Additive manufacturing with soluble build sheet and part marking

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9610733-B2
Application number	US-201514590380-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2015
Priority date	Jan 6, 2015
Publication date	Apr 4, 2017
Grant date	Apr 4, 2017

Abstract

A method for producing three-dimensional parts, which includes printing the three-dimensional parts and associated support structures onto soluble build sheets, marking each three-dimensional part with information relating to the three-dimensional part, and removing the associated support structures and the soluble build sheets from the printed three-dimensional parts with an aqueous solution using a support removal process. The markings remain applied to the three-dimensional parts after the support removal process, and preferably do not detract from aesthetic qualities of the three-dimensional parts.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for producing a three-dimensional part, the method comprising:
securing a film to a platen assembly of an additive manufacturing system;
printing the three-dimensional part onto the secured film;
removing the film having the printed three-dimensional part from the additive manufacturing system; and
exposing the three-dimensional part and the film to a solvent to at least partially dissolve the film to remove the film from the three-dimensional part.

2. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising printing a support structure onto the secured film in coordination with printing the three-dimensional part, wherein exposing the three-dimensional part and the film to the solvent also exposes the support structure to the solvent to remove the support structure from the three-dimensional part.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solvent comprises an alkaline aqueous solution.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the alkaline aqueous solution comprises a solution comprising sodium hydroxide, a silicate salt, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the silicate salt comprises sodium metasilicate.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the film compositionally comprises a polyvinyl alcohol.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the film compositionally comprises a copolymer polymerized from monomers of carboxylic acids, ionic salts of carboxylic acids, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, aromatic momoners, or combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising applying a marking to the three-dimensional part that relates to workflow-control information for the three-dimensional part, wherein the marking remains applied to the three-dimensional part after the film is removed from the three-dimensional part.

9. A method for producing a three-dimensional part, the method comprising:
securing a film to a platen assembly of an additive manufacturing system, wherein the film comprises a soluble material;
printing a support structure and at least a portion of the three-dimensional part onto the secured film;
applying a marking to a surface of the three-dimensional part with a material that is substantially invisible to the naked eye;
exposing the film, the support structure, and the three-dimensional part with the applied marking to solvent to at least partially dissolve the film to remove the support structure with the film from the three-dimensional part, wherein the marking remains applied to the three-dimensional part after removing the support structure;
reading the marking on the three-dimensional part after removing the support structure; and
performing at least one post-printing operation based on the read marking.

10. The method of claim 9 , and further comprising:
encoding information with a computer system using an encoding scheme;
generating, with the computer system, printing data for the marking based on the encoded information; and
transmitting, with the computer system, the generated printing data for the marking to the additive manufacturing system or to a post-printing device for applying the marking to the three-dimensional part.

11. The method of claim 9 , and further comprising removing the support structure and the three-dimensional part from the additive manufacturing system, wherein applying the marking to the three-dimensional part comprises applying the marking onto a surface of the three-dimensional part after being removed from the additive manufacturing system.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein applying the marking to the three-dimensional part comprises jetting the marking onto the three-dimensional part with a jetting print head of the additive manufacturing system.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the material comprises an ultraviolet-fluorescent material, and wherein reading the marking on the three-dimensional part comprises illuminating the marking with an ultraviolet-wavelength light.

14. A method for producing three-dimensional parts with a printing farm, the method comprising:
operating multiple additive manufacturing systems of the printing farm to print the three-dimensional parts and associated support structures onto soluble build sheets;
marking each three-dimensional part with information relating to the three-dimensional part;
removing the associated support structures and the soluble build sheets from the printed three-dimensional parts with a solvent in one or more support removal systems;
reading the markings on the three-dimensional parts after the associated support structures and the soluble build sheets are removed; and
performing one or more post-printing operations on the three-dimensional parts based on the read markings.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein marking each three-dimensional part comprises applying the marking with an ultraviolet-fluorescent material.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein reading the markings on the three-dimensional parts comprises illuminating the markings with an ultraviolet-wavelength light.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein marking each three-dimensional part comprises printing the marking with the additive manufacturing system as an extension of the three-dimensional part.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the solvent comprises an alkaline aqueous dispersion.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the alkaline aqueous dispersion comprises sodium hydroxide, a silicate salt, or a combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the soluble build sheet compositionally comprises a copolymer polymerized from monomers of carboxylic acids, ionic salts of carboxylic acids, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, aromatic momoners, or combinations thereof.

Assignees

• Stratasys Inc

Inventors

• Swanson William J
• Mannella Dominic F

Classifications

• B29C37/0025

  Applying surface layers, e.g. coatings, decorative layers, printed layers, to articles during shaping, e.g. in-mould printing (moulding on preformed layers as inserts B29C70/68; applying fluent material to surfaces in general B05) · CPC title

• B29K2829/00

  Use of polyvinylalcohols, polyvinylethers, polyvinylaldehydes, polyvinylketones or polyvinylketals or derivatives thereof, as mould material · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29C64/40

  Structures for supporting 3D objects during manufacture and intended to be sacrificed after completion thereof · CPC title

• B33Y40/20

  Post-treatment, e.g. curing, coating or polishing · CPC title