Thermal control for additive manufacturing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10974321-B2
Application number	US-201916599917-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 11, 2019
Priority date	Jun 14, 2016
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

An additive manufacturing system for building a product includes a base plate for mounting the product thereon, and at least one heating element shaped to at least partially conform to the product and configured to apply heat to at least a portion of the product as the product is additively manufactured to reduce thermal gradients in the product.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
designing a shape of a product;
creating a shape of a first heating element to conform to the shape of the product;
conforming the shape of the first heating element to an outer shape of the product to be produced in an additive manufacturing system;
additively manufacturing the product on a base plate and within the first heating element;
applying heat to a portion of the product using the first heating element during additive manufacturing to reduce thermal gradients in the product; and
applying heat to a portion of the product using a second heating element during additive manufacturing to reduce thermal gradients in the product, wherein heating the second heating element includes heating one or more heating elements disposed within the base plate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein additive manufacturing the product includes depositing powder within the heating element.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising applying energy from an energy applicator to the powder within the heating element to sinter the powder within the heating element.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling the heating element as a function of feedback from a thermal imaging device to reduce thermal gradients in the product.

Assignees

• Hamilton Sundstrand Corp

Inventors

• Karlen Eric W

Classifications

• B22F12/90

  Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors · CPC title

• B22F12/10

  Auxiliary heating means · CPC title

• B22F10/28

  Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] · CPC title

• B29C64/295 Primary

  Heating elements · CPC title

• B22F2999/00

  Aspects linked to processes or compositions used in powder metallurgy · CPC title