The Boeing Company

Elaine MacDonald

Daniel Joseph Braley

Brandon Heath Wegge

Russell W Cochran

Ali Yousefiani

Daniel E Driemeyer

Nicholas B Segobiano

Justin L'Hote

Jeremy Nicholas O'Hara

Grant G Gvozdich

Andrew Pfeiffer

A method of making an object through investment casting includes additively manufacturing a mold for the object with a printing head on a carriage supported by a frame with the mold being additively manufactured from multiple layers on a build platform supported by the frame. An interior surface of the mold is machined with a machining device on the carriage after a predetermined number of layers have been added to the mold through additive manufacturing. The object is investment cast by directing a casting material into the mold while the mold is supported by the build platform.

System and method for investment casting an object

An envelope portion of an airborne craft comprises a metallic outer wall and a metallic inner wall arranged interior to the outer wall. The outer and inner walls delimit an inter-wall volume configured to support a flow of coolant to cool the outer wall during atmospheric heating of the outer wall.

Active cooling of windward surface of craft

An article comprising additively manufactured metal portions is described. The article comprises a first additively manufactured metal portion, and a second additively manufactured metal portion coupled to the first additively manufactured metal portion at a welded joint. The article further comprises a resistive heating material disposed within an interior of the welded joint, the resistive heating material comprising a different material than the first additively manufactured metal portion and the second additively manufactured metal portion.

Article comprising additively manufactured metal portions

A powder-deposition apparatus for an additive manufacturing system includes a recoater, a mixer, and a powder feeder. The recoater is configured to discharge powder such that a powder layer is formed from the powder. The mixer is configured to mix a plurality of powder constituents to produce the powder and to dispense the powder to the recoater. The powder feeder is configured to selectively dispense a mass of each one of the plurality of powder constituents to the mixer such that a composition of the powder is selectively controlled.

System and method for additively manufacturing an object

A method of additively manufacturing an object includes successively forming a plurality of powder layers by depositing powder over a build platform using a powder-deposition apparatus. The method also includes successively forming a binder shell by bonding select regions of each one of the plurality of powder layers before forming each successive one of the plurality of powder layers using a binder-delivery apparatus. The binder shell encloses a portion of the powder. The method further includes densifying the portion of the powder bound by the binder shell using a consolidation apparatus.

Method for additively manufacturing an object and additively manufactured object

A method of additively manufacturing an object includes steps of: (1) selectively depositing build powder inside of a build contour of the object to form a build-powder section of a powder layer; and (2) selectively depositing support powder outside of the build contour to form a support-powder section of the powder layer. According to the method, the build powder includes a build-powder composition, the support powder includes a support-powder composition, and the build-powder composition and the support-powder composition are different.

A method of additively manufacturing an object includes steps of: (1) successively forming a plurality of powder layers by depositing powder; (2) selectively controlling a composition of the powder that forms each one of the plurality of powder layers; and (3) successively forming a plurality of object layers of the object by joining the powder of a portion of each one of the plurality of powder layers before forming each successive one of the plurality of powder layers.

Methods of improving a surface finish of a casting pattern for an investment casting process, methods of forming an investment casting, and smoothed casting patterns. The methods for forming the casting patterns having an improved surface finish include sealing the casting pattern with a first coating material to form a sealed casting pattern and smoothing the sealed casting pattern with a second coating material to form a smoothed casting pattern. The methods for forming the investment casting include covering a smoothed casting pattern with a mold material to define an enclosed mold volume, curing the mold material to form a cured mold material, flowing the smoothed casting pattern from the enclosed mold volume to define a void space, filling the void space with a liquid investment casting material, and solidifying the liquid casting material to define an investment casting.

Growing community of inventors

Wildwood, MO, United States of America

Elaine MacDonald