Method for manufacturing a component of a field device

• US 10,222,785 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2015
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Endress+Hauser SE+Co. KG (Endress+Hauser AG)
• Original Assignee: Endress+Hauser GmbH+Co (ENDRESS)
• Inventors: Albert, Joachim, Wittmer, Detlev, Baret, Marc, Spanke, Dietmar, Uehlin, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ramesh B
• Application Number:
  US15/514,127
• Publication Number:
  US 20170308062A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/28 Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/38 to achieve specific product aspects, e.g. surface smoothness, density, porosity or hollow structures
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4099 Surface or curve machining, making 3D objects, e.g. desktop manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49023 3-D printing, layer of powder, add drops of binder in layer, new powder
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 10/25 Process efficiency

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a component of a field device for determining or monitoring a process variable of a medium in a container, wherein the component is created via a 3D printing method, wherein during the creation the component is supplied at an intermediate state of the component with an exciter signal, wherein a response signal of the component to the exciter signal is registered, wherein shape and/or structure of the component are/is modified via the 3D printing method, when the current response signal does not agree with a predetermined response signal, and wherein the two previous method steps are alternately repeated, until the current response signal agrees with the predetermined response signal within predetermined tolerance limits.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a component of a field device for determining or monitoring a process variable of a medium in a container, comprising:

defining an intermediate creation state of a component of a field device;

at least partially creating the component via a 3D printing method until the intermediate creation state is reached;

exciting the component at the intermediate creation state with an exciter signal;

registering a response signal of the component to the exciter signal;

modifying a shape and/or a structure of the component via the 3D printing method when the response signal does not agree with a predetermined response signal within a predetermined tolerance; and

alternately repeating the registering and the modifying until the response signal agrees with the predetermined response signal within the predetermined tolerance.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the exciter signal is applied to ascertain a physical parameter or a characteristic variable of the physical parameter of the component.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined response signal is established customer and/or application specifically.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein for the 3D printing of the component at least one metal or at least one synthetic material is applied, and a selective laser melting is used as the 3D printing method.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein for the 3D printing of the component at least one metal or at least one synthetic material is applied, and a selective laser sintering is used as the 3D printing method.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one synthetic material is applied for the component, and fused deposition modeling or multi jet modeling is used as the 3D printing method for the at least one synthetic material.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is an oscillatable unit of a vibronic sensor, wherein exciting the component includes applying a periodic vibrating signal to the oscillatable unit, and wherein registering the response signal includes registering a resonant frequency or an amplitude of the response signal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the oscillatable unit is an oscillatory fork.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the oscillatable unit is a single rod oscillator.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the oscillatable unit is a membrane oscillator.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is an oscillatable unit of a vibronic sensor, wherein exciting the component includes applying a pulse signal to the oscillatable unit, and wherein registering the response signal includes registering the decay behavior of the response signal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is an electrical resistor, wherein exciting the component includes passing an electrical current through the resistor, and wherein registering the response signal includes measuring a voltage across the resistor.

13. A component manufactured via a method comprising:

defining an intermediate creation state of a component of a field device;

at least partially creating the component via a 3D printing method until the intermediate creation state is reached;

exciting the component at the intermediate creation state with an exciter signal;

registering a response signal of the component to the exciter signal;

modifying a shape and/or a structure of the component via the 3D printing method when the response signal does not agree with a predetermined response signal within a predetermined tolerance; and

alternately repeating the registering and the modifying until the response signal agrees with the predetermined response signal within the predetermined tolerance,

wherein the component is an oscillatable unit of a vibronic level sensor.

14. The component as claimed in claim 13, wherein the exciter signal is applied to ascertain a resonant frequency of the oscillatable unit.

15. The component as claimed in claim 13, wherein the exciter signal is applied to ascertain a characteristic variable of a physical parameter of the component, and the characteristic variable is an amplitude or a frequency of the response signal or a phase shift between the exciter signal and the response signal.

16. A component manufactured via a method comprising:

defining an intermediate creation state of a component of a field device;

at least partially creating the component via a 3D printing method until the intermediate creation state is reached;

exciting the component at the intermediate creation state with an exciter signal;

registering a response signal of the component to the exciter signal;

modifying a shape and/or a structure of the component via the 3D printing method when the response signal does not agree with a predetermined response signal within a predetermined tolerance; and

alternately repeating the registering and the modifying until the response signal agrees with the predetermined response signal within the predetermined tolerance,

wherein the component is an electrical resistor.