Evaluation of Dissolvable Additively Manufactured Molds and Supports for Electroimpacts Innovative Additive Manufacturing Process
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Electroimpact, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)
Electroimpact inc. has developed a new additive manufacturing process involving continuous fiber reinforcement along with high-strength thermoplastics. A unique part of this process includes using additive manufacturing to print a base geometry that is then used as a tool for continuous fiber placement. Ideally the tool should be disposable and cost effective. After printing the base tool, continuous fiber is printed on top of the tool using a secondary additive head on the same system to create the final printed part. After continuous fiber printing is completed, the tool is removed and disposed of to leave only the final desired structure. Materials used for the base tool have several requirements that must be met in order to complete this process. First, the material must be rigid and strong enough to support the loads from the secondary printing operation (continuous fiber printing). In addition, the material must be able to adhere to the secondary process material as well be capable of being removed such that the only remaining structure is continuous fiber composite. Using innovative soluble materials allows for parts to be produced through additive with molds that are produced as non-reusable one-off shapes and sizes.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Electroimpact, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 2333795
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/SPR--2024/3279; NFE-21-08832; NFE-21-08832
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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