Multi-part filaments for additive manufacturing and related systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11318665-B2
Application number	US-201916710338-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2019
Priority date	Jan 16, 2017
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

Methods of additively manufacturing a part comprise dispensing a multi-part filament in three dimensions. The multi-part filament comprises an elongate filament body comprising a first body part extending longitudinally along the elongate filament body and comprising a first material that is configured to be cured responsive to a first cure condition, and a second body part extending longitudinally along the elongate filament body and comprising a second material that is configured to be cured responsive to a second cure condition that is different from the first cure condition. Methods also comprise concurrently with the dispensing, delivering curing energy corresponding to the first cure condition to impart a desired rigidity characteristic to the first body part to facilitate printing of self-supporting structures from the multi-part filament.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of additively manufacturing a part, the method comprising:
dispensing a multi-part filament in three dimensions to additively manufacture the part, wherein the multi-part filament comprises an elongate filament body comprising:
a first body part extending longitudinally along the elongate filament body and comprising a first material that is configured to be cured responsive to a first cure condition; and
a second body part extending longitudinally along the elongate filament body and comprising a second material that is configured to be cured responsive to a second cure condition that is different from the first cure condition; and

concurrently with the dispensing, delivering curing energy corresponding to the first cure condition but not to the second cure condition to impart a desired rigidity characteristic to the first body part to facilitate printing of self-supporting structures from the multi-part filament.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dispensing comprises dispensing the multi-part filament without a substrate against which the multi-part filament is laterally supported.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
subsequent to the dispensing, delivering curing energy corresponding to the second cure condition to at least partially cure the second body part.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the desired rigidity characteristic is a flexural rigidity of least 10 −9 Nm 2 .

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein as it is being dispensed, the second body part has a flexural rigidity of less than 10 −9 Nm 2 .

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cure condition comprises a higher dose of curing energy or a lower dose of curing energy than the second cure condition.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cure condition comprises a different type of curing energy than the second cure condition.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cure condition comprises a different wavelength of curing energy than the second cure condition.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cure condition comprises one of heat, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, x-rays, electron beams, and microwaves, and wherein the second cure condition comprises another one of heat, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, x-rays, electron beams, and microwaves.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first body part further comprises elongate fibers within a matrix of the first material.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the second body part further comprises elongate fibers within a matrix of the second material.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the elongate fibers of the second body part are different from the elongate fibers of the first body part.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein only the first body part defines an external surface of the elongate filament body.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first body part surrounds the second body part.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first body part and the second body part are coaxial.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first body part and the second body part define an external surface of the elongate filament body.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elongate filament body has a cross-sectional profile that is non-circular.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein in cross-section, the first body part has a different shape than the second body part.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elongate filament body further comprises a third body part extending longitudinally along the elongate filament body and comprising a third material that is different from the first material and the second material.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elongate filament body defines an internal void extending longitudinally along the elongate filament body.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Kozar Michael Patrick
• Wilenski Mark Stewart
• Harrison Samuel F

Classifications

• B33Y70/10

  Composites of different types of material, e.g. mixtures of ceramics and polymers or mixtures of metals and biomaterials · CPC title

• B33Y10/00 Primary

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29C64/264

  Arrangements for irradiation · CPC title

• B29C64/141

  using only solid materials · CPC title

• B29C64/336

  of two or more materials · CPC title