System for digital fabrication of graded, hierarchical material structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9713903-B2
Application number	US-201615297821-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 19, 2016
Priority date	Dec 19, 2014
Publication date	Jul 25, 2017
Grant date	Jul 25, 2017

Abstract

A system to fabricate hierarchical graded materials includes a reservoir to contain a material to be deposited, a print head connected to the reservoir to allow the print head to receive the material to be deposited, the print head having a mixing section, and an actuator connected to the print head, the actuator configured to actuate the print head in six axes of motion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system to fabricate hierarchical, graded materials, comprising:
a reservoir to contain a colloidal material having fibers to be deposited; and
a print head connected to the reservoir by a conduit to allow the print head to receive the material to be deposited, the print head having a mixer, comprising:
at least two inlets arranged on opposite sides of the mixer from each other;
at least two outlets on opposite sides of the mixer from each other and adjacent the inlets;
a central channel;
a junction between the inlets, outlets and the central channel arranged to generate a mixed flow, the central channel arranged to cause the fibers to orient along a principal straining axis; and
an outlet to allow the material to exit the print head.

2. The system of claim 1 , the print head further comprising a flow focusing section arranged to receive the mixed flow from the mixer.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the fluidic particle alignment section comprises a section having three outlets, one for a main fluid flow and two on either side of the main fluid flow for sheathing fluids, the fluidic particle.

4. The system of claim 1 , the print head further comprising a reactive bonding section between the mixer and an outlet.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an actuator to move the print head in 6 axes of movement.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is to alter orientation of the outlet based upon a scale of the fibers.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mixer is capable of modulating the material on a scale of a voxel.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mixer is capable of completing a mixing a voxel in an amount of time equal to a voxel deposition rate.

Assignees

• Palo Alto Res Ct Inc

Inventors

• Paschkewitz John Steven
• Iftime Gabriel
• Beck Victor Alfred
• Johnson David Mathew

Classifications

• B29C64/209

  Heads; Nozzles · CPC title

• B29C64/393

  for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes · CPC title

• B29K2101/10

  Thermosetting resins · CPC title

• B33Y50/02

  for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes · CPC title

• B29K2075/00

  Use of {PU, i.e.} polyureas or polyurethanes {or derivatives thereof}, as moulding material · CPC title