Abstract
A coil arrangement for a flowmeter, in particular a Coriolis flowmeter or a magnetic-inductive flowmeter, having a coil, wherein the coil has a coil body and has at least one coil winding made of an electrically conductive material. The object of providing a coil arrangement that has an advantageous design in comparison to the coil arrangements known from the prior art is achieved in that the coil body is made of a ceramic material and that the coil body is produced by means of an additive manufacturing process. In addition, the invention relates to a flowmeter having a respective coil arrangement as well as a method for manufacturing such a coil arrangement.
Claims
1. A coil arrangement for a flowmeter, comprising: a coil; wherein the coil has a coil body and has at least one coil winding made of an electrically conductive material; wherein the coil body is made of a ceramic material; and wherein the coil body is produced by an additive manufacturing process.
2. The coil arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the coil body is at least partially hollow in an interior bounded by the coil body walls; and wherein the material in the interior of the coil body is at least partially arranged in an irregular structure and/or is at least partially arranged in a regular structure.
3. The coil arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the coil body has at least partially in its interior at least one of an open porosity, a closed porosity, a column structure, a rib structure, and a lattice structure.
4. The coil arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the coil body has at least one back taper; and wherein the at least one coil winding is arranged at least partially in the back taper.
5. The coil arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the coil arrangement has a sheathing at least partially closing off the exterior.
6. The coil arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the coil arrangement has a fastening element for fastening the coil arrangement to a component of a flowmeter.
7. The coil arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one coil winding is produced by an additive manufacturing process; and wherein the at least one coil winding is produced from a conductive ceramic.
8. A flowmeter for determining the flow of a medium, comprising: a coil arrangement; wherein the coil arrangement has a coil, and the coil has a coil body and has at least one coil winding made of an electrically conductive material; and wherein the coil body is made of a ceramic material and the coil body is manufactured by an additive manufacturing process.
9. The flowmeter according to claim 8, wherein at least one of: the coil body is at least partially hollow in an interior bounded by the coil body walls, and the material in the interior of the coil body is at least partially arranged in an irregular structure and/or is at least partially arranged in a regular structure; the coil body has at least partially in its interior at least one of an open porosity, a closed porosity, a column structure, a rib structure, and a lattice structure; the coil body has at least one back taper, and the at least one coil winding is arranged at least partially in the back taper, the coil arrangement has a sheathing at least partially closing off the exterior, the sheathing is made from a ceramic material and is produced by an additive manufacturing process, and the sheathing is formed integrally with the coil body; the coil arrangement has a fastening element for fastening the coil arrangement to a component of a flowmeter, the fastening element is made of a ceramic material and is produced by an additive manufacturing process, and the fastening element is formed integrally with at least one of the coil body and, if a sheathing is provided, with the sheathing; and the at least one coil winding is produced by an additive manufacturing process, and the at least one coil winding is produced from a conductive ceramic.
10. A method for manufacturing a coil arrangement for a flowmeter, wherein the coil arrangement includes a coil body and at least one coil winding made of an electrically conductive material, the method comprising: in a provisioning step, a 3D model of at least the coil body is provided; in a coil body printing step, the coil body is manufactured from a ceramic material by an additive manufacturing process on the basis of the 3D model; and in a winding step, the at least one coil winding is arranged around the coil body; or in a coil winding provisioning step the at least one coil winding is provided and in a coil body printing step the coil body is printed by an additive manufacturing process on the basis of the 3D model from a ceramic material at least partially in the inner region of the provided coil winding, such that the provided coil winding is arranged around the printed coil body.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the coil body printing step is divided into at least a first partial printing step and a second partial printing step; wherein in the first partial printing step a first coil body part is manufactured; wherein, in the winding step, the at least one coil winding is arranged around the first coil body part; and wherein, in a second partial printing step, the second coil body part is produced, in such a way that it is formed integrally with the first coil body part.
12. The method according to claim 10, wherein in the provisioning step, a 3D model of the coil body is provided, in which the coil body is at least partially hollow in its interior; and wherein the material in the interior of the coil body is arranged at least partially in an irregular structure and/or is arranged at least partially in a regular structure.
