1. A method of direct manufacturing and heat treating a metal part, the method comprising:
depositing metal wire onto a metal plate within a vacuumed chamber;
directing an electron beam onto the wire as it is deposited onto the metal plate;
applying electric current to the metal plate after at least a portion of the metal wire has been deposited onto the metal plate, to heat treat the metal part.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein applying electric current to the metal plate comprises passing electrical current through the metal plate during a time when the metal wire is not being deposited onto the metal plate.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying the electron beam toward one or more sections of the metal plate, when the metal wire is not being applied to the metal plate, at a particular power and focus setting sufficient to heat the one or more sections to a stress-relieving temperature below the melting point of a particular metal.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising vacuum pumping down the chamber to a proper temperature and atmospheric pressure for depositing metal wire onto a metal plate.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising attaching bus bars to the metal plate, wherein the bus bars are configured to provide electrical current to the metal plate.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring various stress indicators of the metal part during deposition of the metal wire and applying electric current to the metal plate when at least one of the stress indicators exceeds a given threshold of acceptable stress.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein applying electric current comprises applying enough electrical current to the metal plate to increase the temperature of the metal part to a temperature between approximately 30 percent and 50 percent of the melting temperature of the metal part for a predetermined length of time.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal part, metal wire, and metal plate are each comprised of at least one of titanium, titanium alloys, aluminum, and nickel-based super alloys.
9. A method of direct manufacturing and heat treating a metal part, the method comprising:
placing a metal plate within an airtight chamber;
applying vacuum to the airtight chamber;
depositing metal wire onto a metal plate within the airtight chamber;
directing an electron beam onto the wire as it is deposited onto the metal plate;
monitoring various stress indicators of the metal part during deposition of the metal wire;
applying electrical current to the metal plate when at least one of the stress indicators exceeds a given threshold of acceptable stress, thereby heating the metal part.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising applying the electron beam toward one or more sections of the metal plate, when the metal wire is not being applied to the metal plate, at a particular power and focus setting sufficient to heat the one or more sections to a stress-relieving temperature below the melting point of a particular metal used to form the metal part.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising attaching bus bars to the metal plate, wherein the bus bars are configured to provide electrical current to the metal plate.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the electrical current is applied to the metal plate after at least a portion of the metal wire has been deposited onto the metal plate and during a time when the metal wire is not being deposited onto the metal plate.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein applying electric current comprises applying enough electrical current to the metal plate to increase the temperature of the metal part to a temperature between approximately 30 percent and 50 percent of the melting temperature of the metal part for a predetermined length of time required to provide a predetermined amount of stress relief.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising cutting off electrical current to the metal plate after the predetermined length of time and resuming depositing of the metal wire.
15. A system for forming and stress-relieving a metal part, the system comprising:
an airtight vacuum chamber;
a wire feeder configured to deposit metal wire onto a plurality of portions of a metal plate positioned within the chamber, thereby forming the metal part;
an electron beam source configured for providing a beam of electrons within the airtight vacuum chamber such that the beam of electrons intersects the metal wire as the metal wire is deposited onto the metal plate; and
at least one current-providing apparatus configured to attach to the metal plate and configured to heat the metal plate via Joule heating.
16. The system of claim 15, further comprising one or more clamps configured for clamping the metal plate in place, wherein the clamps are located within the airtight vacuum chamber.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the current-providing apparatus comprises at least one bus bar and an electrical power unit configured for providing electrical current to the metal plate.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the current-providing apparatus is configured to apply current to the metal plate only while the wire feeder is not depositing metal wire onto the metal plate.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein the electron beam source is configured to provide the beam of electrons to the metal part, while the wire feeder is not depositing metal wire onto the metal plate, at a particular power and focus setting sufficient to heat the one or more sections to a stress-relieving temperature below a melting point of a particular metal of the metal plate.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A printing system comprising:
a lithographic plate information printing unit that prints lithographic plate information on a recording medium using a lithographic plate;
a variable information printing unit that prints predetermined variable information on the recording medium on which the lithographic plate information is printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit;
a first obtaining component that obtains first identification information provided in advance to the lithographic plate disposed in the lithographic plate information printing unit;
a storage unit that stores second identification information associated with the variable information;
a determination component that determines whether the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in a preset corresponding relationship, based on the first identification information obtained by the first obtaining component and the second identification information stored in the storage unit, wherein the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information and the variable information are in the preset corresponding relationship after a print instruction is input to an operator panel to initiate printing; and
a control component that, if determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship, then, based on a result of determination by the determination component, controls so that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are printed in the preset corresponding relationship, and in a case that the determination component determines that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship, controls so that printing is not performed.
2. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the control component allows a printing operation of the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information printing unit when the determination component determines that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship.
3. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the control component restricts a printing operation of the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information printing unit when the determination component determines that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship.
4. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the control component gives notice that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship or that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship based on the result of the determination by the determination component.
