Fabrication of laminate tooling using closed-loop direct metal deposition
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating a component having improved properties, comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a laminated substrate having a surface; and
b) depositing a layer of a material having a desired characteristic onto at least a portion of the surface of the laminate substrate using a laser-assisted direct metal deposition process.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A laser-assisted, direct metal deposition (DMDtm), preferably in a closed-loop arrangement, is used to fabricate designed articles and components such as molds and tools with improved properties. A laminate substrate or structure is provided having a surface onto which a layer of a material is deposited having the desired characteristic using the laser-assisted DMD process. In different embodiments, the substrate/layer combination may be tailored for improved wear resistance, thermal conductivity, density/hardness, corrosion and/or resistance to corrosion, oxidation or other desirable effects. Alternatively, the layer of material may be tailored to have a phase which is different from that of the substrate. In particular, the layer material itself may be chosen to promote a phase which is different from that of the substrate. To enhance throughput, the outer layer(s) of material may be fabricated using a robotic closed-loop DMD arrangement. In concert with the improvements made possible through the laminate fabrication method, tailored outer layer(s), the method may further include the step of incorporating one or more conformal cooling channels within the component or the formation of one or more conductive heat sinks or thermal barriers during the DMD fabrication of the component itself.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a component having improved properties, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a laminated substrate having a surface; and
b) depositing a layer of a material having a desired characteristic onto at least a portion of the surface of the laminate substrate using a laser-assisted direct metal deposition process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27)
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14. A method of fabricating a component having improved properties, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a computer-aided design (CAD) description of the component to be fabricated;
b) using a laser-assisted, direct metal deposition (MD) process to fabricate a laminate structure in accordance with the CAD description; and
c) completing the component by depositing a layer of a material onto the structure using a laser-assisted, direct metal deposition (DMD) process, the layer of material providing at least one desired property when compared to the underlying laminate structure.
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Specification