Ut-battelle, Inc.

John M Lindahl

Vlastimil Kunc

Ahmed A Hassen

Seokpum Kim

Lonnie J Love

Brian K Post

Craig A Blue

Chad Edward Duty

Jordan A Failla

Christopher J Hershey

James William Klett

Phillip C Chesser

Pooran Chandra Joshi

Alex C Roschli

Benjamin J Hedger

Thomas A Feldhausen

Michael C Borish

Gregory D Dreifus

Mike Walch

Vlastimil Kune

Bentley T Beard, Ii

Jon P Casale

Vipin Kumar

David W Nuttall

Tyler C H Smith

Tyler C Smith

Peng Liu

Tim Deluca

Thomas Zeke Sudbury

An additive manufacturing system for additive manufacturing material with long fibers includes an extruder comprising a nozzle that includes a static-mixing portion, a compression portion, and a long fiber alignment portion. The static-mixing portion includes a static-mixing channel with static-mixing rods distributed inside and extending radially inward from a channel wall. The long fiber alignment portion has an alignment channel with a diameter Dthat is less than a diameter Dof the static-mixing channel. The compression portion includes with a reducing diameter from an input end to an output end of the compression channel. A nozzle and method for additive manufacturing are also disclosed.

Static mixing nozzles for long fiber and resin mixing and dispersing in polymer additive manufacturing

The current embodiments include all-polymeric protective material for mitigating lightning strike damage. The protective material includes a hybrid matrix comprising PANI and MXene dispersed within a thermosetting epoxy resin. This hybrid matrix can be painted, printed, or applied as a conductive polymeric layer to a FRCP structure, for example an aircraft fuselage, wing, empennage, control surface (aileron, flap, slats, rudder, elevator) or a wind turbine blade. The protective material not only withstands lightning strikes, but also functions as shielding against electromagnetic interference and is corrosion-resistant and lightweight.

3D printable polymeric lightning strike protection system for fiber reinforced composites

A simulation-assisted additive manufacturing system and method for generating an anisotropic compensation to account for non-uniform deformation due to additive manufacturing and service loading. The predicted deformation may not be fully defined. The present disclosure provides a system and method for estimating the missing deformation data through regression analysis. The present disclosure also provides an integrated framework where the various simulated-assisted design modules are configured for two-way communication and sharing access to changes to the model.

System and method for simulation-assisted additive manufacturing involving estimating anisotropic deformation

An apparatus and device for creating a vertical strengthening feature within a 3D printed article of manufacture for improving mechanical performance in the Z-direction. Fill material is deposited in voids vertically crossing multiple layers during the build of 3D printing. The device includes a penetrating extension that fits within the void to create a vertical strengthening feature via heat and/or extruded fill material. The size and/or movement of the heated extension can impact the void side walls to reflow the build material and blend the layers together within the void side walls.

Penetrating and actuating nozzle for extrusion-based 3D printing

A system and method for improving additive manufacturing, including additive manufacturing toolpaths, is provided. The system and method includes a toolpath generator that obtains initial toolpaths of an object, identifies isolated paths in the toolpaths, and adds bridge connections between neighboring isolated paths in each layer to improve the toolpaths. The bridge connections facilitate the continuous and non-stop deposition of each layer according to improved toolpaths during additive manufacture, which can reduce total deposition time and improve the resultant additive manufacture.

System and method for additive manufacturing with toolpath bridges and resultant structure

An improved method for obtaining high fiber volume fraction, long fiber injection molded articles is provided. According to one embodiment, the method includes forming an injection molding feedstock by cutting pre-impregnated fiber-reinforced tape into platelets. The platelets can be coated with a thin layer of polymer to allow sliding of the platelets with respect to each other at the early stages of plastication, rather than forcing relative motion of fibers with respect to each other. The method can further include the dispersion of material only in the final stages of the injection molding screw to promote gentle motion of the feedstock at the earlier stages of the plastication process. The method allows improvement of mechanical properties of articles manufactured with equipment and techniques that are prevalent in high volume automotive and consumer industries.

Long fiber injection molding

A method for rapid manufacturing of three dimensional discontinuous fiber preforms is provided. The method includes the deposition of a polymeric material containing fibers on a surface to form a tailored charge for compression molding. The reinforced polymeric material may be a thermoplastic or a reactive polymer with viscosity low enough to allow flow through an orifice during deposition, yet high enough zero shear viscosity to retain the approximate shape of the deposited charge. The material can be deposited in a predetermined pattern to induce the desired mechanical properties through alignment of the fibers. This deposition can be performed in a single layer or in multiple layers. The alignment is achieved passively by shear alignment of the fibers or actively through fiber orientation control or mixing. The fibers can be of the desired material, length, and morphology, including short and long filaments.

Rapid manufacturing of tailored preforms

An assembly for additive manufacturing includes a build housing including a base, a print head, and a print head support connected to the base for supporting the print head above the base. A driver system is provided for moving the print head and the base relative to one another. A build platform comprising a build support and at least one platen. The build support can be detachably engageable to the housing. The platens can be detachably engageable to the build support. The build support can include registration structure for registering the position of the build support relative to the build housing. A method of additive manufacturing is also disclosed.

Increased material flow throughput in large scale additive manufacturing through movable segmented build platform

A structural health monitoring method is provided that utilizes self-sensing printed polymer structures. The method is based on resistivity properties of conductive materials, which can be integrated to a 3D printed polymer structure during additive manufacturing. An article to be monitored has at least one 3D printed polymer structure including a circuit comprising at least one conductive pathway extending through a non-conductive material. The resistance across the circuit is measured during or after loading of the article to determine a resistance value. The measured resistance value is compared to a known resistance value, and based on the comparison, a defect can be detected in the 3D printed polymer structure. Structural health monitoring systems and articles with integrated structural health monitoring are also provided.

Self-sensing of printed polymer structures

A method of forming a low-density three-dimensional article is provided. The method includes printing a low-density composition on a substrate to form at least one layer comprising the low-density composition. The low-density composition includes a (P) polymer component and (M) a microsphere component in a ratio by volume (P):(M). The method also includes selectively controlling a density of the low-density composition during printing to give the at least one layer on the substrate. Selectively controlling the density of the low-density composition includes varying the ratio (P):(M) during printing. The method further includes repeating the printing and selectively controlling the density of the low-density composition to form additional layer(s), thereby forming the low-density three-dimensional article. A low-density three-dimensional article prepared in accordance with the method is also provided.

Method for printing low-density polymer structures

Gaff hook

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Knoxville, TN, United States of America

John M Lindahl