Additively manufactured graphite tooling
AssigneeRtx Corporation
InventorsOlivier H. Sudre, Zachary Paul Konopaske, Robin H. Fernandez, Jesse R. Boyer, Afshin Bazshushtari, Mary Colby, Andrew Joseph Lazur
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Abstract
A method of fabricating a tooling fixture suitable for use in infiltrating a fibrous preform includes generating a model of the tooling fixture, the model being conformal and complementary to a geometry of the fibrous preform, additively manufacturing the tooling fixture by extruding a carbon-containing ink in a layer-by-layer manner, and consolidating the extruded carbon-containing ink to form a consolidated tooling fixture.
Claims18
A method of fabricating a tooling fixture suitable for use in infiltrating a fibrous preform, the method comprising:
- generating a model of the tooling fixture, the model being conformal and complementary to a geometry of the fibrous preform;
- additively manufacturing the tooling fixture by extruding a carbon-containing ink in a layer-by-layer manner to form a body having a porous cellular network and/or a plurality of infiltration holes;
- and
- consolidating, via heat treatment, the extruded carbon-containing ink to form a consolidated tooling fixture conformal and complementary to the geometry of the fibrous preform and comprising the porous cellular network and/or the plurality of infiltration holes.
A method of fabricating a tooling fixture suitable for use in infiltrating a fibrous preform, the method comprising:
- generating a model of the tooling fixture, the model being conformal and complementary to a geometry of the fibrous preform;
- additively manufacturing the tooling fixture by extruding a carbon-containing ink in a layer-by-layer manner to form a body having a porous cellular network and/or a plurality of infiltration holes;
- and
- consolidating the extruded carbon-containing ink to form a consolidated tooling fixture;
- wherein the step of additively manufacturing the tooling fixture comprises three dimensionally printing the tooling fixture via direct-ink-writing;
- and
- wherein the step of three dimensionally printing the tooling fixture comprises extruding the carbon-containing ink directly onto the fibrous preform.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.