Method of connecting an additive communication cable to an electrical harness

• US 9,837,191 B2
• Filed: 01/02/2014
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Woida-O'Brien, Rigel Q.
• Primary Examiner(s): Arbes, Carl
• Application Number:
  US14/146,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20150187467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,433 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/112 using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/386 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0006 Dielectric
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0007 Insulating
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3462 Cables
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/707 Cables, i.e. two or more filaments combined together, e.g. ropes, cords, strings, yarns filamentary material B29L2031/731, electric cables B29L2031/3462, optical cables B29L2011/0075
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 13/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing conductors or cables
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/147 at least one of the printed circuits being bent or folded, e.g. by using a flexible printed circuit H05K1/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10189 Non-printed connector

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to a method for manufacturing a product comprising: establishing, by a computing device comprising a processor, at least one parameter of a particular instance of a component to be used in the product, adapting, by the computing device, a baseline model of the component based on the at least one parameter to accommodate use of the particular instance of the component, growing a structure based on the adapted model to accommodate the particular instance of the component using an additive manufacturing technique, coupling the structure to the particular instance of the component, growing an electrical harness by using additive printing to establish an electrical cable, and assembling the product by coupling the electrical harness to the particular instance of the component.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a product, comprising:

inspecting a component formed on a product structure using an electronic inspection device to identify at least one parameters of the component, the at least one parameter including a three-dimension (3D) geometry of the component, a weight of the component, and a center-of-gravity (COG) of the component;

establishing, by a computing device comprising a processor, at least one parameter of a particular instance of the component to be used in the product structure in response to receiving, from the inspection device, data indicative of at least one of the 3D geometry of the component, the weight of the component, and the center-of-gravity (COG) of the component;

storing, by the computing device, a baseline model of the component;

comparing inspected dimensions of the component to stored dimensions of the baseline model of the component, and determining a target structure to be grown on the component based on the comparison, the target structure including at least one of a 3D part, and an electrical connection;

sequentially depositing a plurality of layers of additive material on top of one another so as to grow the target structure directly from the product structure based on the stored model to modify the component using an additive manufacturing technique, the additive manufacturing technique including performing a 3D printing process to grow the target structure;

coupling the grown target structure to the component;

performing an additive printing process that sequentially deposits a second plurality of layers of additive material on top of one another so as to grow an electrical harness directly from the product structure to establish an electrical cable, the additive manufacturing technique including performing a 3D printing process to grow the electrical harness; and

assembling the product by coupling the electrical harness to the particular instance of the component having the grown target structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical cable is configured to support a conveyance of data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electrical cable is configured to support the conveyance of data in accordance with at least one of the following:

USB, Ethernet, Firewire, HDMI, Coax, RS-232, RS-485, and RS-422.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical cable comprises a twisted pair of wires created in a three-dimensional (3D) fashion.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical harness is grown so as to wrap around at least one curved surface associated with the structure.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of:

a mechanical dimension, weight, center-of-gravity, and an electrical interface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical harness comprises a connector configured to couple the electrical cable and the component.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical cable comprises a plurality of dielectric layers overlaid on top of a plurality of layers of leads.