# US 10,864,572 B2 · In-situ hot working and heat treatment of additively manufactured metallic alloys

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- Number: US 10,864,572 B2
- Document ID: US10864572B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/269,826
- Filed: 2019-02-07
- Published: 2019-08-22
- Granted: 2020-12-15
- Earliest claimed: 2018-02-07
- Assignees: MRI. Materials Resources LLC
- Applicants: Mrl Materials Resources LLC
- Inventors: Ayman A. Salem; Daniel P. Satko
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10864572B2

## CPC

- B21J 5/002: {Hybrid process, e.g. forging following casting}
- B22F 3/17: by forging
- B22F 10/25: Direct deposition of metal particles, e.g. direct metal deposition [DMD] or laser engineered net shaping [LENS]
- B22F 10/30: Process control
- B22F 10/38: to achieve specific product aspects, e.g. surface smoothness, density, porosity or hollow structures
- B22F 10/50: Treatment of workpieces or articles during build-up, e.g. treatments applied to fused layers during build-up
- B22F 10/85: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B22F 12/10: Auxiliary heating means
- B22F 12/13: to preheat the material
- B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B33Y 40/20: Post-treatment, e.g. curing, coating or polishing
- B33Y 50/02: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- C21D 1/34: Methods of heating (C21D1/06 takes precedence)
- C21D 7/13: by hot working
- C21D 11/00: Process control or regulation for heat treatments
- B22F 10/28: Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
- B22F 12/33: translatory in the deposition plane
- B22F 12/37: Rotatable
- B22F 12/90: Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors
- B22F 2999/00: Aspects linked to processes or compositions used in powder metallurgy
- B29C 64/118: using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM]
- B29C 64/295: Heating elements
- B33Y 10/00: Processes of additive manufacturing
- C21D 2221/00: Treating localised areas of an article
- Y02P 10/25: Process efficiency
- B21J: FORGING; HAMMERING; PRESSING METAL; RIVETING; FORGE FURNACES (rolling of metal B21B; making particular products by forging or pressing B21K; cladding or plating B23K; finishing surfaces by hammering B23P9/04; compacting surfaces by blasting with particulate material B24C1/10; general features of presses, presses for consolidating scrap B30B; furnaces in general F27)
- B22F: WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER (making alloys by powder metallurgy C22C); APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
- C21D: MODIFYING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF FERROUS METALS; GENERAL DEVICES FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS METALS OR ALLOYS; MAKING METAL MALLEABLE, e.g. BY DECARBURISATION OR TEMPERING (surface treatment of metallic material involving at least one process provided for in class C23 and at least one process covered by this subclass C23F17/00; unidirectional solidification of eutectic materials or unidirectional demixing of eutectoid materials C30B)
- B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00)
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

A hybrid manufacturing system comprises a workpiece platform, a heater, a material deposition system, a mechanical forming device, and a controller. The controller is operatively programmed to control the material deposition system to lay a track of material according to the three-dimensional representation of the object and control the mechanical forming device and the heater to apply mechanical force to a targeted portion of the object while the targeted portion of the object is maintained at a hot working temperature. The mechanical impact closes porosity of material within the targeted portion of the object, changes the microstructure within the targeted portion of the object, or both, and the mechanical impact causes a shape change within the targeted portion of the object. The controller still further computes a correction for a next track to be laid by the material deposition system based upon the shape change caused by the mechanical impact.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A hybrid manufacturing system, comprising:
a workpiece platform upon which an object on the workpiece platform is to be manipulated;
a heater configured to heat at least a portion of the object on the workpiece platform;
a material deposition system for depositing material on the workpiece platform;
a mechanical forming device controllable to selectively deform a designated portion of the object being built on the workpiece platform; and
a controller configured to execute a program to perform a manufacturing operation on the object situated on the workpiece platform based upon a three-dimensional representation of the object, wherein the controller is operatively programmed to:
control the material deposition system to lay a track of material according to the three-dimensional representation of the object;
control the mechanical forming device to apply mechanical force to a targeted portion of the object while a heater is controlled to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a hot working temperature, wherein:
the applied mechanical force closes porosity of material within the targeted portion of the object, changes the microstructure within the targeted portion of the object, or both; and
the applied mechanical force causes a shape change within the targeted portion of the object; and
compute a correction for a next track to be laid by the material deposition system based upon the shape change caused by the applied mechanical force comprising utilizing phase diagrams and intended properties to change the applied mechanical force for the next track.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The hybrid manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a hot working temperature by maintaining the temperature of the targeted portion of the object at a temperature above the ambient environmental temperature.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The hybrid manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical forming device is a hammer.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The hybrid manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical forming device is a select one of a hot roll device, hot peen device, and hot bend device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The hybrid manufacturing system according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of the mechanical forming devices, each of the plurality of mechanical forming devices individually controlled by the controller to apply mechanical force as the controller determines is necessary.

### Claim 6

A process of controlling an additive manufacturing process to perform an operation on an object situated on a workpiece platform based upon a three-dimensional representation of the object, by:
controlling a material deposition system to lay a track of material according to the three-dimensional representation of the object;
controlling a mechanical forming device to apply mechanical force to a targeted portion of the object while controlling a heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a hot working temperature, wherein:
the applied mechanical force closes porosity of material within the targeted portion of the object, changes the microstructure within the targeted portion of the object, or both; and
the applied mechanical force causes a shape change within the targeted portion of the object; and
computing a correction for a next track to be laid by the material deposition system based upon the shape change caused by the applied mechanical force comprising utilizing phase diagrams and intended properties to change the applied mechanical force for the next track.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The process of claim 6, wherein controlling a heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a hot working temperature comprises:
controlling the heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a temperature that is above the ambient environmental temperature.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The process of claim 6, wherein controlling a heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a hot working temperature comprises:
controlling the heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a temperature that is above the recrystallization temperature of the material used to manipulate the object.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The process of claim 6, wherein controlling a mechanical forming device to apply mechanical force to a targeted portion of the object while controlling a heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a hot working temperature comprises controlling the mechanical forming device simultaneously with control of the heater to keep the material of the object at least within the targeted portion, in hot working condition.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The process of claim 6 further comprising:
predicting the amount of deformation needed to close porosities and change microstructure, the heat needed to achieve this, and the time needed for heat and force applied to achieve the desired microstructure that is free of defects, and
using the prediction for controlling a mechanical forming device to apply mechanical force to a targeted portion of the object.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The process of claim 10 further comprising:
using the prediction for also controlling the heater to maintain the targeted portion of the object at a hot working temperature.

### Claim 12 (depends on 6)

The process of claim 6 further comprising implementing a densification algorithm and hot working algorithm to make adjustments to the object being manipulated.