System and method for digital fabrication of graded, hierarchical material structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9821339-B2
Application number	US-201414578071-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2014
Priority date	Dec 19, 2014
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

A method to fabricate hierarchical graded materials includes providing a reservoir of functionalized particles, mixing at least some of the functionalized particles using a mixer in the print head having a mixed fluid volume control on an order of a voxel to produce mixed functionalized particles, and actuating a print head to deposit the mixed functionalized particles on a substrate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method to fabricate hierarchical graded materials, comprising:
providing a reservoir of functionalized particles;
mixing at least some of the functionalized particles using a mixer in the print head having a mixed fluid volume control on an order of a voxel to produce mixed functionalized particles;
applying a stimulus to the mixed functionalized particles inside the print head to reactively bond the functionalized particles and form particles of varying lengths; and
actuating a print head to deposit the particles of varying lengths on a substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying a stimulus comprises applying one of either heat or light.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising focusing a flow of the mixed functionalized particles.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein focusing a flow comprises creating a coaxial flow of the mixed functionalized particles.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein creating a coaxial flow of the mixed functional particles comprises applying a sheathing fluid to outer channels of a flow focusing section and applying a main fluid to a central channel.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising aligning the particles of varying lengths.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein aligning the particles of varying lengths comprises altering orientation of an axis of an exit nozzle in the print head relative to the substrate based upon a scale of the particles.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing a reservoir of functionalized particles comprises providing a reservoir of at least one of anisotropic platelets, chiplets, wires, fibers, and colloidal building blocks.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein mixing at least some of the functionalized particles comprises mixing a characteristic volume on an order of a voxel of the functionalized particles.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein mixing comprises mixing at least one of a resin and reinforcement materials in a time required to deposit a voxel of material at a desired material deposition rate.

Assignees

• Palo Alto Res Ct Inc

Inventors

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

Classifications

• B29C64/141

  using only solid materials · CPC title

• B29C64/209

  Heads; Nozzles · CPC title

• B22F12/22

  Driving means · CPC title

• B22F10/22

  Direct deposition of molten metal · CPC title

• B22F12/53

  Nozzles · CPC title