# US 12,109,735 B2 · Construction of conformal cooling channels for injection mold designs > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,109,735 B2 - Document ID: US12109735B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/681,341 - Filed: 2021-08-27 - Published: 2024-08-08 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2021-08-27 - Assignees: Siemens Industry Software Inc. - Applicants: Siemens Industry Software Inc. - Inventors: Zhi Li; Liwen Wang; Chee-keong Chong; Shunshun Zhou - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12109735B2 ## CPC - B29C 33/3835: {Designing moulds, e.g. using CAD-CAM} - B29C 33/3842: {Manufacturing moulds, e.g. shaping the mould surface by machining} - B29C 45/7312: {Construction of heating or cooling fluid flow channels} - B29C 64/386: Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing - B33Y 50/00: Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing - B33Y 80/00: Products made by additive manufacturing - B29L 2031/757: {Moulds, cores, dies} - 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) - 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 - B29L: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES ## Abstract A computing system may include a design access engine configured to access an injection mold design and a channel construction engine configured to construct conformal cooling channels for the injection mold design. The channel construction engine may do so by extracting a cooling surface of the injection mold design, generating a central offset surface with a same shape as the cooling surface, projecting cooling lines on to the central offset surface, detecting sharp portions of the projected cooling lines, smoothing the detected sharp portions of the projected cooling lines, and generating the conformal cooling channels using the smoothed cooling lines along the central offset surface as a center line for the conformal cooling channels. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: by a computing system: accessing an injection mold design; constructing conformal cooling channels for the injection mold design, including by: extracting a cooling surface of the injection mold design, wherein the cooling surface corresponds to specified portions of the injection mold design to be cooled through the conformal cooling channels; generating a central offset surface positioned at a central offset distance from the cooling surface; projecting cooling lines on to the central offset surface; detecting sharp portions of the projected cooling lines based on sharpness criteria; smoothing the detected sharp portions of the projected cooling lines to form smoothed cooling lines; and generating the conformal cooling channels using the smoothed cooling lines along the central offset surface as a center line for the conformal cooling channels; and providing the injection mold design that includes the constructed conformal cooling channels for physical manufacture to physically manufacture the injection mold design through an additive manufacturing process. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the central offset distance as a sum of a minimum distance specified between the cooling surface and the conformal cooling channels and a radius value of the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising validating the conformal cooling channels constructed for the injection mold design, including by: generating a validation offset surface positioned at a validation offset distance from the cooling surface; and determining a design violation for the conformal cooling channels has occurred responsive to a determination that any portion of the conformal cooling channels extends past the validation offset surface towards the cooling surface. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein the validation offset distance is a minimum distance specified between the cooling surface and the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the sharpness criteria comprise a curvature threshold, and comprising detecting the sharp portions of the projected cooling lines as curve portions of the projected cooling lines with a curvature value that exceeds the curvature threshold. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising detecting the sharp portions of the projected cooling lines as curve portions of the projected cooling lines with a curvature that is less than a radius value of the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising smoothing the detected sharp portions of the projected cooling lines through a spline-based smoothing process. ### Claim 8 A system comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause a computing system to: construct conformal cooling channels for the injection mold design, including by: extracting a cooling surface of the injection mold design, wherein the cooling surface corresponds to specified portions of the injection mold design to be cooled through the conformal cooling channels; generating a central offset surface positioned at a central offset distance from the cooling surface; projecting cooling lines on to the central offset surface; detecting sharp portions of the projected cooling lines based on sharpness criteria; smoothing the detected sharp portions of the projected cooling lines to form smoothed cooling lines; and generating the conformal cooling channels using the smoothed cooling lines along the central offset surface as a center line for the conformal cooling channels; and provide the injection mold design that includes the constructed conformal cooling channels for physical manufacture to physically manufacture the injection mold design through an additive manufacturing process. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the channel construction engine is further configured to the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system further to determine the central offset distance as a sum of a minimum distance specified between the cooling surface and the conformal cooling channels and a radius value of the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the channel construction engine is further configured to the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system further to validate the conformal cooling channels constructed for the injection mold design, including by: generating a validation offset surface positioned at a validation offset distance from the cooling surface; and determining a design violation for the conformal cooling channels has occurred responsive to a determination that any portion of the conformal cooling channels extends past the validation offset surface towards the cooling surface. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the validation offset distance is a minimum distance specified between the cooling surface and the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the sharpness criteria comprise a curvature threshold, and wherein the channel construction engine is configured to the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system further to detect the sharp portions of the projected cooling lines as curve portions of the projected cooling lines with a curvature value that exceeds the curvature threshold. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the channel construction engine is configured to the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system further to detect the sharp portions of the projected cooling lines as curve portions of the projected cooling lines with a curvature that is less than a radius value of the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the channel construction engine is configured to the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system further to smooth the detected sharp portions of the projected cooling lines through a spline-based smoothing process. ### Claim 15 A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computing system to: access an injection mold design; construct conformal cooling channels for the injection mold design, including by: extracting a cooling surface of the injection mold design, wherein the cooling surface corresponds to specified portions of the injection mold design to be cooled through the conformal cooling channels; generating a central offset surface positioned at a central offset distance from the cooling surface; projecting cooling lines on to the central offset surface; detecting sharp portions of the projected cooling lines based on sharpness criteria; smoothing the detected sharp portions of the projected cooling lines to form smoothed cooling lines; and generating the conformal cooling channels using the smoothed cooling lines along the central offset surface as a center line for the conformal cooling channels; and provide the injection mold design that includes the constructed conformal cooling channels for physical manufacture to physically manufacture the injection mold design through an additive manufacturing process. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system to determine the central offset distance as a sum of a minimum distance specified between the cooling surface and the conformal cooling channels- and a radius value of the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system to validate the conformal cooling channels constructed for the injection mold design, including by: generating a validation offset surface positioned at a validation offset distance from the cooling surface; and determining a design violation for the conformal cooling channels has occurred responsive to a determination that any portion of the conformal cooling channels extends past the validation offset surface towards the cooling surface. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the validation offset distance is a minimum distance specified between the cooling surface and the conformal cooling channels. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the sharpness criteria comprise a curvature threshold and wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system to detect the sharp portions of the projected cooling lines as curve portions of the projected cooling lines with a curvature value that exceeds the curvature threshold. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the computing system to detect the sharp portions of the projected cooling lines as curve portions of the projected cooling lines with a curvature that is less than a radius value of the conformal cooling channels.