Northwestern University

The Boeing Company

The Penn State Research Foundation

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Shanghai Jiaotong University

Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

University of Connecticut

Clemson University

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Northern University

Jian Cao

Kornel F Ehmann

John Timothy Roth

Zhiyong Cedric Xia

Qian Jane Wang

Rajesh Talwar

Pinzhi Liu

Donald J Grzina

Qiang Zeng

Tiffany Davis Ling

Rajiv Malhotra

Jun Chen

Huan Yun Zhang

Melville Paul Ulmer

Ishan Saxena

Youwei Yao

Xiaoli Wang

Rui Zhou

Michael Beltran

Kumar Pallav

Junghoon Lee

Michael A Peshkin

Bradley J Blaski

Hui-ping Wang

Kevin Scott Smith

Joshua L Solomon

Robert X Gao

John C Ziegert

Kyoo-Chul Park

Zhaoyan Fan

Yuehan Yao

Christian John Machado

Bethany A Woody

Lu Huang

Jennifer Lynn Bennett

Anthony Swanson

Tiffany Davis

Brad L Kinsey

Dohyun Leem

Vivian Vasquez

Jiaxi Xie

Ebot E Ndip-Agbor

Huaqing Ren

Man Kwan Ng

Shuheng Liao

Nicolas Martinez Prieto

Self-healing, hydrophobic composites and related methods are provided. A method of repelling water may comprise forming a layer of a self-healing, hydrophobic composite comprising a porous network of entangled polymer fibers and a hydrophobic phase change material infused throughout the network, on a surface of a substrate to form a treated surface; and exposing the treated surface to water, wherein the treated surface exhibits a native water droplet contact angle which is greater than that of an untreated surface without the layer of the composite.

Self-healing, hydrophobic composites and related methods

A system for evaluating a rigidity of an angle bracket includes a test system having a first test fixture and a second test fixture. The system includes an angle bracket coupon including a first wall, a second wall coupled to the first wall at a bend to define an angle between the first wall and the second wall, and at least one three dimensional feature defined at the bend that extends between the first wall and the second wall. The angle bracket coupon is to be coupled to at least one of the first test fixture and the second test fixture to evaluate the rigidity of the angle bracket.

Systems and methods for evaluating rigidity of angle bracket

Novel systems and methods for an incremental forming process to manufacture a product are disclosed herein. The system and method generally involves continuously modifying the toolpath in real-time based upon the forming force of the forming tool compared to a predicted springback error established offline from a series of simplified simulations. The system and method disclosed herein are effective to form products with complex geometries and minimizes the costs and time requirements associated with prior art techniques.

In-situ springback compensation in incremental sheet forming

A system for making a build using directed energy deposition is provided. The system includes a primary heat source; a processing nozzle movable relative to the build for delivering a metal powder, a carrier gas for the metal powder, and a shield gas to the build; a melt pool sensor for providing information regarding a temperature of a melt pool of the build; a secondary heat source separate from the primary heat source positionable relative to the build for delivering heat to a selected area of the build; a cooling source positionable relative to the build for delivering a cooling fluid to a selected area of the build; and a control system for operating the primary heat source, the secondary heat source and the cooling source to maintain a desired temperature profile for the build. The system preferably includes a temperature sensor for providing a temperature profile of the build. The temperature control system preferably includes a programmable controller configured to control the secondary heat source and the cooling source to conform the temperature of the build to the desired temperature profile. In one embodiment, the programmable controller is pre-programmed with a dynamic thermal model of a thermal history of the build for each time step.

Systems and methods for global thermal control of additive manufacturing

Flanges formed on sheet metal parts to increase the part stiffness or create mating surface for further assembly are created in an incremental sheet forming process using forming tool and supporting tool that move along a specified tool path so as to gradually deform a peripherally-clamped sheet metal work piece into the desired geometry. With two universal tools moving along the designed toolpath on the both sides of the part, the process is very flexible. Process time is can also be reduced by utilizing an accumulative double-sided incremental hole-flanging strategy, in which the flange is formed in only one step.

Method and apparatus for double-sided incremental flanging

A rolling mill system for Incremental rotary shaping of an elongated workpiece is provided that includes first and second workpiece holders. A support frame has a track with the first and second workpiece holders being movably associated with the track, the workpiece holders and an associated workpiece being movable in unison along the track. A radial chuck is mounted to the frame that includes a plurality of jaws that are movable radially inwardly and outwardly. Each jaw has a tool mounted thereto that is rotatable about an axis of rotation, with the axis of rotation of each tool being oriented at a skew angle relative to the longitudinal axis of a workpiece. A source of electric current and an electrically conductive flow path are provided for flowing electrical current through a workpiece. A controller is provided that is configured to control the operation of each of the first motor, second motor and third motor, and to control the flow of current flowing through the tools to the workpiece.

