Injection molding methods for manufacturing components capable of transporting liquids

Abstract

Methods for manufacturing components capable of transporting a liquid including providing a mold, placing at least one core made from a core material into the mold, injecting a component material into the mold about the core to produce a green component, heating the green component to burn out the core and produce a brown component, and sintering the brown component to produce a finished component capable of transporting a liquid wherein the finished component is from about 95% to about 99% dense.

1 . A method for manufacturing components capable of transporting a liquid comprising:
 providing a mold;   placing at least one core made from a core material into the mold;   injecting a component material into the mold about the core to produce a green component;   heating the green component to burn out the core and produce a brown component having at least on cavity therein; and   sintering the brown component to produce a finished component capable of transporting a liquid through the at least one cavity wherein the finished component is from about 95% to about 99% dense.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the component material is selected from the group consisting of nickel based alloys, cobalt based alloys, and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the finished component is a fuel nozzle comprising a fuel conduit supply and a fuel distributor ring. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  comprising heating the green component over a temperature range of from about 150° F. (about 65° C.) to about 500° F. (about 260° C.). 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  comprising sintering the brown component over a temperature range of from about 700° F. (about 370° C.) to about 2300° F. (about 1260° C.). 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the liquid is flammable liquid jet fuel. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising subjecting the finished component to a hipping process to produce a densified component that is about 99.9% dense. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the fuel conduit supply and fuel distributor ring are sintered together. 
   
   
       9 . A method for manufacturing components capable of transporting a liquid comprising:
 providing a mold;   placing at least one core made from a core material into the mold;   injecting a component material into the mold about the core to produce a green component;   heating the green component to burn out the core and produce a brown component having at least one cavity therein;   sintering the brown component to produce a finished component capable of transporting a liquid through the at least one cavity; and   hipping the finished component to produce a densified component that is about 99.9% dense.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the core material is selected from the group consisting of SLA-type resins, polycarbonates, polypropylene, and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the component material is selected from the group consisting of nickel based alloys, cobalt based alloys, and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 9  comprising heating the green component to a temperature of about 300° F. (about 148° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about one hour, raising the temperature to about 325° F. (about 162° C.) over a period of about a five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 350° F. (about 176° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 375° F. (about 190° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 400° F. (about 204° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 425° F. (about 218° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about six to seven hours. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the finished component is a fuel nozzle comprising a fuel conduit supply and a fuel distributor ring. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 9  comprising sintering the brown component over a temperature range of from about 700° F. (about 370° C.) to about 2300° F. (about 1260° C.). 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the liquid is flammable liquid jet fuel. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 9  comprising utilizing a non-linear core. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 9  comprising utilizing multiple non-linear cores separated from one another by a distance of at least about 0.02 cm. 
   
   
       18 . A method for manufacturing components capable of transporting a liquid comprising:
 providing a mold;   placing multiple non-linear cores made from a core material selected from the group consisting of SLA-type resins, polycarbonates, polypropylene, and combinations thereof, into the mold;   injecting a component material selected from the group consisting of nickel based alloys, cobalt based alloys, and combinations thereof, into the mold about the cores to produce a green component;   heating the green component over a temperature range of from about 150° F. (about 65° C.) to about 500° F. (about 260° C.) to burn out the core and produce a brown component having multiple non-linear cavities therein; and   sintering the brown component over a temperature range of from about 700° F. (about 370° C.) to about 2300° F. (about 1260° C.) to produce a finished component capable of transporting a liquid jet fuel through the cavities wherein the finished component is a fuel nozzle comprising a fuel conduit supply and a fuel distributor ring and wherein the finished component is from about 95% to about 99% dense.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18  comprising heating the green component to a temperature of about 300° F. (about 148° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about one hour, raising the temperature to about 325° F. (about 162° C.) over a period of about a five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 350° F. (about 176° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 375° F. (about 190° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 400° F. (about 204° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, raising the temperature to about 425° F. (about 218° C.) over a period of about five minutes and holding the temperature constant for about six to seven hours. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 18  wherein sintering the brown component comprises heating the brown component at a temperature increase of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 1200° F. (about 648° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about one hour, cooling at a rate of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 300° F. (148° C.), heating at a rate of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 1200° F. (about 648° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, cooling at a rate of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 300° F. (148° C.), heating at a rate of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 1200° F. (about 648° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, cooling at a rate of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 300° F. (about 148° C.), heating at a rate of about 10° F. (about 5° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 1200° F. (about 648° C.), cooling to ambient temperature, heating at a rate of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 1500° F. (about 815° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, heating at a rate of about 5° F. (about 2.7° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 2000° F. (about 1093° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, heating at a rate of about 35° F. (about 19° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 2300° F. (about 1260° C.) and holding the temperature constant for about two hours, cooling at a rate of about 10° F. (about 5° C.)/minute to a temperature of about 2000° F. (about 1093° C.), and cooling at an uncontrolled rate to a temperature of below about 1200° F. (about 648° C.).