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INVENTORS: White; Dawn (Ann Arbor, MI)
ASSIGNEES: Solidica, Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI)
U.S. CLASS: 228/112.1; 228/114.5; 228/185; 228/2.3
ABSTRACT: Friction heating and bonding are used to consolidate sequentially applied metals, plastics or composites to previously deposited material so as to form a bulk deposit in a desired shape. Monolithic or composite sheets, tapes and filaments can be consolidated using the approach. A system according to the invention includes a source of friction; a mechanism for applying a forging load between a feedstock power supply and a work surface; a work-head, which may have various configurations depending on the geometry of the feedstock to be used; a material feeding system; and a computer-controlled actuation system which controls the placement of material increments added to an object being built. A computer model of the object to be built is used to generate commands to produce the object additively and automatically. The approach provides a solid, freeform fabrication technique that requires no tooling, operates in the solid state, and creates a bond directly at the faying surfaces (i.e., acts only at the location where bonding/consolidation of the material increments is desired).XX
