Additive manufacturing processes employing a material featuring properties of a soft bodily tissue

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11559936-B2
Application number	US-201816634185-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 27, 2018
Priority date	Jul 28, 2017
Publication date	Jan 24, 2023
Grant date	Jan 24, 2023

Abstract

Methods of fabricating three-dimensional objects featuring properties of a soft bodily tissue and three-dimensional objects featuring properties of a soft bodily tissue or of an organ comprising same are provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of additive manufacturing an object featuring properties of a soft bodily tissue, the method comprising:
dispensing at least one modeling material formulation to sequentially form a plurality of layers in a configured pattern corresponding to a shape of the object, wherein for at least a portion of said layers, said dispensing is of a modeling material formulation featuring, when hardened, a Shore A hardness lower than 10 or a Shore 00 hardness lower than 40,
wherein said modeling material formulation featuring, when hardened, said Shore A hardness or said Shore 00 hardness comprises curable materials and non-curable materials, wherein a total amount of said non-curable materials ranges from 10 to 49, or from 10 to 30, % by weight, of the total weight of said formulation.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising dispensing at least two modeling material formulations, at least one of said at least two modeling material formulations is said formulation featuring, when hardened, a Shore A hardness lower than 10 or a Shore 00 hardness lower than 40, and at least another one of said at least two modeling material formulations is an elastomeric curable formulation which comprises at least one elastomeric curable material.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein for at least one of said layers, said dispensing comprises forming voxel elements containing said at least one formulation featuring, when hardened, a Shore A hardness lower than 10 or a Shore 00 hardness lower than 40, and said elastomeric curable formulation.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein interlaced locations occupied by said elastomeric curable formulation constitute from about 10% to about 30% of an area of said at least one layer.

5. The method according to claim 2 , wherein interlaced locations occupied by said elastomeric curable formulation constitute from about 10% to about 30% of an area of said at least one layer.

6. The method of according to claim 5 , wherein said elastomeric curable formulation further comprises a pigment which imparts a white opaque color with yellow tint to the formulation when hardened.

7. The method according to claim 2 , wherein voxel elements containing said elastomeric curable formulation form a volumetric fibrous pattern in the object.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein a characteristic fiber thickness of said fibrous pattern is from about 0.4 mm to about 0.6 mm.

9. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising forming from said elastomeric curable formulation a shell coating the object.

10. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising forming from said elastomeric curable formulation a shell coating the object, and removing said shell following a completion of said additive manufacturing of said three-dimensional object.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said non-curable materials comprise a non-curable polymeric material and wherein an amount of said non-curable polymeric material ranges from 20 to 40 weight percent.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said non-curable polymeric material features a molecular weight of at least 1000, or at least 1500 or at least 2000 Daltons; and a Tg lower than 0, or lower than −10, or lower than −20, ° C.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein:
said non-curable polymeric material comprises polypropylene glycol; and/or
said non-curable polymeric material is a block co-polymer that comprises at least one polypropylene glycol block; and/or
said non-curable polymeric material is a block co-polymer that comprises at least one polypropylene glycol block and at least one polyethylene glycol block, wherein a total amount of said polyethylene glycol in said block co-polymer is no more than 10 weight percent, wherein a ratio of polypropylene glycol blocks and said polyethylene glycol blocks in said block-copolymer is at least 2:1; and/or
said non-curable polymeric material comprises a polypropylene glycol and/or a block co-polymer comprising at least one polypropylene glycol block, each featuring a molecular weight of at least 2000 Daltons.

14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein a ratio of the amount of said curable materials and the amount of said non-curable polymeric material ranges from 4:1 to 1.1:1, or from 3:1 to 2:1.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein an amount of said curable materials ranges from 55 to 70 weight percent.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said curable materials comprise at least one mono-functional curable material and at least one multi-functional curable material, wherein an amount of said mono-functional curable material ranges from 50 to 60 weight percent, or from 55 to 60 weight percent; and/or
an amount of said multi-functional curable material ranges from 3 to 10 weight percent, or from 5 to 10 weight percent.

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein said mono-functional curable material features, when hardened, a Tg lower than −10, or lower than −20° C.

18. The method according to claim 16 , wherein said multi-functional curable material features, when hardened, a Tg lower than −10, or lower than −20° C.

19. The method according to claim 16 , wherein said modeling material formulation featuring, when hardened, said Shore A hardness or said Shore 00 hardness comprises:
a mono-functional amphiphilic acrylate that comprises a hydrophobic moiety, in an amount of 25-35 weight percent;
a mono-functional hydrophobic acrylate, in an amount of 25-30 weight percent;
a multi-functional acrylate, in an amount of 5-10 weight percent; and
a non-curable polymeric material featuring a molecular weight of at least 1000, or at least 1500 or at least 2000 Daltons; and a Tg lower than 0, or lower than −10, or lower than −20, ° C., in an amount of 30-35 weight percent.

20. The method according to claim 19 , wherein said non-curable polymeric material comprises a polypropylene glycol and/or a block co-polymer comprising at least one polypropylene glycol block, each featuring a molecular weight of at least 2000 Daltons.

21. The method according to claim 19 , wherein said multi-functional acrylate is a urethane diacrylate.

22. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said modeling material formulation featuring, when hardened, said Shore A hardness or said Shore 00 hardness comprises:
a mono-functional curable material, in an amount of from 50 to 89 weight percent;
a non-curable polymeric material, in an amount ranging from 10 to 49 weight percent; and
a multi-functional curable material, in an amount ranging from 1 to 10 weight percent.

23. The method according to claim 22 , wherein:
(i) said non-curable polymeric material features a molecular weight of at least 1000, or at least 1500 or at least 2000 Daltons; and/or
(ii) said non-curable polymeric material features a Tg lower than 0, or lower than −10, or lower than −20, ° C.; and/or
(iii) at least 80 weight percent of the total amount of said mono-functional and said multi-functional curable materials include curable materials featuring, when hardened, a Tg lower than 0, or lower than −10, or lower than −20, ° C.

24. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least said modeling material formulation featuring, when hardened, said Shore hardness, is devoid of a biological material.

25. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least said modeling material formulation featuring, when harden

Assignees

• Stratasys Ltd

Inventors

• Dikovsky Daniel
• Hirsch Shai
• Amiel-Levy Mazi
• Feffer Amit
• Lupo Shiran

Classifications

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29C64/112 Primary

  using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads · CPC title

• G09B23/30

  Anatomical models {(G09B23/281 - G09B23/288 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B33Y70/00

  Materials specially adapted for additive manufacturing · CPC title