Phonon generation in bulk material for manufacturing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016271870-A1
Application number	US-201514664378-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 20, 2015
Priority date	Mar 20, 2015
Publication date	Sep 22, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed embodiments include the formation of an article of manufacture by a process in which vibrations are generated in a bulk material disposed within a build chamber. The vibrations are focused within a section of the base material, and the focusing is controlled to cause the section of the base material to undergo a physical transformation to form at least a portion of the article of manufacture.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of manufacturing, comprising:
selectively forming an article of manufacture using focused excitation by a process comprising:
generating vibrations in a base material disposed within a build chamber;
focusing the vibrations in a section of the base material; and
controlling the focusing of the vibrations to cause the section of the base material to undergo a physical transformation to form at least a portion of the additive manufacturing part.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating vibrations in the base material comprises directing a waveform into the base material to cause phonon propagation through a lattice of the section of the base material, wherein the waveform includes infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequencies, or any combination thereof, or includes a thermal emission, or includes an emission generated from a phoxonic crystal.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein directing the waveform into the base material comprises directing a first waveform into a phononic or phoxonic crystal using an acoustic source, forming a second waveform from the first waveform in the phononic or phoxonic crystal, and directing the second waveform into the section of the base material.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein forming the second waveform from the first waveform in the phononic or phoxonic crystal comprises directing the first waveform into a focusing region of the phononic or phoxonic crystal having a matrix and inclusions positioned within the matrix, the inclusions having a spatial periodicity corresponding to a desired bandgap in the second waveform.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating vibrations in the base material comprises directing an emission through a masking device to mask other sections of the base material from being subjected to the emission.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the masking device comprises one or more screens having a matrix and a movable material, wherein the matrix is transmittive with respect to the emission and the movable material is substantially non-transmittive with respect to the emission.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein directing the emission through the masking device comprises forming a pattern on the one or more screens corresponding to a portion of the article of manufacture using the movable material and directing the emission through the matrix while blocking the emission with the movable material.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the process comprises adjusting the pattern after the portion of the article of manufacture is formed, adjusting the section of the base material in which the vibrations are generated, and forming another portion of the additive manufacturing part using the adjusted pattern.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating vibrations in the base material comprises directing coherent light to a lens having one or more materials configured to transduce the coherent light into an ultrasonic wave, and directing the ultrasonic wave toward the base material, and wherein focusing the vibrations on the section of the base material comprises adjusting the lens to focus the ultrasonic wave on a focal region corresponding to the section.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein generating vibrations in the base material comprises producing a shock wave at a focal region in the base material, shock wave resulting in heating, pressure, or both, that sinters the base material at the focal region.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the focus of the vibrations to cause the section of the base material to undergo the physical transformation comprises increasing a frequency of oscillation within the base material to increase the temperature of the base material to a temperature suitable to cause the physical transformation.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the process comprises adjusting the frequency of oscillation within the base material of the additive manufacturing part to remove sections of the additive manufacturing part and thereby create patterns in the additive manufacturing part.

13 . A manufacturing system, comprising:
a build chamber configured to hold a bulk substrate in granular form; an emission system configured to project a waveform into the build chamber from a single side of the build chamber; and a controller configured to control the operation of the emission source to cause phonon generation in particular regions of the granular bulk substrate, wherein the controller is configured to control the phonon generation such that the particular regions of the bulk substrate resonate at a frequency sufficient to cause the bulk substrate to undergo a transformation to produce a portion of an additive manufacturing part.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the controller comprises all or a part of a computer numerical control (CNC) system having a computer model of the additive manufacturing part stored in non-transitory memory, and wherein the controller is configured to control the emission system to cause melting or sintering in the bulk substrate according to the computer model.

15 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the emission system comprises a focusing device having a lens, the lens having one or more materials configured to transduce light into an ultrasonic wave, and the emission system is configured to direct the ultrasonic wave toward the bulk substrate.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the emission system is configured to produce the ultrasonic wave such that when the ultrasonic wave interacts with the bulk substrate, a shockwave is produced within a section of the bulk substrate to produce the portion of the additive manufacturing part.

17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the emission system is configured to project the waveform into the build chamber from the single side using only a single emission source.

18 . The system of claim 15 , comprising a dynamic template positioned between the build chamber and the emission system, wherein the dynamic template comprises a matrix and a movable material, wherein the matrix is transmittive with respect to the waveform and the movable material is substantially non-transmittive with respect to the waveform.

19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the dynamic template comprises template control circuitry communicatively coupled to the controller, and the template control circuitry is configured to control the movable material using a magnetic field applied across the dynamic template, using electrical signals applied across the dynamic template, or a combination thereof.

20 . The system of claim 13 , comprising a build chamber actuation system coupled to the build chamber and configured to cause at least a portion of the build chamber to actuate to enable settling of the bulk substrate within the build chamber.

21 . A method of manufacturing, comprising:
forming a manufacturing part using focused phonon generation by a process comprising:
generating phonons in a solid bulk substrate;
focusing the phonon generation on sections of the solid bulk substrate to be removed; and
controlling the focusing of the phonon generation to generate atomic oscillation in a lattice of the bulk substrate with sufficient energy to remove the solid bulk substrate at a point of focus.

Assignees

• Chevron Phillips Chemical Co Lp

Inventors

• Brown Jr Alfred E

Classifications

• B22F12/44

  characterised by the configuration of the radiation means · CPC title

• B22F12/43

  pulsed; frequency modulated · CPC title

• B22F12/37

  Rotatable · CPC title

• B22F12/33

  translatory in the deposition plane · CPC title

• B22F12/226

  for rotary motion · CPC title