Patent ID: 11964432
Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. A continuous filament additive manufacturing machine for building a part by laying down a continuous mono-filament or continuous composite filament material layer by layer on a substrate or tool, said machine comprising:
a system operable to move in at least three degrees of freedom; and
a placement module coupled to the system and being configured to deposit the continuous filament material, said placement module including a guide for guiding the material to the part and at least one ultrasonic compaction device for compacting the material as it is being deposited from the placement module, said at least one compaction device including at least one ultrasonic horn having at least one guide hole through which the material passes before it is laid down and compacted, said at least one ultrasonic horn being ultrasonically vibrated to melt or flow the material and cause the material to fuse and be compacted to the tool or substrate, wherein the at least one guide hole is two guide holes that are symmetrically configured relative to each other so that the horn can be flipped and allow the material to go through either guide hole to be deposited.