当前申请(专利权)人地址：
5405 Windward Parkway, Suite 100W,Alpharetta, Georgia 30004 US
权利要求：
CLAIMS
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A method for additive machining of a refiner plate segment having a feature pattern, the method comprising: fabricating the refiner plate segment with a partial feature pattern from a first material; performing first optical scanning of the refiner plate segment to identify positions of features in the partial feature pattern; automatically generating first code for performing three-dimensional (3D) printing of a second material at first specified locations in the partial feature pattern from data obtained from the optical scanning; and performing 3D printing of the second material at the specified locations.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second material has a hardness greater than the hardness of the first material.
3. The method of claim 1 , sintering the second material by heating the refiner plate segment after the 3D printing of the second material.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: after fabricating the refiner plate segment with the partial feature pattern, performing a planarization operation to obtain a planar surface on top surfaces of the features in the partial feature pattern.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: positioning the refiner plate segment in a predetermined orientation in three- dimensional (3D) printing equipment; obtaining pre-programmed second code for performing three-dimensional (3D) printing of a third material at second specified locations in the partial feature pattern; and performing 3D printing of the third material at the specified locations using the preprogrammed second code.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
positioning the refiner plate segment in three-dimensional (3D) printing equipment; performing second optical scanning of the refiner plate segment to identify the positions of the features in the partial feature pattern; automatically generating second code for performing three-dimensional (3D) printing of a third material at second specified locations in the partial feature pattern from data obtained from the second optical scanning; and performing 3D printing of the third material at the specified locations.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing 3D printing of two or more additional material at the specified locations based on the first code for performing three-dimensional (3D) printing.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the refiner plate segment is a planar refiner plate segment, a cylindrical refiner plate segment, a conical refiner plate segment, or a single piece circle.
9. A method for additive machining of a blank refiner plate segment without a feature pattern, the method comprising: fabricating the blank refiner plate segment without feature pattern from a first material; generating code for performing three-dimensional (3D) printing of the feature pattern from design data for the feature pattern; and performing 3D printing of the feature pattern on the blank refiner plate segment with a second material to form a refiner plate segment having the feature pattern.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second material has a hardness greater than the hardness of the first material.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: after fabricating the blank plate segment, performing a planarization operation to obtain a planar surface on the blank refiner plate segment.
12. The method of claim 9, further comprising sintering the second material by heating the refiner plate segment after the 3D printing of the second material.
13. The method of claim 9, further comprising performing 3D printing of the feature pattern with two or more different materials.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein the refiner plate segment has a conical or cylindrical surface or is a single piece circle.
15. A method for refurbishing a feature pattern of a refiner plate segment using additive machining, the method comprising: obtaining a previously used refiner plate segment comprising a first material; performing a planarization operation to obtain a planar surface on top surfaces of features in a feature pattern; performing optical scanning of the refiner plate segment to identify positions of the features in the feature pattern; automatically generating code for performing three-dimensional (3D) printing of a second material at specified locations in the feature pattern from data obtained from the optical scanning; and performing 3D printing of the second material at the specified locations in the feature pattern.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second material is the same as the first material.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the second material has a hardness greater than the hardness of the first material.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising sintering the second material by heating the refiner plate segment after the 3D printing of the second material.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein the refiner plate segment is a planar refiner plate segment, a cylindrical refiner plate segment, a conical refiner plate segment, or a single piece circle.
20. A method for additive machining of a refiner plate segment, the method comprising: obtaining design data for the refiner plate segment;
generating code for three-dimensional (3D) printing of a refiner plate segment substrate; performing 3D printing of the refiner plate segment substrate with a first material; generating code for 3D printing of a feature pattern from the design data for the refiner plate segment; and performing 3D printing of the feature pattern on the refiner plate segment substrate with a second material.
21 . The method of claim 20, wherein the second material has a hardness greater than the hardness of the first material.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the refiner plate segment substrate and a lower portion of the feature pattern are 3D printed with the first material, and an upper portion of the feature pattern is 3D printed with the second material.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein performing 3D printing of the refiner plate segment substrate comprises 3D printing with multiple alloys.
24. The method of claim 20, further comprising performing 3D printing of the feature pattern with two or more different materials.
25. The method of claim 20, further comprising sintering the second material by heating the refiner plate segment after the 3D printing of the second material.
26. The method of claim 20, wherein the refiner plate segment is a planar refiner plate segment, a cylindrical refiner plate segment, a conical refiner plate segment, or a single piece circle.
27. A method for additive machining of a refiner plate segment having a partial feature pattern, the method comprising: fabricating the refiner plate segment with a partial feature pattern from a first material based on design data for the refiner plate segment; positioning the refiner plate segment at a known location and orientation in a 3D printing machine; and
performing 3D printing to complete features on predetermined features in the partial feature pattern, wherein program code for 3D printing is provided from the design data of the refiner plate segment.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein positioning the refiner plate segment at the known location and orientation is accomplished via a fixture.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein the known location and orientation of the plate segment is determined by performing scanning of the refiner plate segment.