Method for printing three-dimensional parts with crystallization kinetics control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10189210-B2
Application number	US-201615259524-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 8, 2016
Priority date	Nov 21, 2012
Publication date	Jan 29, 2019
Grant date	Jan 29, 2019

Abstract

A method for printing a three-dimensional part with an additive manufacturing system, which includes providing a part material that compositionally has one or more semi-crystalline polymers and one or more secondary materials that are configured to retard crystallization of the one or more semi-crystalline polymers, where the one or more secondary materials are substantially miscible with the one or more semi-crystalline polymers. The method also includes melting the part material in the additive manufacturing system, forming at least a portion of a layer of the three-dimensional part from the melted part material in a build environment, and maintaining the build environment at an annealing temperature that is between a glass transition temperature of the part material and a cold crystallization temperature of the part material.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for printing a three-dimensional part with an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
providing a part material compositionally including one or more semi-crystalline polymers and one or more secondary materials that are configured to retard crystallization of the one or more semi-crystalline polymers, wherein the one or more secondary materials are substantially miscible with the one or more semi-crystalline polymers;
melting the part material in the additive manufacturing system; and
forming at least a portion of a layer of the three-dimensional part from the melted part material in a build environment.

2. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:
maintaining the build environment at an annealing temperature that is between a glass transition temperature of the part material and a cold crystallization temperature of the part material.

3. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:
transferring the three-dimensional part to a separate oven; and
maintaining the separate oven at an annealing temperature that is between a glass transition temperature of the part material and a cold crystallization temperature of the part material.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more secondary materials comprise one or more amorphous polymers.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the one or more amorphous polymers constitute from about 50% by weight to about 85% by weight of a combined weight of the one or more semi-crystalline polymers and the one or more amorphous polymers.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more semi-crystalline polymers comprise one or more semi-crystalline polyamides, and wherein the one or more secondary materials comprise one or more amorphous polyamides.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more semi-crystalline polymers comprise one or more one or more polyaryletherketones, and wherein the one or more secondary materials comprise one or more polyetherimides.

8. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising performing a post-printing crystallization step on the printed three-dimensional part.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more semi-crystalline polymers are polymerized from one or more base monomers, and wherein the one or more secondary materials comprise one or more second semi-crystalline polymers polymerized from one or more monomers that are isomers of the one or more base monomers.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more semi-crystalline polymers and the one or more second semi-crystalline polymers each comprise one or more polylactic acid polymers, one or more polyetherketoneketone polymers, or one or more polyesters.

11. A method for printing a three-dimensional part from with an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
providing a part material that compositionally comprises one or more semi-crystalline polymers and one or more amorphous polymers that are substantially miscible with the one or more semi-crystalline polymers;
maintaining a build environment of the additive manufacturing system, at least in a deposition region of the build environment, at an annealing temperature that is between a glass transition temperature of the part material and a cold crystallization temperature of the part material;
extruding the melted part material from the print head; and
depositing the extruded part material onto a build surface in the deposition region to form at least a portion of a layer of the three-dimensional part from the extruded part material.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more semi-crystalline polymers comprise one or more semi-crystalline polyamides, and wherein the one or more amorphous polymers comprise one or more amorphous polyamides.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more amorphous polymers constitute from about 50% by weight to about 85% by weight of a combined weight of the one or more semi-crystalline polymers and the one or more amorphous polymers.

14. The method of claim 11 , and further comprising selecting the annealing temperature to achieve a predetermined crystallinity level for the part material of the printed three-dimensional part.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more amorphous polymers are configured to retard crystallization of the one or more semi-crystalline polymers.

16. The method of claim 11 , and further comprising performing a post-printing crystallization step on the printed three-dimensional part.

17. A method for printing a three-dimensional part with an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
providing a part material that compositionally comprises one or more semi-crystalline polymers and one or more amorphous polymers that are substantially miscible with the one or more semi-crystalline polymers;
melting the part material in the additive manufacturing system; and
forming layers of the three-dimensional part from the melted part material using an additive manufacturing technique, wherein the layers are formed in a region that is maintained at an annealing temperature that is within 10° C. of a glass transition temperature of the part material.

18. The method of claim 17 and further comprising:
recrystallizing the three-dimensional part by reheating the printed three-dimensional part to one or more temperatures that are within about 10° C. of a cold crystallization temperature of the part material.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the reheating step is performed in a separate oven from the additive manufacturing system.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the one or more semi-crystalline polymers comprise one or more semi-crystalline polyamides, and wherein the one or more amorphous polymers comprise one or more amorphous polyamides.

Assignees

• Stratasys Inc

Inventors

• Rodgers Luke M B
• Jaker Vittorio L

Classifications

• B29C64/10

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29K2079/085

  Thermoplastic polyimides, e.g. polyesterimides, PEI, i.e. polyetherimides, or polyamideimides; Derivatives thereof · CPC title

• G03G15/224

  Machines for forming tactile or three dimensional images by electrographic means, e.g. braille, 3d printing · CPC title

• B29K2071/00

  Use of polyethers {, e.g. PEEK, i.e. polyether-etherketone or PEK, i.e. polyetherketone or derivatives thereof}, as moulding material · CPC title

• B29K2077/00

  Use of {PA, i.e.} polyamides, e.g. polyesteramides {or derivatives thereof}, as moulding material · CPC title