Waved-Path Porous Structure Manufacturing for Accurate Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional additive manufacturing techniques face challenges in producing porous structures with high accuracy, reproducibility, and mechanical strength, particularly in creating complex geometries with interconnected pores that are not easily deformed or blocked, and often result in reduced performance and fragility.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the deposition of interconnected filaments in stacked layers with waved paths to form interconnected pores and intra-structure channels, using angled and curved paths to create widened and narrowed regions, enhancing structural integrity and fluid dynamics properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional additive manufacturing techniques are used to produce porous structures, then manufacturing capability is achieved, but manufacturing precision and reproducibility of pore geometries deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs curved trajectories for filament deposition instead of straight lines, creating smoothly rounded pore geometries. The curved paths allow continuous motion during extrusion, preventing start-stop interruptions that degrade precision. This curvature principle directly addresses the contradiction by enabling complex porous geometries to be manufactured with high accuracy through continuous material deposition along curved paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of extrusion parameters during the printing process, including variable deposition speed, continuous path planning without sharp corners, and real-time modification of pore geometry based on positional feedback. This dynamic approach maintains manufacturing precision while achieving complex porous structures that static conventional methods cannot reproduce accurately.
2Productivity
If continuous extrusion is used to improve productivity, then manufacturing speed increases, but manufacturing precision of pores deteriorates due to deformation and blocking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains continuous extrusion action throughout the entire printing process, eliminating start-stop cycles that cause material deformation and pore blocking. The system plans continuous curved paths that allow the extrusion nozzle to move smoothly without interruption, preserving both productivity and pore precision. This continuous action principle ensures that material is deposited at a steady rate, preventing the formation defects associated with intermittent extrusion.
Solution Approach 2:
By using curved rather than linear paths, the patent enables continuous extrusion without sharp directional changes that would cause material堆积 (accumulation) or deformation. The curved trajectories allow the extruded material to maintain a consistent cross-section and shape, preventing blocking while maintaining high manufacturing speed through uninterrupted material flow.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional extrusion processes are used, then manufacturing capability is maintained, but geometrical freedom for creating desired pore structures is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses curved trajectory planning to create complex three-dimensional pore geometries that are impossible with conventional linear extrusion paths. The curved paths enable the formation of spherical, cylindrical, and irregular pore shapes with smooth transitions, providing extensive geometrical freedom while maintaining manufacturing capability through standard additive manufacturing equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional layer-by-layer construction with fixed patterns to three-dimensional curved path planning that operates in all spatial dimensions simultaneously. This dimensional expansion allows creation of complex porous geometries with varying pore sizes, shapes, and distributions throughout the structure, dramatically increasing geometrical freedom while using conventional manufacturing processes.
4Reliability
If smaller extrudates are used to increase surface area, then catalytic performance improves, but mechanical strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates extrudates with curved, rounded geometries instead of sharp edges or flat surfaces. These curved shapes with optimized surface-to-volume ratios provide high catalytic surface area while the rounded geometry inherently resists mechanical stress and fracture. The smooth curved surfaces distribute stress more evenly, preventing crack initiation and propagation, thus maintaining mechanical strength despite small extrudate size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent systematically varies geometric parameters of the extrudates, including curvature radius, pore size distribution, and wall thickness, to optimize the balance between surface area and mechanical strength. By adjusting these parameters, the system achieves small extrudate dimensions for high catalytic activity while maintaining sufficient mechanical integrity through optimized curved geometries and controlled material distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for manufacturing a three-dimensional porous structure, wherein interconnected filaments are deposited in a predetermined arrangement in a plurality of stacked layers, wherein the filaments of the consecutive layers are connected to one another to obtain the porous structure with interconnected pores, wherein filaments in the layers are deposited along waved paths such that narrowed regions and widened regions between at least one subset of adjacent filaments deposited along said waved paths are formed, wherein the plurality of stacked layers are positioned such that the widened regions formed in subsequent layers are at least partially overlapping so as to form intra-structure channels.