Fabricating a three-dimensional object

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10478994-B2
Application number	US-201415512422-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 8, 2014
Priority date	Oct 8, 2014
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

In one example, a method of fabricating a three-dimensional object includes depositing a layer of build material, depositing a coalescing agent onto the layer of build material according to a slice of three-dimensional model data, irradiating the coalescing agent with microwave radiation such that the coalescing agent converts the microwave radiation into heat to coalesce the build material in which the coalescing agent was deposited.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating a three-dimensional object, comprising:
depositing a layer of build material;
depositing a coalescing agent onto the layer of build material according to a slice of three-dimensional model data; and
irradiating the coalescing agent with microwave radiation such that the coalescing agent converts the microwave radiation into heat to coalesce the build material in which the coalescing agent was deposited;
wherein irradiating the coalescing agent comprises irradiating the coalescing agent with a first microwave radiation to partially coalesce the build material prior to irradiating the coalescing agent with a second relatively more intense microwave radiation to fully coalesce the build material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the build material is substantially transparent to the radiation.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coalescing agent in each individual layer of build material is irradiated with the first microwave radiation and the coalescing agent in all of the layers of build material is irradiated together with the second microwave radiation.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coalescing agent in each layer of build material is irradiated before a successive layer of build material and coalescing agent is deposited.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coalescing agent in each layer of build material is deposited for the entire three-dimensional object before the layers are irradiated.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the build material comprises any of a ceramic, glass and metal oxide.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coalescing agent comprises any of carbon black, graphite and metallic nanoparticles.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using a data storage device and an apparatus to generate a three-dimensional object, comprising:
a coalescing agent depositor;
a build material layer depositor;
a processor; and
the data storage device communicatively coupled to the processor;
the method comprising, with the processor, executing computer code to control the coalescing agent depositor to deposit an amount of coalescing agent onto a layer of build material according to a three-dimensional model data stored in the data storage device, the build material being transparent to microwave radiation; and
the processor to execute computer code to control the coalescing agent depositor and build material layer depositor so that each layer of coalescing agent and build material is deposited for the entire three-dimensional object before the layers are irradiated with microwave radiation.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the build material is ceramic.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the coalescing agent comprises any of carbon black, graphite and metallic nanoparticles.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising moving the layers of build material and coalescing agent representing the entire three-dimensional object into a microwave furnace for irradiation.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing a range of differently diluted coalescing agent with more-concentrated coalescing agent being applied at locations of the build material where a higher degree of coalescence is desired.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing a relatively greater quantity of coalescing agent to the build material at locations where a higher degree of coalescence is desired.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising heating the coalescing agent prior to the coalescing agent being deposited to the build material.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coalescing agent comprises any of: nanoglass, nano-oxides and iron ferrite.

Assignees

• Hewlett Packard Development Co

Inventors

• Champion David A
• Abbott Jr James Elmer

Classifications

• B29C64/291

  for operating globally, e.g. together with selectively applied activators or inhibitors · CPC title

• B29C64/165

  using a combination of solid and fluid materials, e.g. a powder selectively bound by a liquid binder, catalyst, inhibitor or energy absorber · CPC title

• B29C64/209

  Heads; Nozzles · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B28B1/001 Primary

  Rapid manufacturing of 3D objects by additive depositing, agglomerating or laminating of material (selective deposition modelling of metallic powder B22F10/00; rapid manufacturing of 3D objects in general and in particular of plastics B29C64/00) · CPC title