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US 2026/0108992 A1Published application
Method of enhancing surface properties of molds and tools using additive manufacturing
AssigneeThermwood Corporation
InventorKenneth J. SUSNJARA
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for producing an object involves receiving a three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) model of the object, slicing the 3D CAD model into a plurality of layers, cutting a plurality of layer segments from non-porous material, assembling the plurality of layer segments into the plurality of layers and fastening the plurality of layers together to form a blank, machining the blank to a final shape, and applying a coating to an outer surface of the machined blank using a thermal spray process to form an outer surface of the object.
Claims20
A method of producing an object, the method comprising:
- receiving a three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) model of the object;
- cutting a plurality of layer segments from at least one sheet of a non-porous material using the 3D CAD model, wherein each of the plurality of layer segments corresponds to at least a portion of the 3D CAD model;
- assembling the plurality of layer segments into a plurality of layers and fastening the plurality of layers together to form a blank of the object being produced;
- machining a first outer surface of the blank of the object being produced to form a final shape, wherein the first outer surface is entirely formed from the non-porous material;
- preparing the first outer surface of the machined blank of the object being produced, after the object has been assembled from the plurality of layer segments, using a surface preparation process that includes propelling particles against the first outer surface after the first outer surface has been machined;
- and
- applying a coating formed from a powder to the machined and prepared first outer surface of the blank of the object being produced, using a thermal spray process that includes melting the powder, such that the coating adheres to the prepared and machined first outer surface to form a second outer surface of the object conforming to the final shape.
4 more elements
A method of producing an object, the method comprising:
- receiving a three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) model;
- forming an article of the object being produced, the article comprising a plurality of layer segments that are assembled and secured together, each of the plurality of layer segments having been cut from a non-porous material according to the 3D CAD model, and each of the plurality of layer segments corresponding to a portion of the 3D CAD model;
- machining the article of the object being produced to a final shape using a first computer numerical control (CNC) machine, wherein an outer surface of the final shape of the machined article is formed entirely from the non-porous material;
- preparing the outer surface of the machined article of the object being produced, after the object has been assembled from the plurality of layer segments, using a surface preparation head supported by a gantry of a second CNC machine to perform a surface preparation process that includes (i) alkaline cleaning of the outer surface, (ii) propelling glass beads against the outer surface, and (iii) applying laser ablation to the outer surface, after the outer surface has been machined;
- and
- applying a coating formed from a powder to the machined and prepared outer surface of the final shape of the machined article of the object being produced, using a thermal spray coating head of the gantry to perform a thermal spray process that includes melting the powder, wherein the surface preparation head is positioned adjacent to the thermal spray coating head on the gantry.
3 more elements
A method of producing an object, the method comprising:
- receiving a three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) model of the object;
- slicing the 3D CAD model into a plurality of 3D CAD layers;
- cutting a plurality of layer segments from a sheet of non-porous material according to the 3D CAD model, wherein each layer segment corresponds to at least a portion of one of the plurality of 3D CAD layers;
- assembling the plurality of layer segments into a plurality of layers and fastening the plurality of layers together to form a blank;
- machining the blank to a final shape;
- preparing an outer surface of the machined blank assembled from the plurality of layer segments using a surface preparation process that includes propelling particles against the outer surface after the outer surface has been machined, wherein the entire outer surface of the machined blank is formed from the non-porous material;
- and
- applying a coating formed from a powder to the machined and prepared outer surface of the machined blank using a thermal spray process that includes melting the powder to form an outer surface of the object,
- wherein the surface preparation process and the thermal spray process are performed by an integrated system comprising a CNC machine configured with at least one of:
- (i) a dual-head configuration including a surface preparation head, and a thermal spray coating head supported by a gantry, or
- (ii) an exchangeable head system allowing for switching between a surface preparation head and a thermal spray coating head supported by a gantry.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.