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US 12,516,454 B2Granted
Knit formwork casting
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsTsz Yan Ng, Sean Ahlquist, Evgueni T. Filipov, Tracey Weisman
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Abstract
A method of material casting includes knitting, by a computer-controlled knitting machine, a flexible formwork, where the flexible formwork defines a partially-closed shape having a plurality of topological features, filling the flexible formwork with a casting material, and deforming the flexible formwork with the casting material. In some cases, the method includes removing the casting material from the flexible formwork when the flexible formwork has imparted the shape on the casting material.
Claims20
A method of material casting, the method comprising:
- knitting, by a computer-controlled knitting machine, a flexible formwork, wherein the flexible formwork defines a partially-closed shape having a plurality of topological features;
- filling the partially-closed shape of the flexible formwork with a casting material;
- and
- allowing the casting material to move to deform the flexible formwork to deform as the casting material fills the partially-closed shape and stretches the flexible formwork due to weight of the casting material, hydrostatic pressure of the casting material, or both the weight of the casting material and the hydrostatic pressure of the casting material.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.