Three-dimensional, additive manufacturing system, and a method of manufacturing a three-dimensional object

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11813792-B2
Application number	US-202217885447-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 10, 2022
Priority date	Oct 8, 2018
Publication date	Nov 14, 2023
Grant date	Nov 14, 2023

Abstract

A three-dimensional, additive manufacturing system is disclosed. The first and second printer modules form sequences of first patterned single-layer objects and second patterned single-layer objects on the first and second carrier substrates, respectively. The patterned single-layer objects are assembled into a three-dimensional object on the assembly plate of the assembly station. A controller controls the sequences and patterns of the patterned single-layer objects formed at the printer modules, and a sequence of assembly of the first patterned single-layer objects and the second patterned single-layer objects into the three-dimensional object on the assembly plate. The first transfer module transfers the first patterned single-layer objects from the first carrier substrate to the assembly apparatus in a first transfer zone and the second transfer module transfers the second patterned single-layer objects from the second carrier substrate to the assembly apparatus in a second transfer zone. The first and second printer modules are configured to deposit first and second materials under first and second deposition conditions, respectively. The first and second materials are different and/or the first and second deposition conditions are different.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlling operations of a printing system for manufacturing a three dimensional (3D) printed part comprised of a plurality of printed layers stacked on one another, the method comprising:
providing a design file defining a structure, materials and specifications of the printed part;
slicing the design file into a plurality of layers of the design file, each layer corresponding, respectively, to a corresponding one of the printed layers of the printed part, wherein at least one of the layers of the design file includes regions having different printing techniques for the at least one of the layers;
generating first program instructions by a processor for each of the layers of the design file, the first program instructions comprising instructions to different printer modules of the printing system to print using different printing techniques;
controlling the different printer modules of the printing system to print individual ones of the printed layers based on first program instructions, wherein each of the different printer modules comprises a jetted binder printer or an electrophotographic printer; and
controlling transfer modules of the printing system to transport and stack the individual ones of the printed layers based on second program instructions from the processor for transporting and stacking the individual printed layers following printing of the individual printed layers.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein resolutions of individual layers of the design file are set based on a position of corresponding printed layers within the printed part.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein resolutions of the individual layers of the design file are set based on a final resolutions of the corresponding printed layers within the printed part.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein resolutions of the individual layers of the design file are determined based on pattern tolerances of the individual printed layers of the printed part.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the layers of the design file includes regions having different resolutions for materials within the at least one layer.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the different printing techniques are determined based resolution of the printed part and on at least one of: thickness range of the printed part; minimum feature size of the printed part; and print rate of the printed part.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the different printing techniques include binder jetting and at least one of: electrophotography; offset printing; jetted material; and selective laser melting.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein selection of different resolutions within the at least one layer of the design file is determined by at least one of: a predetermined size of the corresponding printed layer of the printed part; particle morphology of the corresponding printed layer of the printed part; binder content of the corresponding printed layer of the printed part; and a carrier vehicle of the corresponding printed layer of the printed part.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the printing system includes a carrier device, a printing material dispensing device, a compaction device and a fixing device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the design file is comprised of a plurality of voxels which provide a computer aided design (CAD) representation of the structure, materials and specifications of the printed part.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein, within at least one of the layers of the design files, the voxels of the at least one layer define different resolutions for different regions of the at least one layer.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the voxels of the at least one layer define different properties for different regions of the at least one layer.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the voxels of the at least one layer define same materials for the different regions having different properties of the at least one layer.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the voxels of the at least one layer in the different regions have different voxel sizes from one another to define different degrees of resolution for the different regions.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the printing system comprises a three-dimensional, additive manufacturing system including:
a carrier substrate configured to be displaced along a direction of travel while the three-dimensional, additive manufacturing system is in operation;
a printer module over the carrier substrate, the printer module comprising a plurality of material storage devices and a plurality of dispensing devices configured to dispense fluidized material onto the carrier substrate, each of the dispensing devices being connected to one of the plurality of material storage devices;
a binder printer located downstream along the carrier substrate from the plurality of dispensing devices according to the direction of travel of the carrier substrate, the binder printer being configured to deposit a liquid binding material on the fluidized material dispensed onto the carrier substrate by the printer module to fix a predetermined pattern in the fluidized material;
a compaction device located downstream from the plurality of dispensing devices and upstream from the binder printer according to the direction of travel of the carrier substrate, the compaction device being configured to apply a controlled pressure orthogonal to the carrier substrate to increase a compaction of the fluidized material to a predetermined compaction range prior to the binder printer depositing the liquid binding material on the fluidized material; and
a fusion device downstream from the binder printer according to the direction of travel of the carrier substrate and configured to solidify the liquid binding material deposited by the binder printer.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the different printer modules comprise a first printer module comprised of a jetted binder printer and a second printer module comprised of one of an electrophotographic printer, off-set printer, jetted material printer or selective laser melting printer.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second printer module is comprised of an electrophotographic printer.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the print instructions comprise instructions to the different printer modules for use of different materials in each of the different printer modules.

19. A computer system for controlling operations of a printing system for manufacturing a three dimensional (3D) printed part comprised of a plurality of printed layers stacked on one another, the system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory in communication with the processor, the memory comprising executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to control a data processing system to perform functions of:
providing a design file comprised of voxels defining a structure, materials and specifications of a physical object; and
slicing the design file into a plurality of layers of the design file, each layer corresponding, respectively, to corresponding layers of the physical object, wherein at least one of the layers of the design file includes a first region having voxels that require a first set of properties and a second region having voxels that require a second set of properties different from the first set of properties;
generating first program instructions for each of the layers of the design file, the first program instructions comprising instructions to different prin

Assignees

• Sakuu Corp

Inventors

• Vatani Morteza
• Rogren Philip Eugene

Classifications

• B29C64/165 Primary

  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

• B22F12/84

  Parallel processing within single device · CPC title

• B22F12/86

  Serial processing with multiple devices grouped · CPC title

• B29C64/188

  involving additional operations performed on the added layers, e.g. smoothing, grinding or thickness control (surface shaping B29C59/00; after-treatment of articles without altering their shape B29C71/00) · CPC title

• B29C64/209

  Heads; Nozzles · CPC title