Method and apparatus for manufacturing a mechatronic system by three-dimensional printing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10807301-B2
Application number	US-201716307132-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 5, 2017
Priority date	Jun 15, 2016
Publication date	Oct 20, 2020
Grant date	Oct 20, 2020

Abstract

Method for manufacturing a mechatronic system comprising: a step of manufacturing a mechanical structure (SM) by three-dimensional printing by fused filament deposition of at least one first electrically insulating material (M1), and a step of manufacturing at least one electrical component (CE) in contact with at least one element of said mechanical structure and secured therewith; characterized in that said step of manufacturing at least one electrical component is implemented by three-dimensional printing by fused filament deposition of at least one second material (M2), conductive or resistive, directly in contact with said element of the mechanical structure. Apparatus for implementing such a method. Mechatronic system that can be manufactured by such a method.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a mechatronic system comprising:
a step of manufacturing a mechanical structure by three-dimensional printing by fused filament deposition of at least one first electrically insulating material; and
a step of manufacturing at least one electrical component in contact with at least one element of said mechanical structure and secured therewith;
in which said step of manufacturing at least one electrical component is implemented by three-dimensional printing by fused filament deposition of at least one second material, conductive or resistive, directly in contact with said element of the mechanical structure;
wherein said or one said electrical component is a transducer,
a three-dimensional printer of the fused filament deposition type having at least two distinct extrusion heads, that can be activated independently and adapted to deposit two different materials,
said extrusion heads being arranged side-by-side with the same direction of extrusion and being borne by a same print carriage ensuring their simultaneous displacement,
said extrusion head also comprising a mechanism for displacing an inactive extrusion head in a direction away from said direction of extrusion when said or one other said extrusion head is active,
said print carriage is equipped with a capacitive sensor configured to measure its distance from a print surface,
the three-dimensional printer further comprising a print platen over which said print carriage is displaced,
said print platen being equipped with metal electrodes that can be detected by said capacitive sensor, whereby said capacitive sensor allows a calibration of the position of the print carriage relative to the platen.

2. The method according to claim 1 , in which said transducer is a piezoresistive sensor.

3. The method according to claim 1 , in which said second material, conductive or resistive, comprises conductive fillers dispersed in a thermoplastic insulating matrix.

4. The method according to claim 1 , also comprising a local annealing step implemented during or after the deposition of a layer of the first material or of the second material, matching said deposition.

5. The method according to claim 1 , also comprising a step of deposition of an adhesion-promoting agent on a surface of the mechatronic system during manufacture before the deposition, on said surface, of a layer of a different material.

6. The method according to claim 1 , comprising the use of at least two distinctive extrusion heads for the deposition of the first material and of the second material.

7. The method according to claim 1 , also comprising a step of generation of a print file for the production of at least one said electrical component, said step being implemented by computer and comprising:
a substep consisting in providing said computer with the data indicative of a position of one or more contact points, of a spatial region where said component must be manufactured and of at least one electrical property of said component;
a substep of computation of a geometry of said component by application to said data of a predefined mathematical model; and
a substep of generation of said print file making it possible to produce said geometry by three-dimensional printing by fused filament deposition of said or of at least one said second material, conductive or resistive.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said extrusion head further comprises an actuator configured to displace an inactive extrusion head in a direction away from said direction of extrusion when said or one other said extrusion head is active.

9. A mechatronic system comprising an electrically insulating mechanical structure and at least one electrical component arranged in contact with at least one element of said mechanical structure and secured therewith, in which the mechanical structure and the electrical component are produced in a single block by three-dimensional printing of at least one first electrically insulating material forming said mechanical structure and of at least one second conductive or resistive material forming said electrical component; wherein said or one said electrical component is a transducer,
a three-dimensional printer of the fused filament deposition type having at least two distinct extrusion heads, that can be activated independently and adapted to deposit two different materials,
said extrusion heads being arranged side-by-side with the same direction of extrusion and being borne by a same print carriage ensuring their simultaneous displacement,
said extrusion head also comprising a mechanism for displacing an inactive extrusion head in a direction away from said direction of extrusion when said or one other said extrusion head is active,
said print carriage is equipped with a capacitive sensor configured to measure its distance from a print surface,
the three-dimensional printer further comprising a print platen over which said print carriage is displaced,
said print platen being equipped with metal electrodes that can be detected by said capacitive sensor, whereby said capacitive sensor allows a calibration of the position of the print carriage relative to the platen.

10. The mechatronic system according to claim 9 , wherein said extrusion head further comprises an actuator configured to displace an inactive extrusion head in a direction away from said direction of extrusion when said or one other said extrusion head is active.

11. An apparatus for manufacturing a mechatronic system, comprising a three-dimensional printer of the fused filament deposition type having at least two distinct extrusion heads, that can be activated independently and adapted to deposit two different materials, said extrusion heads being arranged side-by-side with the same direction of extrusion and being borne by a same print carriage ensuring their simultaneous displacement, the extrusion head also comprising a mechanism for displacing an inactive extrusion head in a direction away from said direction of extrusion when said or one other said extrusion head is active, said print carriage being equipped with a capacitive sensor configured to measure its distance from a print surface, the apparatus also comprising a print platen over which said print carriage is displaced, said print platen being equipped with metal electrodes that can be detected by said capacitive sensor, whereby said capacitive sensor allows a calibration of the position of the print carriage relative to the platen.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 , equipped with: a camera configured to acquire an image of a layer of material deposited by the three-dimensional printer; an image processing system configured to compare said image with a three-dimensional model stored in a computer memory and deduced therefrom an error of position of said print carriage; and a computer driving system for said carriage configured to correct said position error upon the deposition of a successive layer of material.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11 , also comprising a computer system for generating a print file to drive said three-dimensional printer so as to manufacture an electrical component, said computer system being configured to:
receive as input data indicative of a position of one or more contact points, of a spatial region where said component must be manufactured and of at least one electrical property of said component;
compute a geometry of said component by application to said data of a predefined mathematical model; and

generate a print file making it possible to produce said geometry by three-dimensional p

Assignees

• Centre Nat Rech Scient
• Univ Paris Sud

Inventors

• Ammi Mehdi
• Longnos Florian

Classifications

• B33Y80/00 Primary

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29C64/118 Primary

  using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM] · CPC title

• B33Y30/00

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• B29C64/209

  Heads; Nozzles · CPC title

• B29L2031/3493

  Moulded interconnect devices, i.e. moulded articles provided with integrated circuit traces · CPC title