Cable-driven additive manufacturing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11230032-B2
Application number	US-201916383105-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2019
Priority date	Apr 13, 2018
Publication date	Jan 25, 2022
Grant date	Jan 25, 2022

Abstract

A cable-driven additive manufacturing system includes an end effector configured for linear translation within a three-dimensional workspace, an aerial hoist suspending the end effector by at least one suspension cable, a plurality of base stations disposed below the aerial hoist, and control cables running from each of the base stations to the end effector.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cable-driven additive manufacturing system comprising:
an end effector configured for linear translation within a three-dimensional workspace along an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis;
an aerial hoist suspending the end effector within the three-dimensional workspace by at least one suspension cable, the aerial hoist having a static position within the three-dimensional workspace whereby the aerial hoist is not translated along the x-axis with the end effector and the aerial hoist is not translated along the y-axis with the end effector;
an aerial cable winder configured to control linear translation of the end effector along the z-axis;
a plurality of motion-control base stations disposed below the aerial hoist and configured to control linear translation of the end effector in an x-y plane defined by the x-axis and the y-axis, each motion-control base station comprising a base station cable winder;
a plurality of motion-control cables, at least one of the plurality of motion-control cables running from each of the base station cable winders to the end effector;
at least one tension-control base station; and
at least one tension-control cable running from the tension-control base station to the end effector.

2. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of motion-control base stations comprises at least two motion-control base stations.

3. The additive manufacturing system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one tension-control base station comprises a first tension-control base station and a second tension-control base station spaced from the first tension-control base station, and the at least one tension-control cable comprises a first tension-control cable running from the first tension-control base to the end effector and a second tension-control cable running from the first tension-control base to the end effector.

4. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of motion-control cables and the at least one tension-control cable are tensioned to lie substantially parallel to the x-y plane.

5. The additive manufacturing system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one suspension cable includes at least a portion extending along the z-axis.

6. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of motion-control base stations comprises a pulley supporting the associated motion-control cable to change the direction of the force applied by the associated motion-control cable.

7. The additive manufacturing system of claim 6 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of motion-control base stations comprises a telescoping portion to adjust the height of the pulley.

8. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of motion-control base stations comprises two motion-control cables running to the end effector, wherein the two motion-control cables are parallel to each other.

9. The additive manufacturing system of claim 8 , wherein at least one other of the plurality of motion-control base stations comprises three motion-control cables running to the end effector, wherein the three motion-control cables are parallel to each other.

10. The additive manufacturing system of claim 9 , wherein the at least one suspension cable comprises a single suspension cable.

11. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the aerial hoist comprises a platform which supports the aerial cable winder, and the end effector is suspended from the platform by the at least one suspension cable, wherein the at least one suspension cable can be adjustably extended from the aerial cable winder on the platform and retracted back on the aerial cable winder on the platform.

12. The additive manufacturing system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one suspension cable comprises at least two suspension cables suspending the end effector below the platform.

13. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the aerial hoist comprises a pulley supporting the at least one suspension cable to change the direction of the force applied by the at least one suspension cable.

14. The additive manufacturing system of claim 13 , wherein the aerial cable winder is provided on one of the plurality of motion-control base stations or on the at least one tension-control base station, wherein the at least one suspension cable can be adjustably extended from the aerial cable winder and retracted back on the aerial cable winder.

15. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the aerial hoist comprises a single aerial hoist configured to be suspended by a crane.

16. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one guy-wire extending between the aerial hoist and each of the plurality of motion-control base stations and the at least one tension-control base station.

17. The additive manufacturing system of claim 16 , wherein each motion-control base station and the at least one tension-control base station comprises a guy-wire cable winder, wherein each of the guy-wires can be adjustably extended from their respective guy-wire cable winder and retracted back on their respective guy-wire cable winder.

18. The additive manufacturing system of claim 1 , wherein the system is operated to maintain the plurality of motion-control cables in a linear range of stiffness in which the contribution of catenary sag of the plurality of motion-control cables becomes negligible and the stiffness remains approximately constant with increasing tension.

19. The additive manufacturing system of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of motion-control cables are tensioned to at least a predetermined minimum tension comprising a minimum tension at which cable stiffness remains approximately constant with increasing tension.

20. The additive manufacturing system of claim 18 , wherein at least one of the plurality of motion-control cable comprises one of a 7×19 steel wire rope and a rope made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fibers.

Assignees

• Ut Battelle Llc

Inventors

• Post Brian K
• Love Lonnie J
• Lind Randall F
• Chesser Phillip C
• Roschli Alex C

Classifications

• B33Y30/00 Primary

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• B28B1/001 Primary

  Rapid manufacturing of 3D objects by additive depositing, agglomerating or laminating of material (selective deposition modelling of metallic powder B22F10/00; rapid manufacturing of 3D objects in general and in particular of plastics B29C64/00) · CPC title

• E04B2001/3588

  using special lifting or handling devices, e.g. gantries, overhead conveying rails · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• E04B1/3505

  characterised by the in situ moulding of large parts of a structure (E04B1/3511, E04B1/3516, E04B1/3522, E04B1/3533, E04B1/3544, E04B1/355 take precedence) · CPC title