Additive layer manufacturing method and apparatus for the manufacture of a three-dimensional fiber-reinforced object

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016279873-A1
Application number	US-201615080081-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 24, 2016
Priority date	Mar 27, 2015
Publication date	Sep 29, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Method and apparatus of manufacturing a three-dimensional fiber-reinforced object by additive layer manufacturing, including providing layers of powder material, one on top of the other, on a support device, and selectively irradiating each layer with a laser beam or particle beam prior to providing the successive layer only in those areas corresponding to the object to be manufactured. Irradiation occurs where the powder material is locally molten or sintered in respective areas for solidifying the layer. Fibers are provided to the support device or in one of the layers in the course of solidification and held by a fiber holding arrangement. Each layer is provided by spraying the powder material by a spray head, and the support device is electrically charged and/or the powder material is electrically charged in the spray head prior to spraying, the powder material being electrically attracted to the support device.

First claim

1 . An additive layer manufacturing method for production of a three-dimensional fiber-reinforced object, wherein a plurality of layers of a powder material are applied successively and one on top of another on a support device and each layer is selectively irradiated, prior to application of a subsequent layer, by at least one laser beam or particle beam only in areas of the layer that correspond to the three-dimensional object to be produced, wherein the irradiation is carried out such that the powder material is locally melted or sintered in respective areas to solidify the layer in these areas, wherein
a plurality of fibers is provided, each of which fiber
is fixed with one end, prior to the application of the first layer or after the application of a part of the layers, to the support device or in one of the layers in the course of solidification thereof, and
is held by a fiber holding arrangement such that, at least in a portion extending from the fixed end, it extends through a space region in which one or more of the subsequent layers are applied and which corresponds to the three-dimensional object to be produced,
each of the layers is applied by spraying the powder material by at least one spray head, and the support device is electrically charged and/or the powder material is electrically charged in the at least one spray head prior to the spraying, such that the powder material is electrically attracted by the support device.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the support device is electrically charged prior to each application of a layer, and the support device is discharged after each application of a layer and prior to or after solidification of this layer.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the support device is shaken or vibrated after each application of a layer and prior to the solidification thereof.

4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein the support device is shaken or vibrated with a frequency from the ultrasonic range.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the powder material is sprayed, using two or more spray heads, from different directions relative to the support device.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein, upon each application of a layer, the layer thickness is optically monitored and, on the basis of the monitoring, the application is controlled such that a predetermined layer thickness is obtained.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the support device is electrically charged differently in different areas, such that a different application of the powder material occurs in the different areas.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein spatial orientation of the support device is changed such that, during the application of different layers, the support device has at least two different orientations.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fiber holding arrangement and/or the at least one spray head is moved relative to the support device.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the selective irradiation of each layer takes place from different directions by several laser or particle beams.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fibers are glass fibers, aramid fibers, carbon fibers, ceramic fibers and/or metal fibers.

12 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the powder material includes powder from a metal or a metal alloy, powder from a plastic material, powder from a ceramic material and/or powder from a glass material.

13 . An apparatus for production of a three-dimensional fiber-reinforced object using a method according to claim 1 , which apparatus comprises:
a support device, a powder material feeding device, which is adapted for applying the plurality of layers of a powder material to the support device, and which comprises the at least one spray head for spraying the powder material, an irradiation device, which is adapted for irradiating each layer applied by the powder material feeding device prior to the application of the subsequent layer selectively and by areas using at least one laser beam or particle beam, a charging device, which is adapted for selectively electrically charging and discharging the support device, a fiber holding arrangement, which is adapted for holding a plurality of fibers, that are fixed with one end to the support device or in a layer of the object, in such a way that, at least in a portion extending from the fixed end, they each extend through a space region in which one or more of the subsequent layers are applied and which corresponds to a three-dimensional object to be produced, a storage device for the storage of a digital representation of a three-dimensional object in the form of a plurality of layers, and a control device, that is connected to the powder material feeding device, the irradiation device and the charging device and is adapted for controlling them such that a three-dimensional object, that corresponds to a digital representation of the object stored in the storage device, is produced in accordance with the method according to claim 1 .

14 . The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the control device is additionally connected to the fiber holding arrangement, the fiber holding arrangement is wholly or partially movable relative to the support device, and the control device is adapted to control, on a basis of data stored in the storage device that are part of the digital representation of an object and that describe the path of a plurality of fibers in the object, the movement of the fiber holding arrangement in such a way that the corresponding fiber path in the object is obtained.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Fette Marc
• Born Johannes

Classifications

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29C67/0077 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B29C64/153 Primary

  using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting · CPC title

• B33Y30/00

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