3D-Printed Wear Layer with Integrated Wear Indicators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 3-D printed wear parts lack effective monitoring mechanisms for wear state, leading to premature replacement and potential downtime, as they are typically homogeneous and lack indicators for wear assessment.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a wear layer with integrated wear indicators produced by additive manufacturing, such as 3-D printing, which can visually, electrically, or haptically indicate wear state, allowing for timely replacement and reducing maintenance downtime, and enabling data collection for optimization of wear parts and machines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional homogeneous 3-D printed wear parts are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but wear state monitoring capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The wear part is segmented into functionally distinct layers: a wear layer that experiences degradation and an indicator layer that remains relatively intact. This segmentation allows the wear state to be visually monitored through color differences between layers, providing wear state information without requiring complex external monitoring systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Different layers of the wear part are assigned different local qualities, specifically different colors (e.g., first color for the wear layer, second color for the indicator layer). This local quality differentiation enables visual detection of wear progression as the wear layer degrades and exposes or changes the appearance of the indicator layer.
2Loss of time
If wear parts are replaced based on prespecified geometry without monitoring, then operational simplicity is maintained, but premature replacement occurs leading to increased loss of time
Solution Approach 1:
The indicator layer is pre-configured with a different color than the wear layer before the wear part is put into service. This preliminary differentiation allows for continuous visual monitoring of wear progression, enabling operators to assess wear state accurately and replace parts only when necessary, thereby reducing unplanned downtime and premature replacements.
3Ease of manufacture
If homogeneous material is used throughout the wear part, then manufacturing process simplicity is maintained, but wear monitoring functionality is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The wear part employs composite material construction with at least two different materials or material compositions having distinct colors. The first material forms the wear layer and the second material forms the indicator layer. This composite approach enables wear monitoring functionality while maintaining compatibility with additive manufacturing processes, as the different materials can be deposited sequentially during the printing process.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a wear part (10E). The wear part (10E) has a part interior (14) and a wear layer (12E). The wear layer (12E) is produced by additive manufacturing, covers the part interior (14) and has a wear indicator (18E) which is produced by additive manufacturing and is designed to indicate a state of wear of the wear part (10E) if the wear indicator (18E) is exposed and/or removed due to wear. Advantageously, the wear part (10E) can allow a simple wear monitoring by monitoring the wear indicator (18E).