13. The method according to claim 10, wherein in a coil winding model provisioning step, a 3D model of the at least one coil winding is provided; and wherein in a coil winding printing step the at least one coil winding is manufactured from an electrically conductive material by an additive manufacturing process using the 3D model.
14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the coil arrangement has a sheathing at least partially closing off the exterior, wherein a 3D model of the sheathing is provided in the provisioning step; wherein, in a sheathing printing step, the sheathing is manufactured from a ceramic material by an additive manufacturing process using the 3D model.
15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the coil arrangement has at least one fastening element for fastening the coil arrangement to a component of a flowmeter; wherein a 3D model of the fastening element is provided in the provisioning step; wherein, in a fastening element printing step, the fastening element is manufactured from a ceramic material by an additive manufacturing process using the 3D model.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the fastening element printing step and the coil body printing step and/or the sheathing printing step are carried out simultaneously, in such a way that the fastening element and the coil body and/or the sheathing are implemented in one piece.
17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the coil arrangement has a sheathing at least partially closing off the exterior, wherein a 3D model of the sheathing is provided in the provisioning step; wherein, in a sheathing printing step, the sheathing is manufactured from a ceramic material by an additive manufacturing process using the 3D model; and wherein the coil body printing step or at least the first partial printing step of the coil body printing step and the sheathing printing step are carried out simultaneously, in such a way that the coil body and the sheathing are implemented in one piece.
18. The coil arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the sheathing is made from a ceramic material and is produced by an additive manufacturing process.
19. The coil arrangement according to claim 18, wherein the sheathing is formed integrally with the coil body.
20. The coil arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the fastening element is made of a ceramic material and is produced by an additive manufacturing process.
21. The coil arrangement according to claim 21, wherein the fastening element is formed integrally with at least one of the coil body and, if a sheathing is provided, with the sheathing.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] In detail, there are now various possibilities for designing and further developing the coil arrangement according to the invention, the flowmeter according to the invention and the method according to the invention. In this regard, reference is made to the following description of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawings.
[0036] FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0037] FIG. 2 illustrates a second embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates a third embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0039] FIG. 4 illustrates a fourth embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0040] FIG. 5a illustrates a first representation of a fifth embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0041] FIG. 5b illustrates a second representation of a fifth embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0042] FIG. 6 illustrates a sixth embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0043] FIG. 7 illustrates a seventh embodiment of a coil arrangement.
[0044] FIG. 8 illustrates a section of a flowmeter with a coil arrangement.
[0045] FIG. 9 illustrates a section of a flowmeter with another coil arrangement.
[0046] FIG. 10a illustrates a block diagram of a first variation of a first method for manufacturing a coil arrangement.
[0047] FIG. 10b illustrates a block diagram of a second variation of a first method for manufacturing a coil arrangement.
[0048] FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a second method for manufacturing a coil arrangement.
[0049] FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a third method for manufacturing a coil arrangement.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0050] FIG. 1 shows a first design of a coil arrangement 1 for a flowmeter 2, wherein a flowmeter 2 is shown in parts in FIGS. 7 and 8. The coil arrangement 1 comprises a coil 3 having a coil body 4 and at least one coil winding 5 made of an electrically conductive material. In the illustrated design, the coil 3 has a plurality of coil windings 5 made of copper. The coil body 4 is made of a ceramic material. Moreover, the coil body 4 is manufactured by means of an additive manufacturing process, presently by means of stereolithography. In the illustrated design, the coil body 4 is formed in its interior 11 bounded by the coil body walls 6 in such a way that the material in the interior 11 of the coil body 4 is arranged in an irregular structure. This is presently implemented by the coil body 4 having both regions with an open porosity and regions with a closed porosity. By manufacturing by means of the additive manufacturing process, the implementation of such structures in the interior 11 of the coil body 4 is readily possible. In this way, material can be saved in particular, so that the coil bodies 4 and thus the coil arrangements 1 can be manufactured more cost-effectively. In addition, such coil arrangements 1 have a reduced weight compared to coil arrangements 1 with solid coil bodies 4.
