Hybrid measurement and simulation based distortion compensation system for additive manufacturing processes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11328107-B2
Application number	US-201816119408-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2018
Priority date	Aug 31, 2018
Publication date	May 10, 2022
Grant date	May 10, 2022

Abstract

A method and system, the method including receiving a nominal computer-aided design (CAD) model of a component; producing a physical representation of the component based on the CAD model using an additive manufacturing (AM) process; measuring the produced physical representation of the component to obtain measurement data of the physical representation of the component; determining a deviation between a geometry of the CAD model and the measurement data of the physical representation of the component; calculating a nonlinear scale factor using an iterative simulation process; determining a compensation field based on the determined deviation between the geometry of the CAD model and the measurement data of the physical representation of the component and the calculated nonlinear scale factor; modifying the nominal CAD model by the determined compensation field; and producing a physical representation of the component based on the modified nominal CAD model.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a memory storing executable program instructions therein; and
a processor in communication with the memory, the processor operative to execute the program instructions to:
receive a nominal computer-aided design (CAD) model of a component;
produce a first physical representation of the component based on the nominal CAD model using an additive manufacturing process;
measure the first physical representation of the component to obtain measurement data of the first physical representation of the component;
determine a deviation between a geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component;
calculate a nonlinear scale factor map using an iterative simulation process, wherein the nonlinear scale factor map comprises a map associating a plurality of locations of the CAD model to corresponding ones of a plurality of scale factors respectively representing an increase or a decrease in an amount of distortion compensation to be applied based at least in part on a simulated effect upon the component in response to the iterative simulation process;
determine a compensation field indicating the amount of distortion compensation to be applied across at least a portion of the component, wherein the amount of distortion compensation corresponds at least in part to a multiplication product of (i) the deviation between the geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component, and (ii) the nonlinear scale factor map;
modify the nominal CAD model by the compensation field; and
produce a second physical representation of the component based on the modified nominal CAD model.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component is obtained from a surface of the first physical representation of the component and is point-cloud coordinate data.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the deviation between a geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component is represented as a set of column vectors.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the nonlinear scale factor map is appended to the set of column vectors.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the iterative simulation process comprises:
(i) generating a nominal simulated distortion of a nominal input geometry representing the component using a numerical method;
(ii) morphing the nominal input geometry using the nominal simulated part distortion, providing a morphed input geometry;
(iii) generating an updated simulated distortion using the morphed input geometry;
(iv) comparing the updated simulated distortion to the nominal simulated distortion to determine a respective iteration of the nonlinear scale factor map, wherein the respective iteration of the nonlinear scale factor map comprises a map of a simulated effect upon the component in response to a respective iteration of morphing the nominal input geometry; and
repeating operations (i)-(iv) one or more times.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the nominal input geometry in a first instance of operation (i) is the geometry of the nominal CAD model.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the calculation of the nonlinear scale factor map using an iterative simulation process is executed, at least in part, before or in parallel with the producing of the first physical representation of the component; the obtaining of the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component; and the determination of the deviation between the geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the numerical method comprises at least one of a finite element analysis and a boundary element method.

9. A method comprising:
receiving a nominal computer-aided design (CAD) model of a component;
producing a first physical representation of the component based on the nominal CAD model using an additive manufacturing process;
measuring the first physical representation of the component to obtain measurement data of the first physical representation of the component;
determining a deviation between a geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component;
calculating a nonlinear scale factor map using an iterative simulation process, wherein the nonlinear scale factor map comprises a map associating a plurality of locations of the CAD model to corresponding ones of a plurality of scale factors respectively representing an increase or a decrease in an amount of distortion compensation to be applied based at least in part on a simulated effect of the component in response to the iterative simulation process;
determining a compensation field indicating the amount of distortion compensation to be applied across at least a portion of the component, wherein the amount of distortion compensation corresponds at least in part to a multiplication product of (i) the deviation between the geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component, and (ii) the nonlinear scale factor map;
modifying the nominal CAD model by the compensation field; and
producing a second physical representation of the component based on the modified nominal CAD model.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component is obtained from a surface of the first physical representation of the component and is point-cloud coordinate data.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the deviation between a geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component is represented as a set of column vectors.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nonlinear scale factor map is appended to the set of column vectors.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the iterative simulation process comprises:
(i) generating a nominal simulated distortion of a nominal input geometry representing the component using a numerical method;
(ii) morphing the nominal input geometry using the nominal simulated part distortion, providing a morphed input geometry;
(iii) generating an updated simulated distortion using the morphed input geometry;
(iv) comparing the updated simulated distortion to the nominal simulated distortion to determine a respective iteration of the nonlinear scale factor map, wherein the respective iteration of the nonlinear scale factor map comprises a map of a simulated effect upon the component in response to a respective iteration of morphing the nominal input geometry; and
repeating operations (i)-(iv) one or more times.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the nominal input geometry in a first instance of operation (i) is the geometry of the nominal CAD model.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the calculation of the nonlinear scale factor map using an iterative simulation process is executed, at least in part, before or in parallel with the producing of the first physical representation of the component; the obtaining of the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component; and the determination of the deviation between the geometry of the nominal CAD model and the measurement data of the first physical representation of the component.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the numerical method comprises at least one of a finite element anal

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Yang Pinghai
• Nelson Tyler
• Makinde Adegboyega
• Robinson Dean

Classifications

• G06F2111/10

  Numerical modelling · CPC title

• G06F2119/18

  Manufacturability analysis or optimisation for manufacturability · CPC title

• G01B21/20

  for measuring contours or curvatures, e.g. determining profile · CPC title

• G06F2111/20

  Configuration CAD, e.g. designing by assembling or positioning modules selected from libraries of predesigned modules · CPC title

• B29C64/386

  Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing · CPC title