Method and apparatus for manufacturing porous three-dimensional articles

• US 10,189,086 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2012
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Arcam Ab (Danaher Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Arcam Ab (Danaher Corporation)
• Inventors: Hellestam, Calle, Olsson, Jenny, Elfstroem, Isak
• Primary Examiner(s): Kessler, Christopher S
• Application Number:
  US14/350,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20140301884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,233 Days
• Field of Search: 419 2
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/28 Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/32 of the atmosphere, e.g. composition or pressure in a building chamber
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/36 of energy beam parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/38 to achieve specific product aspects, e.g. surface smoothness, density, porosity or hollow structures
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/80 Data acquisition or data processing
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 12/52 Hoppers
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 12/55 Two or more means for feeding material
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 3/11 Making porous workpieces or articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/153 using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/04 cellular or porous
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 10/25 Process efficiency

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing three-dimensional articles with porosity. A model is created of a porous structure, said creating step comprising the steps of: defining a three-dimensional space comprising a predetermined pattern of nodes, wherein said nodes are connected together in a predetermined manner with struts, moving each node in said three-dimensional space a randomized distance, which distance is less than a predetermined value and in a randomized direction, slicing said three-dimensional space into a predetermined number of two-dimensional layers with a predetermined thickness, slicing said three-dimensional article into two-dimensional layers with a predetermined thickness, applying one two-dimensional layer of said article on one two-dimensional layer of said porous structure resulting in a porous two-dimensional layer of said article, repeating said applying step for all two dimensional layers of said article, manufacturing the three-dimensional article with porosity according to the model by exposing fusible material to an energy source.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a porous three-dimensional article comprising the steps of:

creating a model of a non-porous three-dimensional article comprising a predetermined number of layers with a predetermined thickness;

creating a model of a porous structure, said creating step comprising the steps of;

defining a completely randomized three-dimensional space comprising a randomized arrangement of nodes, said randomized arrangement of nodes defined by the steps of;

a. identifying a predetermined number of said nodes initially arranged randomly in the three-dimensional space of predetermined size;

b. determining a maximum number of neighbor nodes to a specific node;

c. skipping a number x of closest neighbors to said specific node where x is a random integer number being ≥

0;

d. connecting each of said maximum neighbor nodes, with the exception of the skipped nodes, to said specific node with a strut; and

e. repeating steps a-d for each node in the three-dimensional space,

wherein said nodes are connected together in the randomized arrangement using struts, wherein said randomized arrangement is randomized in every direction of the completely randomized three-dimensional space, and wherein said randomized arrangement lacks periodicity, such that due to the lacking periodicity, a mechanical strength of a porous structure created therefrom is equal in all directions;

slicing said completely randomized three-dimensional space into a predetermined number of layers with a predetermined thickness;

applying one layer of said model of the non-porous three-dimensional article on one layer of said randomized three-dimensional space resulting in a model of a porous layer of said porous three-dimensional article; and

repeating said applying step for all layers of said model of the non-porous three-dimensional article; and

manufacturing the porous three-dimensional article by exposing fusible material to an energy source, so that a layer of fused material is corresponding to the model of the porous layer of said porous three-dimensional article,

wherein said porous three-dimensional article lacks periodicity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the manufacturing step comprises the steps of:

providing a layer of powder material on a build platform; and

adapting a thickness of the provided powder material layer to the predetermined thickness of the layer of the porous three-dimensional article.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said powder material is made of metal.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said energy source is an electron beam source.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the randomized arrangement comprises at least a first strut passing through a node and having a continuous derivative to at least a second strut passing through said node.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the energy source comprise a laser.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of creating the model of the porous structure is subsequent to the step of creating the model of the non-porous three-dimensional article.