Additive manufacturing systems and methods for the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024190071-A1
Application number	US-202218063024-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 7, 2022
Priority date	Dec 7, 2022
Publication date	Jun 13, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

An additive manufacturing device includes a stage configured to support a substrate. The device also includes a printhead disposed above the stage. The printhead is configured to heat a build material to a molten build material and to deposit the molten build material on the substrate in the form of droplets to fabricate an article. The device also includes a controlled heating and ablation system disposed proximal the printhead. The controlled heating and ablation system is configured to heat the substrate and ablate oxides on a surface of the substrate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An additive manufacturing device, comprising:
a stage configured to support a substrate; a printhead disposed above the stage, the printhead configured to heat a build material to a molten build material and deposit the molten build material on the substrate in the form of droplets to fabricate an article; and a controlled heating and ablation system disposed proximal the printhead, wherein the controlled heating and ablation system is configured to heat the substrate and ablate oxides on a surface of the substrate.

2 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 1 , wherein the controlled heating and ablation system comprises a laser.

3 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 2 , wherein the laser comprises an output power of from about 40 watts (W) to about 1500 W.

4 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 2 , wherein the laser comprises a pulse width of from about 0.5 ns to about 100 ms.

5 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 2 , wherein the laser comprises a pulse energy output of from about 1 microjoule (μJ) to about 50 millijoules (mJ).

6 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 2 , wherein the laser is configured to deliver an output sufficient to concurrently heat the substrate and ablate the oxides on the surface of the substrate.

7 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 6 , wherein the laser is configured to adjust a beam profile of the output.

8 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 7 , wherein the beam profile comprises a Gaussian profile, a Top-Hat profile, a multimode donut profile, or a combination thereof.

9 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 2 , wherein the laser is a pulse laser, a pulse fiber laser, a pulse fiber-coupled laser, or a combination thereof.

10 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a monitoring system configured to monitor a portion of the additive manufacturing device; and a computing system operably coupled with the controlled heating and ablation system and the monitoring system, wherein the computing system is configured to adjust the controlled heating and ablation system based on signals provided by the monitoring system.

11 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to measure a temperature of the substrate, and the computing system is configured to adjust the controlled heating and ablation system based on the temperature of the substrate provided by the monitoring system.

12 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 1 , wherein the controlled heating and ablation system is configured to heat the substrate and ablate the oxides on the surface of the substrate by directing a series of pulsed outputs toward the substrate.

13 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 12 , wherein the series of pulsed outputs comprises a first pulsed output and a second pulsed output, wherein an energy of the first pulsed output is substantially equal to an energy of the second pulsed output, and wherein a duration of the first pulsed output is substantially equal to a duration of the second pulsed output.

14 . The additive manufacturing device of claim 12 , wherein the series of pulsed outputs comprises a first pulsed output and a second pulsed output, wherein an energy of the first pulsed output is relatively greater than an energy of the second pulsed output, and wherein a duration of the first pulsed output is relatively shorter than a duration of the second pulsed output.

15 . A method for fabricating an article with the additive manufacturing device of claim 1 , the method comprising:
heating the build material in the printhead to the molten build material; ejecting the molten build material from the printhead towards the substrate; depositing the molten build material on the substrate; heating the substrate with the controlled heating and ablation system; and ablating the oxides on the surface of the substrate with the controlled heating and ablation system.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the controlled heating and ablation system concurrently heats the substrate and ablates the oxides on the surface of the substrate.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising directing a series of pulsed outputs from the controlled heating and ablation system toward the substrate to concurrently heat the substrate and ablate the oxides on the surface of the substrate.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the series of pulsed outputs comprises a first pulsed output and a second pulsed output, wherein an energy of the first pulsed output is substantially equal to an energy of the second pulsed output, and wherein a duration of the first pulsed output is substantially equal to a duration of the second pulsed output.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the controlled heating and ablation system heats the substrate and ablates the oxides on the surface of the substrate by directing a series of pulsed outputs from the controlled heating and ablation system toward the substrate.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the series of pulsed outputs comprises a first pulsed output and a second pulsed output, wherein an energy of the first pulsed output is relatively greater than an energy of the second pulsed output, wherein a duration of the first pulsed output is relatively shorter than a duration of the second pulsed output, wherein the first pulsed output ablates the oxides on the surface of the substrate, and wherein the second pulsed output heats the substrate.

21 . An additive manufacturing device, comprising:
a stage configured to support a substrate; a printhead disposed above the stage, the printhead configured to heat a build material to a molten build material and deposit the molten build material on the substrate in the form of droplets to fabricate an article; a controlled heating and ablation system disposed proximal the printhead, wherein the controlled heating and ablation system comprises a laser, wherein an output from the laser comprises:
a power of from about 40 watts (W) to about 1500 W,
an irradiance of from about 1 W/cm 2 to about 10,000 W/mm 2 ,
a wavelength of from about 355 nm to about 1200 nm,
a fluence (F) of from about 0.1 J/cm 2 to about 50 J/cm 2 ,
a pulse energy of from about 1 microjoule (μJ) to about 50 millijoules (mJ),
a pulse repetition rate of from about 5 kHz to about 250 MHz,
a pulse width of from about 0.5 ns to about 100 ms,
a pulse duration that is lower than a thermal relaxation time of the substrate to minimize a temperature increase of the substrate,
wherein the output is configured to concurrently heat the substrate and ablate oxides on a surface of the substrate, and wherein an area on the surface that is heated by the output has a diameter of from about 0.025 mm to about 2.0 mm;
a monitoring system configured to monitor a temperature of the substrate; and a computing system configured to adjust the controlled heating and ablation system based on the temperature of the substrate provided by the monitoring system.

Assignees

• Xerox Corp

Inventors

• Maeda Patrick Y
• Bullard Daniel
• Timucin Dogan

Classifications

• Y02P10/25

  Process efficiency · CPC title

• B33Y40/00

  Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling · CPC title

• B33Y30/00

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B22F12/90

  Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors · CPC title