IPC分类号：
B22F3/105 | B33Y10/00 | B33Y30/00 | B22F3/00
国民经济行业分类号：
C3516 | C3252 | C3251 | C3393
当前申请(专利权)人：
GENERAL ELECTRIC RENOVABLES ESPANA, S.L.
原始申请(专利权)人：
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
发明人：
BONILLA GONZALEZ, CARLOS | BROMBERG, VADIM | PANCZYK, CHRISTOPHER A. | NATARAJAN, ARUNKUMAR | FAIDI, WASEEM | CARTER, WILLIAM THOMAS
摘要：
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to additive manufacturing techniques, and more specifically, to additive manufacturing techniques that involve binder jet printing. An additive manufacturing system (10) for fabricating an article (22) includes a build unit (20) and a positioning system (18) operably coupled to the build unit, wherein the positioning system is configured to move the build unit in at least three dimensions. The build unit includes a recoater portion (42) configured to deposit a layer of powder (50) within a build area of the additive manufacturing system. The build unit also includes a binder jetting (BJ) portion (46) configured to selectively deposit and cure a binder (48) within a periphery (140) of the deposited layer of powder to form a dynamic build envelope (24) around the article being fabricated.
技术问题语段：
The patent text discusses additive manufacturing techniques that involve binder jetting. The technical problem being addressed is how to fabricate complex articles using AM techniques that can reduce manufacturing costs and enable flexibility compared to other manufacturing techniques. Different AM techniques, such as direct laser melting (DLM), direct laser sintering (DLS), and binder jetting (BJ), are discussed in the text and how they differ in terms of the process of fusing or chemically binding layers of powder to form the desired article. The BJ technique involves depositing a binder to selectively chemically bind the layers of powder together, resulting in a green body article that needs to be pre-sintered and fully sintered to form a consolidated article.
技术功效语段：
This patent describes an additive manufacturing system that can make objects using a layer-by-layer process. The system has a build unit that can move in three dimensions and deposit a layer of powder. There is also a binder jetting portion that can deposit binder around the powder layer to form a dynamic build envelope. The build unit also has a laser that can fuse the powder to create a solid layer of the object inside the dynamic build envelope. This system can make objects with precision and strength.
权利要求：
1. An additive manufacturing system (10) for fabricating an article (22), comprising: a build unit (20); and a positioning system (18) operably coupled to the build unit, wherein the positioning system is configured to move the build unit in at least three dimensions, and wherein the build unit comprises: a recoater portion (42) configured to deposit a layer of powder (50) within a build area of the additive manufacturing system; and a binder jetting (BJ) portion (46) configured to selectively deposit and cure a binder (48) within a periphery (140) of the deposited layer of powder to form a dynamic build envelope (24) around the article being fabricated.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the BJ portion is configured to selectively deposit and cure the binder (48) within a portion of the deposited layer of powder (50) inside of the dynamic build envelope (24) to form at least a portion of the article (22) being fabricated.
3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the BJ portion (46) of the build unit (20) comprises: a binder reservoir (80) configured to store the binder (48); and a print head (78) fluidly coupled with a binder reservoir, wherein the print head is configured to receive the binder from the binder reservoir and to selectively deposit the binder within the periphery (140) of the deposited layer of powder (50).
4. The system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the BJ portion (46) of the build unit (20) comprises: a curing emission source (81) configured to irradiate the periphery of the deposited layer (50) after the binder (48) is deposited to cure the binder within the periphery of the deposited powder layer.
5. The system of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the recoater portion (42) of the build unit (20) comprises a powder dispenser and a recoater blade or recoater roller (66).
6. The system of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the recoater portion comprises multiple powder dispensers (56).
7. The system of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the build unit comprises a direct laser melting or direct laser sintering (DLM/DLS) portion (54), comprising: an irradiation emission directing device (90) configured to selectively direct a laser beam or an e-beam (88) to melt or sinter a portion of the deposited layer of powder (50) to form a portion of the article (22) being fabricated; and a gas flow device (94) configured to provide a reduced-oxygen atmosphere around a central portion of the deposited layer of powder during melting or sintering.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the gas flow device (94) is configured to provide a gas flow or a vacuum over the portion of the deposited layer of powder (50) during melting or sintering.
9. The system of any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising a second build unit (26), wherein the second build unit comprises a direct laser melting or direct laser sintering (DLM/DLS) portion (54), comprising: an irradiation emission directing device (90) configured to selectively direct a laser beam or an e-beam (88) to melt or sinter a portion of the deposited layer of powder (50) to form a portion of the article (22) being fabricated; and a gas flow device (94) configured to provide a reduced-oxygen atmosphere around the portion of the deposited layer of powder during melting or sintering.
10. The system of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the three dimensions are x, y, and z coordinates, and wherein the build unit (20) can be rotated in the x-y plane.
11. The system of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the positioning system (18) is configured to move the build unit (20) within a volume that is at least ten times larger than the cube of a width of a recoater blade (66) of the recoater portion (42).
12. A method of additive manufacturing, comprising: moving (150), via a positioning system (18), a build unit (20) across a build area (28); depositing, via a recoater portion (42) of the build unit, a layer of powder (50) while moving the build unit across the build area; selectively depositing, via a binder jetting portion (46) of the build unit, a binder (48) onto a periphery (140) of the layer of powder (50) while moving the build unit across the build area, wherein the binder is subsequently cured to form a portion of a dynamic build envelope (24) in the periphery of the layer of powder; and fusing or binding a portion of the layer of powder (50) to form a fused or bound layer of an article (22) inside of the dynamic build envelope while moving the build unit across the build area.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein selectively depositing the binder comprises oversaturating the periphery (140) of the layer of powder (50) with excess binder such that a periphery of a subsequently deposited layer of powder is blocked from spilling over outside of the dynamic build envelope (24) by the excess binder.
14. The method of claim 12 or 13, comprising irradiating the selectively deposited binder using an emission source (81, 90) to cure the binder (48) and form the dynamic build envelope (24).
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the emission source (81) is an infrared (IR), visible, or ultraviolet (UV) curing emission source of the binder jetting portion (46) of the build unit (20).