Automated spray form cell
AssigneeFord Motor Company
InventorsRichard L Allor, David Robert Collins, John Michael Nicholson, Grigoriy Grinberg
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Spray form cell including a two-wavelength imaging pyrometer adapted to provide real-time measurement of the surface temperature distribution of a metal billet thereby formed. The steel billets may be advantageously used as tools in metal forming processes, injection molding, die casting tooling and other processes that require hard tooling, such as in the automotive industry. The steel billet is formed based on a goal of uniform surface temperature distribution thereby minimizing thermal stresses induced within the steel article thereby produced.
Claims35
A cell for manufacturing a spray-formed article, comprising:
- an enclosure;
- a spray gun assembly disposed within the enclosure for applying multiple layers of spray forming material upon a mold substrate in the manufacture of the spray formed article;
- a mechanized platform spaced from the spray gun assembly within the enclosure for supporting the mold substrate;
- an infrared sensor for detecting temperatures of an exposed surface of the spray formed article during application of the spray forming material, the infrared sensor being capable of measuring temperatures of the article without knowing the emissivity of the article being sensed;
- and
- a computing device coupled to the infrared sensor programmable to receive the detected temperatures and control the spray gun assembly in application of a subsequently applied layer of the spray forming material based on the detected temperatures of the exposed surface of the article being formed.
A cell for manufacturing a spray-formed article, comprising:
- an enclosure;
- a spray gun assembly disposed within the enclosure for applying multiple layers of spray forming material upon a mold substrate in the manufacture of the spray formed article;
- a mechanized platform spaced from the spray gun assembly within the enclosure for supporting the mold substrate;
- an infrared sensor for detecting temperatures of an exposed surface of the spray formed article during application of the spray forming material;
- and
- a computing device coupled to the infrared sensor programmable to receive the detected temperatures and control the spray gun assembly in application of a subsequently applied layer of the spray forming material based on the detected temperatures of the exposed surface of the article being formed;
- wherein the spray gun assembly further comprises a substantially bucket-shaped enclosure forming a light trap for the moltenizing arc gun.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.