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EP-4741081-A1 - IMPROVED WELDING METHOD AND DEVICE OBTAINABLE THEREFROM

EP4741081A1EP 4741081 A1EP4741081 A1EP 4741081A1EP-4741081-A1

Abstract

The invention provides, amongst other aspects, a welding method comprising: providing a support structure; depositing an additive manufacturing layer on the support structure, wherein the step of providing a support structure comprises fabricating the support structure using a high-accuracy additive manufacturing technology, and wherein the additive manufacturing layer is deposited using a high-deposition-rate additive manufacturing technology. The invention further provides a device obtainable by the method according to the present invention.

Inventors

  • ANTONISSEN, JOACHIM
  • Debel, Michiel

Assignees

  • Guaranteed

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241107

Claims (15)

  1. A welded manufacturing method comprising: - providing a support structure (3; 103; 113); - depositing an additive manufacturing layer (5; 105; 115) on the support structure (3; 103; 113), wherein the step of providing a support structure (3; 103; 113) comprises fabricating the support structure (3; 103; 113) using a high-accuracy additive manufacturing technology, and wherein the additive manufacturing layer (5; 105; 115) is deposited using a high-deposition-rate additive manufacturing technology.
  2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the high-accuracy additive manufacturing technology concerns powder-based printing.
  3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the high-deposition-rate additive manufacturing technology concerns directed energy deposition.
  4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the additive manufacturing layer (5; 105; 115) is deposited by means of a single high-deposition-rate additive manufacturing step.
  5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising removing the support structure (113), wherein the support structure (113) is fabricated with a material having low miscibility.
  6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of support structures (103a-103d; 113a-113c) each of which having a different shape.
  7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of providing the support structure comprises interconnecting the plurality of support structures (103a-103d; 113a-113c) sequentially.
  8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the support structures (103a-103d; 113a-113c) define a plane.
  9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the support structure (113) comprises a plurality of openings, wherein the openings are multi-directional.
  10. The method according to claim 9, wherein a ratio of a volume of the plurality of openings to a volume of a material in the support structure (113) is at least 1.5:1, preferably at least 2:1.
  11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, further comprising welding the support structure (3; 103) onto a substrate (2; 102).
  12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the additive manufacturing layer (5; 105; 115) covers at least the support structure (3; 103; 113).
  13. The method according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the welding of the support structure (3; 103) to the substrate (2; 102) defines one or more channels (7; 107a-107c).
  14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the depositing of the additive manufacturing layer (5; 105; 115) defines further one or more channels (107a; 117).
  15. A device (1; 101; 111) obtainable by the method of any one of claims 1-14.

Description

Field of the invention The present invention relates to the technical domain of additive manufacturing, such as three-dimensional (3D) printing or welding, of conformal channels. For instance, the present invention relates to a method of using additive manufacturing technologies, e.g., directed energy deposition (DED) based technologies, such as using wire, possibly in combination with powder-based technologies and/or cold-spray technologies and/or other additive manufacturing technologies, to repair and/or manufacture parts, such as slow-moving parts or molds, with conformal channels. Background art Traditional methods for fabricating metal structures often struggle to meet the demands of intricate and complex designs. Methods like casting, forging, and subtractive machining (e.g., milling, turning) can be highly inefficient for complex geometries, requiring extensive post-processing steps such as machining. These processes can also introduce limitations in achieving high-quality complex shapes, while ensuring their structural integrity, often leading to reduced surface finish, potential imperfections, and overall performance compromises. The inherent complexity of design and fabrication often restricts the applicability of these traditional methods to simpler structures. For instance, in the case of machining, the geometric freedom of internal cavities is limited by the possibilities of the process to enter into them with a machining tool. Recent technologies, such as directed energy deposition (DED), allow the fabrication of complex structure, however, to a certain extent without affecting the productivity and quality of the fabricated structure. For instance, particular complex structures, such as overhangs, may pose a significant challenge for such technologies to ensure the desired productivity and quality of the fabricated structure. Such technologies may suffer from overfilling of material which can lead to excess material needing removal, which in some cases may be difficult or even impossible without compromising the integrity of the structure, or may suffer from underfilling of material which can result in gaps or weak points, which compromises the quality of the fabricated structure. Currently, fabricating complex metal structures can be performed by metal powder-based technologies, such as by powder bed laser melting. For example, US9643281B1 describes a process of forming a metal part from metal powder using laser to melt the metal powder. However, metal powder-based technologies are time consuming and limited to a few powder materials suitable for such technologies, which are limited in size of the structures that can be produced, while also being expensive, which restricts further the application range. Furthermore, powder-based technologies may be limited by the variety of materials which can be used and/or by the inherent porosity of such materials which may result in a deterioration of the thermal conductivity of the printed part. When fabricating complex geometries, non-molten powder (i.e., powder which has not melted) needs to be evacuated after the printing process. This requirement prevents the fabrication of particular complex geometries, such as enclosed cavities or even recessed cavities with small dimensions, since the non-molten powder cannot be removed without compromising the integrity of the fabricated structure. These challenges highlight the need for improved welded manufacturing methods and improved devices obtainable therefrom that can overcome these limitations. The present invention aims at addressing issues, such as the issues mentioned above. Summary of the invention According to a first aspect, the present invention provides a welded manufacturing method comprising: providing a support structure; depositing an additive manufacturing layer on the support structure, wherein the step of providing a support structure comprises fabricating the support structure using a high-accuracy additive manufacturing technology, and wherein the additive manufacturing layer is deposited using a high-deposition-rate additive manufacturing technology. The present invention advantageously provides a combination of a high-accuracy additive manufacturing technology for providing a support structure and a high-deposition rate additive manufacturing technology for depositing an additive manufacturing layer which allows to manufacture a complex structure, e.g., including an overhang or a cavity. For instance, enclosed cavities with complex shapes may be impossible to manufacture by any other manufacturing technology, without compromising the functionality and/or quality of the cavity and the fabricated device. Thus, said combined use of technologies results in a surprising effect of manufacturing complex structures which are not limited in size and at the same can be manufactured in less time, without compromising on the quality of the manufactured product. This may advantageously allow for a