5. The printing system of claim 1 further comprising:
a storage component that stores a plurality of pieces of variable information; and
a printing order changing component that changes a printing order of the plurality of pieces of variable information stored in the storage component, wherein
the control component controls the printing order changing component based on the result of the determination by the determination component.
6. The printing system of claim 1 further comprising:
a second obtaining component that obtains second identification information provided in advance to the variable information,
wherein the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship based on the first identification information obtained by the first obtaining component and the second identification information obtained by the second obtaining component.
7. The printing system of claim 6, wherein the determination component determines whether the first identification information provided in advance to the lithographic plate disposed in the lithographic plate information printing unit and the second identification information provided in advance to the variable information printing unit are the same as each other.
8. The printing system of claim 1 further comprising:
a storage component that stores a plurality of pieces of variable information,
wherein the control component selects variable information that has attached thereto identification information that is the same as the first identification information obtained by the first obtaining component from the plurality of pieces of variable information stored in the storage component, and provides to the variable information printing unit an instruction for a printing operation based on the selected variable information.
9. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the control component controls so that the printing system goes into a standby state, if determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship.
10. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the control component controls so that an error message is displayed on the operator panel, if determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship.
11. A printing device comprising:
a lithographic plate information printing unit that prints lithographic plate information on a recording medium using a lithographic plate; and
a control component that, if determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and a variable information to be printed by a variable information printing unit are in a preset corresponding relationship, then, based on a result of determination by a determination component, controls so that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit that prints predetermined variable information on the recording medium on which the lithographic plate information is printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit, are printed in the preset corresponding relationship, and in a case that the determination component determines that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship, controls so that printing is not performed,
wherein the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship, based on first identification information provided in advance to the lithographic plate disposed in the lithographic plate information printing unit and obtained by a first obtaining component, and second identification information associated with the variable information and stored in a storage unit, and
the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information and the variable information are in the preset corresponding relationship after a print instruction is input to an operator panel to initiate printing.
12. A printing device comprising:
a variable information printing unit that prints predetermined variable information on a recording medium on which lithographic plate information is printed by a lithographic plate information printing unit for printing the lithographic plate information on the recording medium using a lithographic plate; and
a control component that, if determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in a preset corresponding relationship, then, based on a result of determination by a determination component, controls so that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are printed in the preset corresponding relationship, and in a case that the determination component determines that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship, controls so that printing is not performed,
wherein the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship, based on first identification information provided in advance to the lithographic plate disposed in the lithographic plate information printing unit and obtained by a first obtaining component, and second identification information associated with the variable information and stored in a storage unit, and wherein the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information and the variable information are in the preset corresponding relationship after a print instruction is input to an operator panel to initiate printing.
13. A controller comprising:
a control component that, if determined that a lithographic plate information to be printed by a lithographic plate information printing unit and a variable information to be printed by a variable information printing unit are in a preset corresponding relationship, then, based on a result of determination by a determination component, controls so that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit for printing the lithographic plate information on a recording medium using a lithographic plate and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit for printing predetermined variable information on the recording medium on which the lithographic plate information is printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit, are printed in the preset corresponding relationship, and in a case that the determination component determines that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship, controls so that printing is not performed,
wherein the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship based on first identification information provided in advance to the lithographic plate disposed in the lithographic plate information printing unit and obtained by a first obtaining component, and second identification information associated with the variable information and stored in a storage unit, and wherein the determination component determines whether the lithographic plate information and the variable information are in the preset corresponding relationship after a print instruction is input to an operator panel to initiate printing.
14. A storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program of instruction executable by the computer to perform a function for printing, the function comprising:
printing lithographic plate information on a recording medium using a lithographic plate;
printing predetermined variable information on the recording medium on which the lithographic plate information is printed;
obtaining first identification information provided in advance to the lithographic plate disposed in the lithographic plate information printing unit;
storing second identification information associated with the variable information;
determining, after a print instruction is input to an operator panel to initiate printing, whether the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in a preset corresponding relationship, based on the obtained first identification information and the stored second identification information; and
controlling so that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are printed in the preset corresponding relationship, if determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship, and in a case that it is determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship, controlling so that printing is not performed.
15. A printing method comprising:
printing lithographic plate information on a recording medium using a lithographic plate;
printing predetermined variable information on the recording medium on which the lithographic plate information is printed;
obtaining first identification information provided in advance to the lithographic plate disposed in the lithographic plate information printing unit;
storing second identification information associated with the variable information;
determining, after a print instruction is input to an operator panel to initiate printing, whether the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in a preset corresponding relationship, based on the obtained first identification information and the stored second identification information; and
controlling so that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are printed in the preset corresponding relationship, if determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are in the preset corresponding relationship, and in a case that it is determined that the lithographic plate information to be printed by the lithographic plate information printing unit and the variable information to be printed by the variable information printing unit are not in the preset corresponding relationship, controlling so that printing is not performed.