Patent ID: 11958241
Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 17:
18. An ultrasonic compaction device for heating a material as it is being deposited on a tool or substrate, said compaction device being configured to be part of an additive manufacturing machine operable to move in at least three degrees of freedom, said compaction device comprising at least one ultrasonic driver, an attachment member coupled to the at least one driver and whose motion is directly driven by the ultrasonic driver and a plurality of ultrasonic horns independently coupled to the attachment member and being movable independent of each other, said plurality of ultrasonic horns being ultrasonically vibrated to melt or flow the material under the horns and cause the material to fuse and be compacted to the substrate or tool.