Incremental rotary rolling mill and method

A system includes a frame configured to hold a workpiece and first and second tool positioning assemblies configured to be opposed to each other on opposite sides of the workpiece. The first and second tool positioning assemblies each include a toolholder configured to secure a tool to the tool positioning assembly, a first axis assembly, a second axis assembly, and a third axis assembly. The first, second, and third axis assemblies are each configured to articulate the toolholder along a respective axis. Each axis assembly includes first and second guides extending generally parallel to the corresponding axis and disposed on opposing sides of the toolholder with respect to the corresponding axis. Each axis assembly includes first and second carriages articulable along the first and second guides of the axis assembly, respectively, in the direction of the corresponding axis.

System and method for incremental forming

A system for laser-induced plasma micromachining of a work-piece includes a dielectric fluid, a dielectric fluid supply device, a laser, a processor, and a memory. The dielectric fluid supply device is arranged to hold a work-piece in the dielectric fluid or to direct the dielectric fluid onto the work-piece. The laser is arranged to emit a pulsed laser-beam. The processor is in electronic communication with the laser. The memory is in electronic communication with the processor. The memory includes programming code for execution by the processor. The programming code is programmed to direct the laser to deliver the pulsed laser-beam into the dielectric fluid to create a plasma generated at a focal point of the pulsed laser-beam in the dielectric fluid to micromachine, using the plasma, the work-piece disposed adjacent to the focal point.

Laser induced plasma micromachining (LIPMM)

In one aspect, a translational parallel manipulator is provided and includes a fixed platform including three guide members. The three guide members include first ends and second ends, and the first ends of the three guide members are all coupled to each other and the second ends of the three guide members are all spaced-apart from each other. The manipulator also includes a movable platform spaced-apart from the fixed platform and three serial subchains coupled between the three guide members and the movable platform. In one aspect, a translational parallel manipulator is provided and includes a fixed platform, a movable platform spaced-apart from the fixed platform, and a plurality of subchains coupled between the fixed platform and the movable platform. At least one of the plurality of subchains includes no more than four one degree-of-freedom joints.

Translational parallel manipulators and methods of operating the same

A deposition system for forming a stress distributed coating layer is provided which comprises a deposition apparatus comprising a source from which a coating material emanates, the source configured to restrict a flux of the coating material towards a backside of an optical substrate; a holder configured to hold the optical substrate; a drive system configured to provide relative translation of the source and the optical substrate; and a bias voltage power supply operably coupled to the source and the optical substrate and configured to apply a bias voltage between the source and the backside of the optical substrate. A device is operably coupled to the deposition apparatus, the device comprising a processor; and a computer-readable medium operably coupled to the processor, the computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the deposition apparatus to deposit the coating material onto the backside of the optical substrate and to adjust the bias voltage between the source and the backside of the optical substrate during the deposition of the coating material as a function of relative position of the source and the optical substrate to provide a stress distributed coating layer on the backside of the optical substrate.

Stress manipulated coating for figure reshape of optical substrates

An automated method for generating toolpaths in double sided incremental forming (DSIF) operations is disclosed which uses a geometrically constructed map to build a structure of all the geometric features that is capable of tracking and forming the features in the correct order while simultaneously keeping track of the location of the virgin material. The aforementioned method allows toolpaths for complex geometries in the DSIF process to be generated automatically.

Automated toolpath generation method for double sided incremental forming

A process and apparatus for forming a sheet metal component using an electric current passing through the component. The process can include providing an incremental forming machine, the machine having at least one arcuate tipped tool and at least electrode spaced a predetermined distance from the arcuate tipped tool. The machine is operable to perform a plurality of incremental deformations on the sheet metal component using the arcuate tipped tool. The machine is also operable to apply an electric direct current through the electrode into the sheet metal component at the predetermined distance from the arcuate tipped tool while the machine is forming the sheet metal component.

Apparatus for electrical-assisted incremental forming and process thereof

A method of forming a stress distributed coating layer is provided which comprises depositing a coating material emanating from a source at a first location on a backside of an optical substrate at a first bias voltage to provide a first coating region at the first location characterized by a first stress and depositing the coating material at a second location on the backside of the optical substrate at a second bias voltage to provide a second coating region at the second location characterized by a second stress, thereby forming a stress distributed coating layer on the backside of the optical substrate comprising the first and second coating regions. Deposition systems and coated optical substrates are also provided.

A forming tool stamps sheet metal blanks into a desired shape. A contoured surface is defined for the forming tool so that respective portions of the metal blank flow over the contoured surface during forming. An intrinsic material flow pattern resulting from the contoured surface is compared to a desired flow in order to identify regions of the contoured surface having an insufficient flow that creates areas in the formed metal blank receiving less than a desired amount of metal. A surface microtexture is applied onto the contoured surface in a pattern selected to increase metal flow along the identified regions by providing a coefficient of friction in the identified regions that is reduced relative to adjacent regions of the contoured surface.

Forming tools having textured surfaces

Growing community of inventors

Wilmette, IL, United States of America

Jian Cao