Skillful Three-Dimensional Printing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017165752-A1
Application number	US-201615374442-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 9, 2016
Priority date	Dec 10, 2015
Publication date	Jun 15, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure various apparatuses, and systems for 3D printing. The present disclosure provides three-dimensional (3D) printing methods, apparatuses, software and systems for a step and repeat energy irradiation process; controlling material characteristics and/or deformation of the 3D object; reducing deformation in a printed 3D object; and planarizing a material bed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for printing a three-dimensional object, comprising:
(A) providing a first pre-transformed material to a bottom skin layer of hardened material that is disposed above a platform, which bottom skin layer is part of the three-dimensional object; and (B) using an energy beam to:
(I) transform the pre-transformed material to a first portion of transformed material as part of the three-dimensional object, which first portion has a first lateral cross section,
(II) increase a temperature of a second portion that (a) is part of the bottom skin layer and (b) has a second lateral cross section that at least partially overlaps the first lateral cross section, to at least a target temperature value that is at least one of (i) above the solidus temperature and below the liquidus temperature of the material of the bottom skin layer, and (ii) at a temperature at which the material of the bottom skin layer in the second portion plastically yields.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a center of the first cross section is above the second cross section.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bottom skin layer of hardened material is disposed above the platform along a direction perpendicular to the platform.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the second portion is increased with the aid of a simulation.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the simulation comprises a temperature or mechanical simulation of printing the three-dimensional object.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the simulation comprises thermo-mechanical simulation.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the simulation comprises a material property of the three-dimensional object.

8 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the temperature of the second portion is increased with the aid of a graphical processing unit (GPU), system-on-chip (SOC), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), application specific instruction-set processor (ASIPs), programmable logic device (PLD), or field programmable gate array (FPGA).

9 . A method for printing a three-dimensional object, comprising:
(A) providing a material bed comprising a pre-transformed material and a bottom skin layer of hardened material, which material bed is disposed above a platform, wherein the bottom skin layer is part of the three-dimensional object, wherein at least a fraction of the pre-transformed material is disposed above the bottom skin layer; and (B) irradiating a first portion of the planar layer with the energy beam to:
(I) transform the pre-transformed material in the first portion to a transformed material as part of the three-dimensional object, which first portion has a first lateral cross section;
(II) increase a temperature of a second portion that (a) is part of the bottom skin layer and (b) has a second lateral cross section that overlaps the first lateral cross section, to at least a target temperature value that is at least one of (i) above the solidus temperature and below the liquidus temperature of the material of the bottom skin layer, and (ii) at a temperature at which the material of the bottom skin layer in the second portion plastically yields.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the temperature of the second portion is increased using feedback or feed-forward control.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the temperature of the second portion is increased using closed loop or open loop control.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the control comprises using a graphical processing unit (GPU), system-on-chip (SOC), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), application specific instruction-set processor (ASIPs), programmable logic device (PLD), or field programmable gate array (FPGA).

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein providing the material bed comprises dispensing a layer of the pre-transformed material by removing an excess of pre-transformed material from the exposed surface of the material bed using gas flow and cyclonically separating the pre-transformed material from the gas flow.

14 . A method for printing a three-dimensional object, comprising:
(a) providing a pre-transformed material to a bottom skin layer of hardened material disposed above a platform, wherein the bottom skin layer is part of the three-dimensional object; (b) using an energy beam to transform a portion of the pre-transformed material to a portion of transformed material disposed above the bottom skin layer; and (c) setting at least one characteristic of the energy beam such that a temperature of the three-dimensional object at the bottom skin layer below the portion of transformed material is at least one of (i) above the solidus temperature and below the liquidus temperature of the material of the bottom skin layer, and (ii) at temperature at which a material of the bottom skin layer plastically yields.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the transformed material is a melt pool.

16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising repeating (b) subsequent to (c).

17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the bottom skin layer is below the portion of transformed along a direction perpendicular to the platform.

18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the at least one characteristics comprises power density, cross sectional area, trajectory, speed, focus, energy profile, dwell time, intermission time, or fluence of the energy beam.

19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the pre-transformed material comprises a particulate material formed of at least one member selected from the group consisting of elemental metal, metal alloy, ceramic, and an allotrope of elemental carbon.

20 . A method for printing a three-dimensional object, comprising:
(a) providing a material bed comprising a pre-transformed material and a bottom skin layer of hardened material, which material bed is disposed above a platform, wherein the bottom skin layer is part of the three-dimensional object, wherein at least a fraction of the pre-transformed material is disposed above the bottom skin layer, wherein above is along a direction opposite to the platform; (b) using an energy beam to transform a portion of at least a fraction of the pre-transformed material into a transformed material as part of the three-dimensional object; and (c) setting at least one characteristic of the energy beam such that a temperature of the three-dimensional object at the bottom skin layer below the portion is at least one of (i) above the solidus temperature and below the liquidus temperature of the bottom skin layer material, and (ii) at temperature at which a material in the bottom skin layer plastically yields.

21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the bottom skin layer is a first formed layer of (i) the three-dimensional object, (ii) a hanging structure of the three-dimensional object, or (iii) a cavity ceiling of the three-dimensional object.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the bottom skin layer has a sphere of radius XY on a bottom surface of the bottom skin layer, wherein an acute angle between the straight line XY and the direction normal to the average layering plane of the bottom skin layer is in the range from about 45 degrees to about 90 degrees.

23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein during printing, the first formed layer of the three-dimensional object comprises auxiliary support features spaced apart by 2 millimeters or more.

24 . The method of claim 22 , wher

Assignees

• Velo3D Inc

Inventors

• Buller Benyamin
• LAPPAS Tasso
• Mendelsberg Rueben
• Lappen Alan Rick

Classifications

• B29C64/307 Primary

  Handling of material to be used in additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B22F12/60 Primary

  Planarisation devices; Compression devices · CPC title

• B29C64/357

  Recycling · CPC title

• B29C64/35

  Cleaning · CPC title

• B22F10/68

  Cleaning or washing · CPC title