Methods and systems for thermal forming an object

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9108338-B2
Application number	US-201113186374-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2011
Priority date	Apr 13, 2011
Publication date	Aug 18, 2015
Grant date	Aug 18, 2015

Abstract

A method and system for thermal forming an object. A mold is provided, a shape of which corresponds to a desired shape of the object. A material is inserted into a heating area, and the material is heated using a plurality of independently controllable heat sources that heat different areas of the material. The heated material is then disposed over or into at least a portion of the mold so as to deform the material. The deformed material may then be trimmed so as to form the object.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for thermal forming an object, comprising:
providing a mold;
receiving a mold identifier identifying the mold;
determining mold process information for forming the object based on the mold identifier, the mold process information comprising material information and heating information;
inserting a material into a heating area, the material having a geometry selected based on the material information;
heating the material using a plurality of independently controllable heat sources that heat different areas of the material, wherein the heat sources are controlled based on the heating information; and
disposing the heated material over or into at least a portion of the mold.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring a temperature of the material during heating.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein heating the material includes controlling the heat sources based on the monitored temperature so that the temperatures at the different areas of the material selectively reach a desired temperature.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the desired temperature is reached without overshooting.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein monitoring a temperature of the material during heating includes independently monitoring the different areas of the material.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
comparing the temperature in each of the different areas of the material to a desired temperature.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displacing the heated material from the mold; and
trimming the displaced material so as to form an orthodontic appliance.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold is a physical tooth model.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein a heat direction of one or more of the heat sources is changed based on the heating information.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold identifier is read from the mold.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold identifier is read from an RFID chip.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mold identifier is read using a bar code scanner.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a material identifier identifying the material, wherein said determining mold process information is further based on the material identifier.

14. A method for thermal forming an object, comprising:
providing a mold;
determining mold process information for forming the object based on a mold identifier associated with the mold, the mold process information comprising material information and heating information;
inserting a material into a heating area, the material having a geometry selected based on the material information;
heating the material using a plurality of independently controllable heat sources that heat different areas of the material, wherein an output and heat direction of one or more of the heat sources is controlled based on the heating information; and
disposing the heated material over or into at least a portion of the mold.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein a heat direction of one or more of the heat sources is changed based on the heating information.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising monitoring a temperature of the material during heating.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein heating the material includes controlling the heat sources based on the monitored temperature so that the temperatures at the different areas of the material selectively reach a desired temperature.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein monitoring a temperature of the material during heating includes independently monitoring the different areas of the material.

19. The method of claim 14 , further comprising comparing the temperature in each of the different areas of the material to a desired temperature.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the geometry comprises a shape or a thickness of the material.

21. The method of claim 14 , wherein the geometry comprises a shape or a thickness of the material.

Assignees

• Sirovskiy Yevgeniy
• Culp James C
• Align Technology Inc

Inventors

• Sirovskiy Yevgeniy
• Culp James C

Classifications

• B29C51/422

  to produce a temperature differential (B29C51/426 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B29B13/02

  by heating (B29B13/06, B29B13/08 take precedence) · CPC title

• B29B13/023 Primary

  Half-products, e.g. films, plates · CPC title

• B29B13/022

  Melting the material to be shaped · CPC title

• B29B2013/027

  Obtaining a temperature gradient over the surface of films or tubes · CPC title