Approach 1:
The drive unit and motor are extracted from the process zone and relocated to the introducing chamber. The manipulator shaft extends through the chamber wall into the process zone, allowing the workpiece to be moved and rotated without placing the drive mechanism in the harsh high-temperature, dust-laden environment. This extraction eliminates the seals and movable parts that would otherwise be required within the treatment chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator shaft acts as an intermediary element that transmits rotational motion from the drive unit in the introducing chamber to the workpiece holder in the process zone. This intermediary allows the workpiece to be rotated for uniform coating while keeping the drive mechanism away from the harmful process zone environment.
2Device complexity
If the manipulator drive unit is placed inside the vacuum region to enable direct control, then the movement control is simplified, but the apparatus size and energy consumption increase due to the need for larger vacuum chambers
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is segmented into distinct functional zones: the introducing chamber containing the drive unit and motor, and the process zone containing the workpiece holder. The manipulator shaft serves as a connection between these segments, allowing independent optimization of each zone. This segmentation enables the vacuum chamber to be sized according to the actual coating process requirements rather than accommodating the entire drive mechanism within the vacuum region.
3Reliability
If multiple seals and movable components are provided in the process zone to ensure vacuum integrity, then the vacuum maintenance is improved, but the maintenance outlay and energy consumption increase due to the harsh environment causing rapid wear
Solution Approach 1:
All seals and movable components that would normally be required within the process zone are extracted and relocated to the introducing chamber. The manipulator shaft provides a sealless connection across the chamber wall, eliminating the need for maintenance-prone seals in the harsh high-temperature, dust-laden process zone environment.
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 configuration reduces maintenance outlay, energy consumption, and apparatus size by minimizing components in the high-temperature and dust-laden region, while maintaining efficient coating capabilities and extending the service life of the apparatus.
Implementation Method 1
The method is preferably a physical vapour deposition method (PVD), in particular an electron beam/physical vapour deposition method (EB/PVD)
Implementation Method 2
an electron beam/physical vapour deposition method (EB/PVD)
Implementation Method 3
With the heat insulation layer, the heating resistance of the workpieces is increased and therefore the service life during operation is also extended
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and a method for coating workpieces with thermal barrier coatings. A manipulator shaft is guided here through a duct equipped with telescopic segments into the process chamber. The invention permits a particularly compact configuration of the plant.