Exposure Time-Based Projector Normalization for Additive Manufacturing Devices
First Claim
1. An apparatus for creating three-dimensional objects based on part creation instructions, comprising:
- (a) a light source comprising at least one controllable light source element;
(b) a build area positioned adjacent to a solidifiable material, the light source solidifying portions of the solidifiable material adjacent to the build area, the build area comprising a plurality of build area sectors; and
(c) an additive manufacturing device controller connected to the light source, comprising;
(i) a calibration module configured to receive, via an additive manufacturing device user interface presented to a user, calibration object results, the calibration object results indicating test structure integrity for a plurality of test structures corresponding to the plurality of build area sectors, the calibration module further configured to create a plurality of temporal compensation values, each of the temporal compensation values corresponding to one of the plurality of build area sectors and chosen to, at a constant brightness, solidify at least a portion of the test structure from the solidifiable material; and
(ii) an exposure module configured to determine, for each portion of the three-dimensional object created, an exposure time based on the corresponding created temporal compensation value and the part creation instructions, further configured to operate the light source according to the determined exposure times;
wherein the calibration object comprises the plurality of test structures and is created by the apparatus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, methods and computer program products are disclosed that facilitate measuring the light output of an additive manufacturing device light source without utilizing additional equipment, such as a light meter. Once the light source output has been measured, such information can be utilized for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to: (i) delivering a uniform amount of light energy over time to each portion of a layer being formed; (ii) adjusting the intensity of each controllable element (e.g., pixel) of the light source to the measured minimum, thereby creating a uniformly intense light source; and (iii) minimizing the build time of layers or portions of a layer being formed based on the maximum intensity available within a given area of the build area.
14 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus for creating three-dimensional objects based on part creation instructions, comprising:
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(a) a light source comprising at least one controllable light source element; (b) a build area positioned adjacent to a solidifiable material, the light source solidifying portions of the solidifiable material adjacent to the build area, the build area comprising a plurality of build area sectors; and (c) an additive manufacturing device controller connected to the light source, comprising; (i) a calibration module configured to receive, via an additive manufacturing device user interface presented to a user, calibration object results, the calibration object results indicating test structure integrity for a plurality of test structures corresponding to the plurality of build area sectors, the calibration module further configured to create a plurality of temporal compensation values, each of the temporal compensation values corresponding to one of the plurality of build area sectors and chosen to, at a constant brightness, solidify at least a portion of the test structure from the solidifiable material; and (ii) an exposure module configured to determine, for each portion of the three-dimensional object created, an exposure time based on the corresponding created temporal compensation value and the part creation instructions, further configured to operate the light source according to the determined exposure times; wherein the calibration object comprises the plurality of test structures and is created by the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for calibrating an additive manufacturing device, the additive manufacturing device comprising at least one light source having at least one controllable light source element, a build area comprising a plurality of build area sectors adjacent to a solidifable material and an additive manufacturing device controller, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) generating, via the additive manufacturing device, a calibration object from the solidifiable material, the calibration object comprising a plurality of test structures, each of the plurality of test structures corresponding to the plurality of build area sectors; (b) receiving a plurality of test structure integrity indications; (c) creating, via the additive manufacturing device controller, a plurality of temporal compensation values, each of the temporal compensation values corresponding to one of the plurality of build area sectors and chosen to, at a constant brightness, solidify at least a portion of the corresponding test structure; and (d) storing the created plurality of temporal compensation values for use in creation of three-dimensional objects. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. One or more computer storage media having stored thereon multiple instructions that facilitate operation of an additive manufacturing device, the additive manufacturing device comprising at least one light source having at least one controllable light source element and a build area comprising a plurality of build area sectors adjacent to a solidifable material by, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, causing the one or more processors to:
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(a) generate, via the additive manufacturing device, a calibration object from the solidifiable material, the calibration object comprising a plurality of test structures, each of the plurality of test structures corresponding to the plurality of build area sectors; (b) receive a plurality of test structure integrity indications; (c) create a plurality of temporal compensation values, each of the temporal compensation values corresponding to one of the plurality of build area sectors and chosen to, at a constant brightness, solidify at least a portion of the corresponding test structure; and (d) store in a database the created plurality of temporal compensation values for use in creation of three-dimensional objects. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A method for generating a three-dimensional object using an additive manufacturing device, the additive manufacturing device comprising at least one light source having at least one controllable light source element, a build area comprising a plurality of build area sectors adjacent to a solidifable material, and an additive manufacturing device controller having a plurality of temporal compensation values corresponding to the plurality of build sectors stored therein, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) determining a layer cross section of a three-dimensional object layer to be created; (b) identifying each of the plurality of build area sectors overlapped by the determined layer cross section; (c) retrieving, for each of the identified build area sectors, the corresponding temporal compensation value; (d) determining for each portion of the three-dimensional object layer, an exposure time based on the retrieved temporal compensation values; and (e) operating the light source according to the determined exposure times.
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Specification