[0051] FIG. 2 shows a second design of a coil arrangement 1, which also has a coil 3. The coil body 2 shown in FIG. 2 is also made of a ceramic material and has been produced by means of an additive manufacturing process, in this case by means of sinter lithography. In contrast to the design shown in FIG. 1, the coil body 4 does not have an irregular structure in its interior 11 bounded by the coil body walls 6, but has a regular structure 7. The regular structure 7 is based on a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice 8, which is then raised in the third spatial direction to form columns 9. Overall, therefore, the regular structure 7 is presently implemented by a column structure 10.
[0052] All coil bodies 4 shown in the figures are manufactured by means of an additive manufacturing process and consist of a ceramic material. A further design of a coil arrangement 1 is shown in FIG. 3. In this design, the coil body 4 is hollow from the inside. Accordingly, no ceramic material is arranged in the interior space 11 bounded by the coil body walls 6. The coil windings 5 are made of copper and wound around the ceramic coil body 4.
[0053] FIGS. 5a and 5b show a design in which the regular structure 7 in the interior 11 of the ceramic coil body 4 is implemented by a lattice structure 12. In the present embodiment, a three-dimensional honeycomb lattice 13 is implemented by cross-pieces 14 connecting the lattice points of the honeycomb lattice 13. In such a design, the required material is further reduced. Due to the lattice structure 12, the coil body 4 nevertheless exhibits sufficient mechanical stability.
[0054] A further design of a coil arrangement 1 is shown in FIG. 4. The interior 11 of the coil arrangement 1 shown here is identical to the design shown in FIG. 2, i.e. it has a regular structure 7 in the form of a column structure 10. In contrast to the design shown in FIG. 2, the design shown in FIG. 4 has a back taper 15 in which the coil windings 5 are at least partially arranged. The implementation of a back taper 15 in the ceramic coil body 4 is readily possible due to the manufacture of the coil body 4 by means of an additive manufacturing process. Due to the fact that the coil windings 5 are at least partially arranged in the back taper 15, the back taper 15 forms a protection against the exterior 16 of the coil arrangement 1.
[0055] In addition to the coil body 4 and the coil windings 5, which are not visible, the coil arrangement 1 shown in FIG. 6 has a sheathing 17. Both the coil body 4 and the sheathing 17 are made of a ceramic material and by means of additive manufacturing. The sheathing 17 is arranged in the region of the coil windings 5 and thus forms a closure to the exterior 16. The coil windings 5 are completely insulated from the exterior 16 by the sheathing 17. In addition, the coil body 4 is solid in its interior 11.
[0056] FIG. 7 also shows a representation of a coil arrangement which also has a sheathing 17 like the coil arrangement shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 shows a cross-section through the coil arrangement 1, so that it can be seen particularly well in FIG. 7 that the sheathing 17 is formed integrally with the coil body 4 and, moreover, completely delimits the coil windings 5 from the exterior 16. Such a coil arrangement 1 can be implemented particularly advantageously due to additive manufacturing.
[0057] FIGS. 8 and 9 each show a section of a flowmeter 2 with a coil arrangement 1. In both embodiments shown, the coil arrangements 1 have a fastening element 18 for fastening the coil arrangements 1 to a component 19 of the flowmeter 2. Presently, in both embodiments, the coil arrangements 1 are attached to the measuring tube 20 of the flowmeter 2, presently a Coriolis flowmeter. In both embodiments shown, the fastening element 18 is made of a ceramic material and is also manufactured by means of an additive manufacturing process. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the fastening element 18 is integrally formed with the coil body 4. In particular, the fastening element 18 and the coil body 4 have been additively manufactured in a common printing step.
[0058] In contrast, the fastening element 18 of the design shown in FIG. 9 is implemented as a separate component. The coil body 4 and the fastening element 18 are connected to each other by additional connecting means 21. In the present embodiment, this is implemented in such a way that the fastening element 18 has a recess 22 through which a connecting rod 23 connected to the coil body is passed. A nut 24, which is screwed onto the connecting rod 23, fixes the coil body 4 and the connecting element 18 relative to each other.
