Licensing Opportunity: Limited Center Constraint of Optimal Thickness Build Substrates for Additive Manufacturing

Invention Reference Number: 202405604

Materials produced via additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, can experience significant residual stress, distortion and cracking, negatively impacting the manufacturing process. The substrate, a base that supports the deposition of materials for printing, has a large impact on these variables. The substrate design and how it is clamped to the machine table can influence these problems. This technology largely solves that problem by using modeling and simulation to optimize the design of the substrate along with intentionally designed fixturing to balance all those factors.

Description

In additive manufacturing, the selection of substrate material and thickness, along with how the substrate is clamped to the machine table, greatly influences the extent to which problems are encountered. This invention is a method of substrate design and fixturing that achieves a balance of the critical objectives: 1) Protect the machine table, 2) Prevent the part from cracking, and 3) Ensure that after maximum distortion of the substrate and printed part is experienced, the final machined part still resides inside the printed preform. The solution is a substrate design that is tuned through modeling and simulation and) that is affixed in a limited-constraint configuration, which allows for a balance of all objectives. The thickness may be tuned for each individual geometry to be printed.

Benefits

• Allows substrate to distort a manageable amount, while completely isolating the machine table from residual stress and distortion


• Protects machine table


• Prevents the part from cracking


• Ensures substrate thickness is appropriate


• Ensures that even after maximum distortion, machined part still resides inside the printed preform


• Can be any geometry


• Hybrid substrates can be used


• No competing technologies

Applications and Industries

• Any additive manufacturing process


• Casting and forging replacement parts


• Structural aircraft components


• Tool-and-die products for automotive and other industries


• Molds for composites

Contact

To learn more about this technology, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call 865-574-1051.