Multimaterial 3D-Printing With Functional FIber

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018141274-A1
Application number	US-201715816964-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 17, 2017
Priority date	Nov 18, 2016
Publication date	May 24, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

In a method for printing a three dimensional structure, a continuous length of fiber that includes, interior to a surface of the fiber, a plurality of different materials arranged as an in-fiber functional domain, with at least two electrical conductors disposed in the functional domain in electrical contact with at least one functional domain material, is dispensed through a single heated nozzle. After sections of the length of fiber are dispensed from the heated nozzle, the sections are fused together in an arrangement of a three dimensional structure. The structure can thereby include a continuous length of fiber of least three different materials arranged as an in-fiber functional device, with the continuous length of fiber disposed as a plurality of fiber sections that are each in a state of material fusion with another fiber section in a spatial arrangement of the structure.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A method for printing a three dimensional structure comprising:
dispensing through a single heated nozzle a continuous length of fiber that includes, interior to a surface of the fiber, a plurality of different materials arranged as an in-fiber functional domain with at least two electrical conductors disposed in the functional domain in electrical contact with at least one functional domain material; and fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections of the length of fiber are dispensed from the heated nozzle, in an arrangement of a three dimensional structure.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein dispensing a continuous length of fiber through a heated nozzle comprises feeding said fiber length into an inlet to the heated nozzle and outputting said fiber length out of an outlet of the heated nozzle, while heating the outlet of the heated nozzle to an outlet temperature and maintaining the inlet to the heated nozzle at an inlet temperature that is no more than about 25% of the outlet temperature.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the single heated nozzle comprises a nozzle channel that has a nozzle channel inlet and nozzle channel outlet, and a heating tube that has a heating tube inlet adjacent to the nozzle channel outlet and a heating tube outlet, and further comprising, while dispensing said fiber length through the heated nozzle, heating the heating tube inlet to a heating tube inlet temperature while maintaining the nozzle channel outlet at a nozzle channel outlet temperature that is no more than 40% of the heating tube inlet temperature.

4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, while dispensing said fiber length through the single heated nozzle, heating a fiber surface material disposed at the surface of said fiber, along said length of fiber, to a critical fusing temperature that causes the surface fiber material to fuse to itself during arrangement of a three dimensional structure.

5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, while dispensing said fiber length through the single heated nozzle, heating a fiber surface material that is disposed at the surface of said fiber, along said fiber length, and that includes polymer chains, to a fiber surface temperature that is at least as high as a critical fusing temperature that causes interdiffusion of said polymer chains across fusion lines that are formed between fiber sections during arrangement of a three dimensional structure.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the fiber includes a fiber surface layer of thermoplastic polymer material having a glass transition temperature and wherein dispensing a continuous length of fiber through a heated nozzle comprises feeding said fiber length into an inlet port of the heated nozzle while maintaining the inlet port at an inlet port temperature that is less than the thermoplastic polymer material glass transition temperature.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, while dispensing said fiber length through the single heated nozzle, maintaining the at least two electrical conductors in a solid, un-melted, state.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein said interior functional domain has a cross sectional diameter extending between outer edges of functional elements that are disposed interior to the fiber surface and that are formed of functional domain materials different than a fiber material at the fiber surface; and further comprising, while dispensing said fiber length through the single heated nozzle, maintaining the functional domain materials at a functional domain temperature that is less than about a glass transition temperature of materials in said functional domain.

9 . The method of claim 1 further comprising first forming the fiber, including a plurality of different materials that are each disposed interior to the fiber surface along the fiber length, before dispensing the fiber.

10 . The method of claim 1 further comprising first forming the fiber, including at least three different materials that are each disposed at interior regions of the fiber and that each extend along the fiber length, the three different materials including at least one semiconducting material, before dispensing the fiber.

11 . The method of claim 1 further comprising first thermally drawing a fiber preform into the fiber to be dispensed and fused.

12 . The method of claim 1 further comprising first thermally drawing a fiber preform into a fiber including electrically conducting, electrically semiconducting, and electrically insulating materials, to be dispensed and fused.

13 . The method of claim 1 further comprising first arranging a fiber preform that includes at least three different preform materials and then thermally drawing the fiber preform into the fiber to be dispensed and fused.

14 . The method of claim 1 further comprising first arranging a fiber preform that includes a semiconducting material, and then thermally drawing the fiber preform into the fiber to be dispensed and fused.

15 . The method of claim 1 wherein fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections are dispensed from the heated nozzle, comprises layering sections of the length of fiber in an arrangement of a three dimensional structure.

16 . The method of claim 1 wherein fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections are dispensed from the heated nozzle, comprises arranging fiber sections into a hollow structure having solid structural walls.

17 . The method of claim 1 wherein fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections are dispensed from the heated nozzle, comprises arranging fiber sections into a solid object.

18 . The method of claim 1 further comprising a first step of forming a fiber including a functional domain that includes at least one an element which produces an output signal in an in-fiber electrical conductor in response to an external stimulus, and wherein fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections are dispensed from the heated nozzle, comprises arranging fiber sections into an object that produces an output signal in response to an external stimulus.

19 . The method of claim 1 further comprising a first step of forming a fiber including a functional domain that includes electronic devices distributed along the length of the fiber, and wherein fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections are dispensed from the heated nozzle, comprises arranging fiber sections into an object that includes electronic devices distributed over the object.

20 . The method of claim 1 further comprising a first step of forming a fiber including a functional domain that emits light, and wherein fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections are dispensed from the heated nozzle, comprises arranging fiber sections into an object that emits light.

21 . The method of claim 1 a first step of forming a fiber including a functional domain that emits light at separated pixel sites along the fiber length, and wherein fusing together sections of the length of fiber, after said sections are dispensed from the heated nozzle, comprises arranging fiber sections into an object that produces an output that emits light at separated pixel sites of the object.

22 . The method of claim 1 further comprising a first step of forming a fiber including a functional domain that detects light, and wherein fusing together sections of the

Assignees

• Massachusetts Inst Technology

Inventors

• Fink Yoel
• Loke Gabriel Zi Jie
• Yuan Rodger

Classifications

• H01L41/23

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G01K7/16

  using resistive elements · CPC title

• H01M4/5825

  Oxygenated metallic salts or polyanionic structures, e.g. borates, phosphates, silicates, olivines · CPC title

• H01B13/0016

  for heat treatment · CPC title

• H01M10/058

  Construction or manufacture · CPC title