Thermal and sound optimized lattice-cored additive manufactured compressor components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017184108-A1
Application number	US-201615366885-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 1, 2016
Priority date	Dec 23, 2015
Publication date	Jun 29, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component formed via additive manufacturing is provided. The component may have at least one interior region comprising a lattice structure that comprises a plurality of repeating cells. A solid surface is disposed over the lattice structure. The interior region comprising the lattice structure minimizes or reduces transmission of at least one of thermal energy, sound, or vibrational energy through the component. Methods of making such compressor components via additive manufacturing processes are also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component comprising:
a body portion having at least one interior region that comprises a lattice structure comprising a plurality of cells formed via additive manufacturing and a surface disposed over the lattice structure, wherein the at least one interior region comprising the lattice structure minimizes transmission of at least one of thermal energy, sound, or vibrational energy.

2 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein each cell of the plurality comprises a node.

3 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 2 , wherein the node has a shape selected from the group consisting of: a sphere, a modified sphere comprising one or more flat surface regions, a sphere comprising posts, a cone, a double-cone, a pyramid, a diamond, a star, a cube, a polyhedron, an irregular asymmetrical globular shape, and combinations thereof.

4 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 2 , wherein the node is selected from the group consisting of: a solid sphere, a porous sphere, a hollow sphere, a hollow sphere comprising a core filled with a plurality of loose particles, and combinations thereof.

5 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cells comprises a first cell comprising a first node and a second adjacent cell comprising a second node, wherein the first node is connected to the second node by at least one connecting structure.

6 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cells comprises a first cell comprising a first node and a second adjacent cell comprising a second node, wherein the first node has a distinct shape from the second node.

7 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein each cell of the plurality of cells has a maximum average dimension of greater than or equal to about 0.1 mm to less than or equal to about 10 mm.

8 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cells comprises a first cell having a first maximum average dimension and a second cell having a second maximum dimension, wherein the first maximum average dimension and the second maximum average dimension are distinct from one another to provide a lattice structure having a varying cell density.

9 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein each cell of the plurality comprises a solid structure defining one or more void regions therebetween, wherein the one or more void regions comprises loose residual metal particles or an insulating material disposed therein.

10 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein each cell of the plurality comprises a solid structure defining one or more void regions therebetween, wherein the solid structure of a first cell of the plurality has a different thickness from a thickness of the solid structure in a second cell of the plurality.

11 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein the component has a tensile strength of greater than or equal to about 32,000 psi (about 220 MPa).

12 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein the light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component is selected from the group consisting of: a bearing housing, a main bearing housing, a lower bearing housing, an orbiting scroll component, a non-orbiting scroll component, a housing or a shell, a cap, a cover, a separator plate, a muffler plate, an Oldham coupling, a scroll compressor valve, a drive bushing, an interface region between a shell and stator, a roller element, a rotary vane element, a roller element housing, a screw component, a screw, a gate rotor, a centrifugal compressor component, a bearing, a reciprocating component, a piston, a connecting rod, a crankshaft, a cylinder head, a compressor body, a discus valve, a discus valve retainer, a valve plate, and combinations thereof.

13 . The light-weight high-strength insulating compressor component of claim 1 , wherein the lattice structure minimizes transmission of sound or vibrational energy so that the compressor is a sound insulating compressor component, wherein the body portion defines at least one sound insulating region that reduces a transmission of sound or a vibrational energy by greater than or equal to about 30% as compared to transmission of the sound or the vibrational energy through a comparative solid body portion.

14 . The sound insulating compressor component of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of cells in the lattice structure comprises a first cell comprising a first node and a second cell comprising a second node, wherein the first node comprises a solid sphere and the second node comprises a hollow sphere, wherein the first cell and the second cell are disposed adjacent to one another in an alternating pattern.

15 . The sound insulating compressor component of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of cells in the lattice structure comprises a plurality of first cells comprising a first node and a plurality of second cells comprising a second node, wherein the first node comprises a solid sphere and the second node comprises a hollow sphere, wherein the plurality of first cells defines a first row having a first major longitudinal axis and the plurality of second cells defines a second row having a second major longitudinal axis, wherein the first major longitudinal axis and the second major longitudinal axis are parallel to one another and orthogonal to a primary direction of propagation of the sound or vibrational energy.

16 . A thermally insulating compressor component comprising:
a body portion having at least one thermally insulating region that comprises a lattice structure formed therein, wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of cells formed via additive manufacturing and a surface disposed over the lattice structure, wherein the at least one thermally insulating region has a thermal conductivity (K) of less than or equal to about 300 mW/m·K at standard temperature and pressure conditions.

17 . The thermally insulating compressor component of claim 16 , wherein each cell of the plurality comprises a solid structure defining one or more void regions therebetween, wherein the one or more void regions comprises an insulating material disposed therein.

18 . A method of making a light-weight, high-strength insulating compressor component comprising:
applying energy in a predetermined pattern to a powder precursor to create a fused solid structure via an additive manufacturing process, wherein the fused solid structure defines a compressor component having a lattice structure formed in an interior region, wherein the lattice structure minimizes transmission of at least one of thermal energy, sound, or vibrational energy through the compressor component.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the additive manufacturing process is selected from the group consisting of: direct-metal additive manufacturing, direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser sintering (SLS), selective laser melting (SLM), electron beam melting (EBM), stereolithography (SLA), laminated object manufacturing (LOM), fused deposition modeling (FDM), solid ground curing (SGC), and combinations thereof.

Assignees

• Emerson Climate Technologies

Inventors

• Scancarello Marc J
• Stover Robert C

Classifications

• B22F10/28

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

• B22F3/1103

  with particular physical characteristics · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B23P15/00

  Making specific metal objects by operations not covered by a single other subclass or a group in this subclass · CPC title

• F05C2253/14

  Foam · CPC title