SYSTEM FOR CREATING A THREE DIMENSIONAL OBJECT

• US 20080068416A1
• Filed: 11/14/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3D Systems, Inc. (3D Systems Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Granted Patent: US 7,591,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/14
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 5/0212 only at particular parts of the articles at particular part of web, band, strip, belt or ribbon B05C5/025
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/10 Formation of a green body
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 12/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 12/53 Nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 12/70 Gas flow means
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/112 using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/68 by incorporating or moulding on preformed parts, e.g. inserts or layers , e.g. foam blocks mould constructions therefor B29C33/12; joining preformed parts by moulding B29C65/70
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/002 Curing or drying the ink on the copy materials, e.g. by heating or irradiating
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0021 using irradiation
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/00214 using UV radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/00216 using infrared [IR] radiation or microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0022 using convection means, e.g. by using a fan for blowing or sucking air
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0024 using conduction means, e.g. by using a heated platen
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/01 Ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/393 : Devices for controlling or analysing the entire machine ; Controlling or analysing mechanical parameters involving printing of test patterns
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/4073 : Printing on three-dimensional objects not being in sheet or web form, e.g. spherical or cubic objects B41J3/283, B41J3/286 take precedence; building up a 3D object using individual droplets from jetting heads B29C64/112
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/543 : with multiple inkjet print heads B41J2/17503, B41J2/2103 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/185 : Components encapsulated in the insulating substrate of the printed circuit or incorporated in internal layers of a multilayer circuit semiconductor chips encapsulated by interconnect and support structures H01L23/5389, H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/125 : by ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/4664 : Adding a circuit layer by thick film methods, e.g. printing techniques or by other techniques for making conductive patterns by using pastes, inks or powders H05K3/4647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 10/25 : Process efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/901 : Connector hood or shell
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49144 : by metal fusion

Abstract

A system for creating a three-dimensional object has been provided. The system comprises a plurality of stationary printhead layer groups, each layer group comprising a plurality of printheads for printing a respective layer of said object, wherein the system is configured to enable at least one first printhead that is initially configured to print at least part of a first layer to be dynamically reconfigured to print at least part of a second layer, and if at least one printhead initially configured to print the second layer fails whilst printing said second layer, said at least one first printhead is dynamically reconfigured to complete the printing of at least part of said second layer.

Claims

1. A system for creating a three-dimensional object comprising:

a plurality of stationary printhead layer groups, each layer group comprising a plurality of printheads for printing a respective layer of said object;

wherein the system is configured to enable at least one first printhead that is initially configured to print at least part of a first layer to be dynamically reconfigured to print at least part of a second layer, and if at least one printhead initially configured to print the second layer fails whilst printing said second layer, said at least one first printhead is dynamically reconfigured to complete the printing of at least part of said second layer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the reconfiguration is made with no loss of printed product.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes a fault detection system that automatically detects faults in said system and reconfigures said at least one first printhead in the event of a failure.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes a conveyor for conveying a partially-formed object past said layer groups, and wherein said printheads are configured to print simultaneously such that a plurality of different layers are printed simultaneously by said layer groups.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein each printhead in said at least one layer group prints the same material.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one layer group comprises a first printhead for printing a first material and a second printhead for printing a second material in a same layer of said object.

7. The system of claim 8, wherein said first and second printheads are maintained at different temperatures.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said layer groups are each positioned at different heights relative to said conveyor.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein a height difference between each layer group and its adjacent layer group is constant.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the height difference is at least one volume element (voxel) height of the object.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one layer group comprises a plurality of printheads, and said plurality of printheads within said at least one layer group are positioned at the same height relative to said conveyor.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein each layer is defined by a plurality of volume elements (voxels) of the object arranged in a regular array and wherein the voxels of each layer are printed so as to be offset by half a voxel relative to the voxels of adjacent layers in a conveying direction and/or a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.

13. The system of claim 1 comprising first layer group for printing a first layer and second layer group for printing a second layer, wherein the first layer group is dynamically reconfigurable to print at least part of the second layer and the second layer group is dynamically reconfigurable to print at least part of the first layer.

14. The system of claim 1 further comprising a control system for controlling each layer group.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a robot for inserting pre-formed objects into the partially-formed object during printing.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the pre-formed object is an electrical or mechanical device.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the pre-formed object is a semiconductor device.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one printhead prints electrical connections for the electrical device.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein said layer groups are configured to create one or more cavities in the partially-formed object, the or each cavity being configured for receiving a pre-formed object from said robot.

20. The system of claim 4, wherein said printheads extend transversely across said conveyor relative to a conveying direction.