Wetting Agent Additive for In-Line Quality Check of CBAM Substrates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Additive manufacturing processes are slow and resource-intensive, with defects often discovered only after completion, leading to wastage of resources and time, necessitating an in-line quality check mechanism to detect defective substrates or missing jets during the manufacturing of 3D objects.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a wetting agent with a contrast material that can be detected by sensors, using dyes or additives that glow under specific light wavelengths to provide contrast for defect detection, allowing for real-time comparison with a reference pattern to identify and prevent end product voids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additive manufacturing processes are used to produce 3D objects, then complex shapes can be created without separate support structures, but defects are not discovered until the object is completed, leading to resource wastage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing quality inspection during the manufacturing process rather than after completion. The system deposits a detectable fluid onto the substrate before the defective object is fully formed, allowing early detection of defects such as missing jets or voids. This enables intervention before resources are wasted on completing defective objects, resolving the contradiction between reliability and time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using sensors to detect the deposited fluid pattern and compare it against the expected pattern. This real-time feedback mechanism allows the system to identify defects during manufacturing, enabling corrective action before the object is completed. The feedback loop connects the deposition process with quality monitoring, simultaneously improving reliability and reducing time loss from rework.
2Measurement precision
If a detectable fluid is deposited onto the substrate to enable quality inspection, then defects can be detected in real-time, but the substrate must be sufficiently permeable which may compromise structural integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by carefully controlling the deposition parameters of the detectable fluid, including deposition amount, fluid composition, and substrate conditions. By optimizing these parameters, the system achieves sufficient fluid penetration for sensor detection while maintaining substrate structural integrity. This resolves the contradiction between measurement precision and strength by finding the optimal parameter range that satisfies both requirements.
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 proposed solution enables in-line quality checking, significantly reducing or eliminating defects in 3D objects by providing real-time feedback during the manufacturing process, thus optimizing resource utilization and reducing waste.
Implementation Method 1
maintaining in a reservoir a wetting agent that can be selectively deposited
Implementation Method 2
The fluid is then deposited in a desired pattern onto a substrate... The fluid may then be allowed to wick or otherwise penetrate into the substrate
Implementation Method 3
adding a contrast material to the reservoir of wetting agent so as to be detectable by an imaging sensor
Implementation Method 4
using dyes or additives that glow under specific light wavelengths to provide contrast for defect detection
Implementation Method 5
capturing with the imaging sensor an image of the substrate after depositing the wetting agent with contrast material
Data Source
AI summary
According to aspects of the embodiments, there is provided process and apparatus to use additives with the clear wetting agent to aid in detection of defective substrates or missing jets. For light colored substrates, dye can be used for darkening of the wetting agent to provide sufficient contrast for defect detection. For dark colored substrates, the dye could be a specific color that a sensor is tuned for. An additive that glows only in the presence of a specific wave length of light could be utilized for any color substrate. By comparing the detected pattern to the desired pattern, end product voids can be greatly reduced or eliminated.