Ribbon liquefier and method of use in extrusion-based digital manufacturing systems

• US 10,500,829 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2017
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stratasys Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Stratasys Incorporated
• Inventors: Batchelder, J. Samuel, Swanson, William J., Crump, S. Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhao, Xiao S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Luk, Emmanuel S
• Application Number:
  US15/584,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20170232665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 264 75, 264308, 264255, 264245, 425162, 425144, 425 97, 425113, 425375, 425145, 425DIG 17, 700119
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/46 Heating or cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/05 Filamentary, e.g. strands
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/07 Flat, e.g. panels
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/2888 in band or in strip form, e.g. rubber strips
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/106 using only liquids or viscous materials, e.g. depositing a continuous bead of viscous material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/118 using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM]
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/386 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2025/00 Use of polymers of vinyl-aromatic compounds or derivatives thereof as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2055/02 ABS polymers, i.e. acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2069/00 Use of PC, i.e. polycarbonates or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2077/00 Use of PA, i.e. polyamides, e.g. polyesteramides or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2079/085 Thermoplastic polyimides, e.g. polyesterimides, PEI, i.e. polyetherimides, or polyamideimides; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2081/06 PSU, i.e. polysulfones; PES, i.e. polyethersulfones or derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0032 Pigments, colouring agents or opacifiyng agents
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0044 Stabilisers, e.g. against oxydation, light or heat
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0067 Melt
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/16 Fillers
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2009/00 Layered products
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 40/00 : Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 : for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 70/00 : Materials specially adapted for additive manufacturing

Abstract

A ribbon liquefier comprising an outer liquefier portion configured to receive thermal energy from a heat transfer component, and a channel at least partially defined by the outer liquefier portion, where the channel has dimensions that are configured to receive the ribbon filament, and where the ribbon liquefier is configured to melt the ribbon filament received in the channel to at least an extrudable state with the received thermal energy to provide a melt flow. The dimensions of the channel are further configured to conform the melt flow from an axially-asymmetric flow to a substantially axially-symmetric flow in an extrusion tip connected to the ribbon liquefier.

Claims

1. A method for building a three-dimensional model in an extrusion-based additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:

heating a liquefier retained by the extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the liquefier having a non-cylindrical static channel with an inlet end and an outlet end;

feeding a non-cylindrical filament into the inlet end of the static channel of the heated liquefier;

melting the non-cylindrical filament in the static channel to at least an extrudable state with the heat to provide a molten material;

moving the molten material from the non-cylindrical static channel to an extrusion tip disposed at the outlet end of the channel with a viscosity-pump action of the fed non-cylindrical filament wherein the extrusion tip has a substantially circular cross-section;

extruding the molten material from the extrusion tip; and

depositing the extruded material as a road to form at least a portion of a layer of the three-dimensional model.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-cylindrical static channel comprises a substantially-rectangular cross section substantially perpendicular along an axis extending from the inlet end to the outlet end.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the substantially-rectangular cross section has a width and a thickness, wherein an aspect ratio of the width to the thickness is about 2:

1 or greater.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein aspect ratio of the width to the thickness ranges from 2.5:

1 to about 20;

1.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the static channel extends along an axis from the inlet end to the outlet end and has a partial annular cross section perpendicular to the axis.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein feeding the non-cylindrical filament into the inlet end of the static channel comprises driving the non-cylindrical filament into the inlet end of the static channel with a filament drive mechanism.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-cylindrical filament comprises topographical surface patterns.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein melting the non-cylindrical filament in the static channel comprises transferring the heat as thermal energy to the non-cylindrical filament in the static channel in a manner such that at least about 60% of the transferred thermal energy diffuses through the non-cylindrical filament in one cross-sectional dimension of the non-cylindrical filament.

9. A method for building a three-dimensional model in an extrusion-based additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:

providing a non-cylindrical filament to an extrusion head retained by the extrusion-based additive manufacturing system, wherein the extrusion head comprises a liquefier tube with a non-cylindrical static channel, a heat transfer component coupled in thermal communication with the liquefier tube, and an extrusion tip having an exit port;

transferring thermal energy from the heat transfer component to at least a portion of the liquefier tube;

feeding the non-cylindrical filament into an inlet end of the non-cylindrical static channel of the liquefier tube;

melting the non-cylindrical filament in the static channel to at least an extrudable state with the transferred thermal energy to provide a molten material;

conforming the molten material to dimensions of the static channel;

moving the molten material to an extrusion tip of the extrusion head with a viscosity-pump action of the fed non-cylindrical filament;

extruding the melt flow from the extrusion tip; and

depositing the extruded material as a road to form at least a portion of a layer of the three-dimensional model.

10. The method of claim 9, non-cylindrical static channel comprises a substantially-rectangular cross section substantially perpendicular along an axis extending from the inlet end to the outlet end.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein an aspect ratio of the substantially-rectangular cross section of the static channel is about 2:

1 or greater.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the extrusion head further comprises a filament drive mechanism, and wherein feeding the non-cylindrical filament into the inlet end of the static channel comprises driving the non-cylindrical filament into the inlet end of the static channel with the filament drive mechanism.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the non-cylindrical static channel comprises a layer of a fluorinated polymer.

14. A method for building a three-dimensional model in an extrusion-based digital manufacturing system, the method comprising:

providing thermal energy to a liquefier having a liquefier tube with a non-cylindrical static flow channel extending from an inlet end to an outlet end, the liquefier tube retained by the extrusion-based digital manufacturing system;

feeding successive segments of a non-cylindrical filament from a supply source to the inlet end of the static channel of the liquefier tube, wherein the supply source is spaced from the liquefier;

transferring the provided thermal energy to the successive segments of the non-cylindrical filament in the static channel in a manner such that at least about 60% of the transferred thermal energy diffuses through the non-cylindrical filament in one cross-sectional dimension of the non-cylindrical filament to melt the successive segments of the non-cylindrical filament to produce a molten material;

moving the molten material from the static channel to an extrusion tip disposed at the outlet end of the static channel with a viscosity-pump action of unmelted segments of the fed non-cylindrical filament;

extruding the molten material from the extrusion tip; and

depositing the extruded material as a road to form at least a portion of a layer of the three-dimensional model.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the non-cylindrical static channel comprises a substantially-rectangular cross section substantially perpendicular along an axis extending from the inlet end to the outlet end.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the substantially-rectangular cross section has a width and a thickness, wherein an aspect ratio of the width to the thickness is about 2:

1 or greater.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein at least about 65% of the transferred thermal energy diffuses through the non-cylindrical filament in the one cross-sectional dimension of the non-cylindrical filament.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least about 70% of the transferred thermal energy diffuses through the non-cylindrical filament in the one cross-sectional dimension of the non-cylindrical filament.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein feeding the successive segments of the non-cylindrical filament into the inlet end of the static channel comprises driving the successive segments of the non-cylindrical filament into the inlet end of the static channel with a filament drive mechanism.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the static channel extends along an axis from the inlet end to the outlet end and has a partial annular cross section perpendicular to the axis.