Methods and apparatus for tailored grain size in an additive manufacturing environment
Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to generate a tailored grain size in an additive manufacturing environment. Disclosed herein is an apparatus comprising controller circuitry to determine a configuration for manufacture of a part, the part having a first portion and a second portion, an additive manufacturing machine to manufacture the part according to the configuration, and a force application device to apply a force to the part during manufacture, the force specified in the configuration to produce a desired grain size, the desired grain size including a first grain size and a second grain size, wherein the first portion is formed with the first grain size and the second portion is formed with the second grain size.
1 . An apparatus comprising:
controller circuitry configured to:
perform a simulation based on an operating temperature and a stress performance of a first portion and a second portion of a part to determine a first grain size and a second grain size of the part, wherein the operating temperature and the stress performance vary between the first portion and the second portion of the part; and
determine a configuration for manufacture of the first portion and the second portion of the part based on the simulation, the determination of the configuration to specify the first grain size for the first portion and specify the second grain size for the second portion based on the simulation, wherein the first grain size is different from the second grain size;
an additive manufacturing machine to manufacture the part according to the configuration, the controller circuitry in communication with the additive manufacturing machine to control the additive manufacturing machine to manufacture the part according to the configuration by depositing material forming the first portion and the second portion of the part; and
a force application device connected to the additive manufacturing machine and in communication with the controller circuitry, the force application device to apply a first force to the first portion and a second force to the second portion, after deposition by the additive manufacturing machine during manufacture, wherein the controller circuitry instructs the force application device to apply the first force specified in the configuration according to the simulation to produce the first grain size and the second force specified in the configuration according to the simulation to produce the second grain size.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further including a post-processing device to modify the part from the additive manufacturing machine.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the force application device includes a top roller for applying a vertical force to the part during manufacture.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the force application device further includes a side roller for applying a horizontal force to the part during manufacture.
5 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the force application device includes a first side roller to apply a first horizontal force inward towards a center of the part and a second side roller to apply a second horizontal force outward away from the center of the part.
6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the force application device applies a variable force, the variable force capable of being different for each of the top roller, the first side roller, and the second side roller.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the additive manufacturing machine applies a heat source to a first layer of material and a second layer of material, the first layer of material being a previous layer of material, the second layer of material being a current layer of material, the heat source having a magnitude corresponding to a temperature of the heat source.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the magnitude of the heat source is variable.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a grain size is variable between the first grain size and the second grain size within a single layer of material by modifying at least one of a heat source applied by the additive manufacturing machine or the first force and/or the second force applied by the force application device, wherein the controller circuitry instructs at least one of the additive manufacturing machine or the force application device to modify at least one of a heat or a force applied to the single layer of material based on the configuration.
10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further including a sensor communicatively coupled to the controller circuitry and configured to measure one or more operating conditions of at least one of the additive manufacturing machine, the force application device, or the part being manufactured.
11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor, the one or more operating conditions include the operating temperature of the deposited material, and the temperature sensor measures the operating temperature of the deposited material, and wherein the controller circuitry configures, based on the measured operating temperature, a distance between a deposition head and the force application device.
12 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the sensor is a stress sensor, the one or more operating conditions include the stress performance of the deposited material, and the stress sensor measures the stress performance of the deposited material in the first portion after the force application device has applied the first force, and wherein the controller circuitry is configured to modify at least one of the additive manufacturing machine or the force application device based on the measured stress performance surpassing a threshold.
13 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first force is greater than the second force, and, as a magnitude of the first force increases, an area of the first portion including the first grain size increases.
14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein as the magnitude of the first force increases, the first grain size decreases.