Lightweight Hydraulics Design for Improved 3D Printability

Abstract

A centrifugal pump includes a blade arrangement. The blade arrangement has a carrier unit on which blades are arranged. The blade arrangement also has cell units that enclose cavities, the cell units being formed by walls.

Claims

1.-18. (canceled)

19. A centrifugal pump comprises: a blade arrangement, wherein the blade arrangement has a carrier unit on which blades are arranged, and the blade arrangement has cell units that enclose cavities, the cell units being formed by walls.

20. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 19, wherein cell units are arranged directly next to one another.

21. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 20, wherein the cell units arranged directly next to one another share walls.

22. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 21, wherein the cell units form a honeycomb structure.

23. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 22, wherein the walls of the cell units fully enclose the cavities.

24. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 21, wherein the walls of the cell units have open cavities.

25. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 24, wherein the walls of the cell units are formed integrally by the carrier unit and blades.

26. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 24, wherein all of the walls of the cell units are formed in multiple pieces and/or in a hybrid fashion by the carrier unit and blades.

27. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 26, wherein the walls have a thickness of less than 3 mm.

28. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 27, further comprising reinforcing ribs that are arranged inside the cell units and/or between neighboring cell units.

29. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 28, wherein the cell units are aligned radially and/or in the circumferential direction.

30. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 29, wherein the walls of the cell units form the fluid contact face of the blade arrangement.

31. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 30, wherein the walls and/or the reinforcing ribs are produced from a metallic material.

32. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 30, wherein the walls and/or the reinforcing ribs are produced from a material combination.

33. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 32, wherein the cavities of the cell units are at least partially filled with a material.

34. The centrifugal pump as claimed in claim 33, wherein the blade arrangement further comprises a cover disk that has cell units with cavities, which are enclosed by walls.

35. A method for producing a centrifugal pump having a blade arrangement as claimed in claim 34, with an integrative manufacturing unit, the method comprising: forming the cell units from a construction material; configuring the walls and/or the reinforcing ribs by selective action of energy in the form of radiation, temperature and pressure, producing the walls and the reinforcing ribs by deliberate variation of the action of energy, and deliberate variating of the thickness of the walls in order to adapt to the load requirements.

36. The use of a centrifugal pump having a blade arrangement as claimed in claim 34 as a microdosing pump.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a central section of the blade arrangement according to the disclosure,

[0051] FIG. 2 shows a sectional representation of the blades, and

[0052] FIG. 3 shows a representation of the cross-sectional area of a carrier unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] FIG. 1 represents a central section through the blade arrangement 8 according to the disclosure, which in this exemplary embodiment is configured as an impeller. The carrier unit 1 and the cover disk 7 have cell units 5 that enclose cavities 4. The cell units 5 are formed by walls 3, on some of which reinforcing ribs 6 are arranged.

[0054] In this exemplary embodiment, the walls 3 are produced generatively from corrosion-resistant alloy particles, which are configured in a modified way by means of energy input by radiation. The surfaces of the impeller are therefore configured to be particularly abrasion-resistant. The impeller is constructed entirely from cell units 5 in the form of cavity segments. The impeller is therefore particularly lightweight and non-sluggish in terms of operating behavior.

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a section of the blades 2 of the blade arrangement 8, which in this exemplary embodiment is configured as an impeller. The blades 2 have cell units 5 that enclose cavities 4. The cell units 5 are formed by walls 3. At particularly stressed locations of the impeller, reinforcing ribs 6 are arranged on the walls 3. The walls 3 of the blades 2 are in this exemplary embodiment configured to be particularly flow-optimized and have a thickness of less than 3 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, in particular less than 1 mm. The impeller with the blades 2 is therefore configured to be particularly lightweight. Neighboring cell units 5 in this case share walls 3, so that the walls 3 of the blades 2 and the carrier unit 1 are configured integrally overall.

[0056] FIG. 3 represents a section of the carrier unit 1 of a blade arrangement 8. The carrier unit 1 has cell units 5 that enclose cavities 4. The cell units 5 are formed from walls 3, on some of which reinforcing ribs 6 are arranged. The cell units 5 are in this case aligned radially and in the circumferential direction.

[0057] The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the disclosure and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the disclosure may occur to persons skilled in the art, the disclosure should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.