Title: Progress in Computer-Aided Manufacturing of Laminated Engineering Materials Utilizing Thick, Tangent-Cut Layers
Abstract:
This paper presents recent progress in extending the CAM-LEM process to 5-axis laser cutting for fabrication of laminated engineering components directly from sheet materials. The present extensions enable contruction of layered objects from thicker layers by cutting all layers with shaped edges. Use of thicker material layers offers the opportunity for faster build rates and/or improved surface finish. We describe our system and present initial experimental results in utilizing tangent-cut layers for object fabrication. Utilizing surface-tangent information introduces new computational complexities in converting CAD descriptions into machine process control commands. We present an algorithm for achieving this conversion, and we illustrate its sucessful performance.
Title: Metal and Ceramic Components made via CAM-LEM Technology
Abstract:
CAM-LEM (Computer-Aided manufacturing of Laminated Engineering Materials) is an SFF technology suitable for many engineering materials for which feedstock is available in sheet form; lamination and post-processing procedures are materials specific. Two methods for producing sheetstock, tapecasting and compression molding, are discussed and contrasted. Ceramic and metallic components that have been produced via CAM-LEM are described.
Authors: James D. Cawley, Arthur H. Heuer, Wyatt S. Newman, Brian B. Mathewson.
Published in the American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Volume 75, No. 5, May 1996, pp. 75-79.
Title: Al2O3 Ceramics Made by CAM-LEM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing of Laminated Engineering Materials) Techonology"
Abstract:
The concept of CAM-LEM technology is presented and discussed in the context of the fabrication of Al2O3 ceramics. Particular attention is paid to the interplay of green tape characteristics and the unit operations involved in CAM-LEM. Examples of ceramic shapes difficult to form by conventional methods are described.
Authors: Brian B. Mathewson (CAM-LEM Inc.), Wyatt S. Newman (Associate Professor), Arthur H. Heuer (Kyocera Professor of Ceramics, Department of Materials Science and Engineering), James D. Cawley (Great Lakes Associate Professor of Ceramics Processing), Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Abstract:
This paper describes a machine and process for automated fabrication of functional 3-D laminated engineering components, ceramics in the present example. A laser cuts successive layers of a part derived from a CAD model description out of unfired tape-cast ceramic sheets vacuum-clamped to an X-Y sled. A material-handling robot uses a selective-area gripper to extract only the desired part outlines from the surrounding waste material, then stacks the slices to build the part. This system design enables rapid manufacture of functional engineering components with arbitrarily complex internal and external geometries from virtually any material available in sheet form.
Authors: Wyatt S. Newman (Associate Professor), Yong Zheng (Graduate Student), Choon-Chiak Fong (Visiting scholar from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore), Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Abstract:
Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) is based on the principle of building parts layer by layer. Different types of SFF machines have emerged in the past few years, but all of them utilize only vertical-edged layers, resulting in staircased surface finishes. In this paper, we introduce the mathematics and machine design for a system which utilizes surface-normal information to cut individual laminae with correct edge-normal generation. The presentation concentrates on the laser cutting trajectory generation from a CAD model of a part. Comparison between the surface finishes of vertical cutting and tangential cutting is also presented.
Next: CAM-LEM, Inc.