Low Thermal Expansion Machine Frame Designs Using Lattice Structures

Applied Sciences

Ian Maskery¹  Ian Ashcroft¹  Richard Leach²  Poom Juasiripukdee² 

[1] Centre for Additive Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK;Manufacturing Metrology Team, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK;

关键词: coefficient of thermal expansion;    lattice structure;    metrology frame;    finite element analysis;    additive manufacturing;   

DOI  :  10.3390/app11199135

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In this work, we investigated tessellating cellular (or lattice) structures for use in a low thermal expansion machine frame. We proposed a concept for a lattice structure with tailorable effective coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The design is an assembly of two parts: a lattice outer part and a cylindrical inner part, which are made of homogenous materials with different positive CTEs. Several lattice design variations were investigated and their thermal and mechanical performance analysed using a finite element method. Our numerical models showed that a lattice design using Nylon 12 and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene could yield an effective in-plane CTE of 1 × 10⁻⁹ K⁻¹ (cf. 109 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ for solid Nylon 12). This paper showed that the combination of design optimisation and additive manufacturing can be used to achieve low CTE structures and, therefore, low thermal expansion machine frames of a few tens of centimetres in height.

【 授权许可】

Unknown