[0059] In most figures, the coil body 4 has a channel 25 for guiding electrical connections.
[0060] The coil arrangement 1 shown in FIG. 6 has a further special feature. The at least one coil winding 5, which is arranged behind the sheathing 17 and is accordingly not visible, is made of an electrically conductive ceramic and has also been manufactured by means of an additive manufacturing process.
[0061] FIG. 10a shows a block diagram of a first variation of a first method 100 for manufacturing a coil arrangement, such as shown in FIG. 1. In a provisioning step 101, a 3D model of at least the coil body is provided. In a coil body printing step 102, the coil body is manufactured from a ceramic material using an additive manufacturing process based on the 3D model, and in a winding step 103, the at least one coil winding is arranged around the coil body. In the illustrated design of the method 100, a 3D model of the coil body is provided in the provisioning step 101, in which the coil body is at least partially hollow in its interior, in that the material in the interior of the coil body is at least partially arranged in an irregular structure.
[0062] FIG. 10b shows a block diagram of a second variation of a first method 100 for manufacturing a coil assembly as shown in FIG. 1. In the second variation, a 3D model of at least the coil body is also first provided in a provisioning step 101. In contrast to the first variation, the at least one coil winding is now provided in a coil winding provisioning step 103. Subsequently, in a coil body printing step (102), the coil body is printed at least partially into the inner region of the provided coil winding by means of an additive manufacturing process using the 3D model made of a ceramic material. This is done in such a way that the provided coil winding is arranged around the printed coil body.
[0063] FIG. 11 shows a second design of a method 100 for manufacturing a coil arrangement. In the illustrated design, a 3D model of the coil body is also provided in a provisioning step 100. In contrast to the design of FIG. 10, a 3D model of the coil body is provided in the provisioning step 101, in which the coil body is at least partially hollow in its interior, in that the material in the interior of the coil body is at least partially arranged in a regular structure. In a coil winding provisioning step 104, a 3D model of the at least one coil winding is provided. In a coil winding printing step 105, the at least one coil winding is manufactured from an electrically conductive material, presently from an electrically conductive ceramic, by means of an additive manufacturing process on the basis of the provided 3D model. Also in contrast to the design shown in FIG. 10, in the process 100 shown here the coil body printing step 102 is divided into at least a first partial printing step 102 and a second partial printing step 102. First, in the first partial printing step 102, a first coil body is manufactured. Subsequently, in the winding step 103, the at least one coil body winding is arranged around the first coil body part, and subsequently, in the second partial printing step 102, the second coil body part is manufactured. The first coil body part and the second coil body part are manufactured in such a way that they are integrally formed, i.e. are non-detachably connected to each other.
[0064] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of a method 100 for manufacturing a coil arrangement, wherein the coil arrangement comprises both a sheath at least partially closing the coil arrangement to the exterior and a fastening element for fastening the coil arrangement to a component of a flowmeter. In the provisioning step 101, in addition to the 3D model of the coil body, a 3D model of the sheathing and a 3D model of the fastening element are also provided. Subsequently, the first partial step 102 of the coil body printing step 102 is performed simultaneously with a sheathing printing step 106. In the sheathing printing step 106, the sheathing is produced by means of an additive manufacturing process, i.e. presently with the additive manufacturing process used for producing the coil body. This is done in such a way that at least the first coil body part and the sheathing are integrally formed. In a winding step 103, the coil windings are arranged around the first coil body part. Subsequently, the second partial step 102 of the coil body printing step 102 is carried out. In a fastening element printing step 107, the fastening element is manufactured from a ceramic material using an additive manufacturing process based on the 3D model. In the present case, the same process and the same material are used as for manufacturing the coil body and the sheathing. In the illustrated method, the fastening element printing step 107 is carried out independently. In another design not shown, the fastening element printing step 107, the coil body printing step 102 and the sheath printing step 106 are carried out simultaneously, such that the fastening element, the coil body and the sheath are integrally formed.
