Systems and method for monitoring three-dimensional printing
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring three-dimensional printing of printing material,said system comprising two essentially coplanar electrodes,said electrodes being electrically conductive,said system also comprising substrate,said substrate providing a surface on which said printing occurs,said substrate being substantially electrically non-conductive,said electrodes being positioned on said substrate,the proximate edges of said electrodes being essentially parallel,said edges being separate from one another by a distance,said distance ranging from 5 mm to 300 mm,each of said electrodes being substantially smaller in area than said substrate,said system also comprising a plurality of layers,said layers being derived from said printing material,said layers being formed layer-by-layer on said substrate by said printing,said layers being positioned in a region,said region extending in the direction essentially perpendicular to said edges from the location of one said edge to the location of the other said edge essentially in the plane of said surface,said two electrodes being electrically oppositely charged,said charge being enabled by an alternating electric current,said alternating electric current flowing between said two electrodes,said alternating electric current partly flowing in said layers,said two electrodes exhibiting a capacitance between them,said capacitance ranging from 0.1 pF to 10 nF,said capacitance being essentially in a direction parallel to said surface and substantially perpendicular to said proximate edges.
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Abstract
This invention provides systems and method for monitoring three-dimensional printing of printing material. A system comprises two essentially coplanar and electrically conductive electrodes and a substantially electrically non-conductive substrate, which provides a printing surface. The proximate edges of the electrodes, which are on the surface, are essentially parallel and separate by a distance ranging from 5 mm to 300 mm. Each electrode is substantially smaller in area than the substrate. The system also comprises a plurality of layers, which are formed layer-by-layer by the printing, and are derived from the printing material. The electrodes are electrically oppositely charged, as enabled by an alternating electric current between the two electrodes. The current partly flows in the layers. The two electrodes exhibit between them a capacitance ranging from 0.1 pF to 10 nF. The capacitance is essentially in a direction parallel to the surface and substantially perpendicular to the proximate edges.
4 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring three-dimensional printing of printing material,
said system comprising two essentially coplanar electrodes, said electrodes being electrically conductive, said system also comprising substrate, said substrate providing a surface on which said printing occurs, said substrate being substantially electrically non-conductive, said electrodes being positioned on said substrate, the proximate edges of said electrodes being essentially parallel, said edges being separate from one another by a distance, said distance ranging from 5 mm to 300 mm, each of said electrodes being substantially smaller in area than said substrate, said system also comprising a plurality of layers, said layers being derived from said printing material, said layers being formed layer-by-layer on said substrate by said printing, said layers being positioned in a region, said region extending in the direction essentially perpendicular to said edges from the location of one said edge to the location of the other said edge essentially in the plane of said surface, said two electrodes being electrically oppositely charged, said charge being enabled by an alternating electric current, said alternating electric current flowing between said two electrodes, said alternating electric current partly flowing in said layers, said two electrodes exhibiting a capacitance between them, said capacitance ranging from 0.1 pF to 10 nF, said capacitance being essentially in a direction parallel to said surface and substantially perpendicular to said proximate edges.
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7. A system for monitoring three-dimensional printing of printing material,
said system comprising two essentially coplanar electrodes, said electrodes being electrically conductive, said system also comprising substrate, said substrate providing a surface on which said printing occurs, said electrodes being positioned on said substrate, the proximate edges of said electrodes being essentially parallel, said edges being separate from one another by a distance, each of said electrodes being substantially smaller in area than said substrate, said system also comprising a plurality of layers, said layers being derived from said printing material, said layers being material selected from the group consisting of: - metal, metal alloy, metal-based material, metal-matrix composite, aluminum, copper, nickel, titanium, steel, and combinations thereof,
said layers being formed layer-by-layer on said substrate by said printing, said layers being positioned in a region, said region extending in the direction essentially perpendicular to said edges from the location of one said edge to the location of the other said edge essentially in the plane of said surface, said substrate being electrically less conductive than said metal layers, said two electrodes being electrically connected, said electrical connection being positioned on said substrate, said electrical connection being in the plane of said substrate, said electrical connection providing an exterior surface on which said printing occurs, said electrical connection being more electrically conductive than said substrate, said two electrodes being electrically oppositely charged, said charge being enabled by an alternating electric current, said alternating electric current flowing from one electrode to the other electrode, said alternating electric current partly flowing in said layers, said two electrodes exhibiting a capacitance between them, said capacitance ranging from 0.1 pF to 10 nF, said capacitance being essentially in the direction parallel to said surface and substantially perpendicular to said proximate edges. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- metal, metal alloy, metal-based material, metal-matrix composite, aluminum, copper, nickel, titanium, steel, and combinations thereof,
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14. A method of monitoring the three-dimensional printing of printing material, said method comprising
(a) positioning two essentially coplanar electrodes on a substrate, said electrodes being electrically conductive, the proximate edges of said electrodes being essentially parallel, said edges being separate from one another by a distance, said electrodes being substantially smaller in area than said substrate, said substrate providing a surface on which said printing occurs, said substrate being substantially electrically non-conductive, said printing involving layer-by-layer formation of a plurality of layers on said substrate, said layers being derived from said printing material, said layers being positioned in a region, said region extending in the direction essentially perpendicular to said edges from the location of one said edge to the location of the other said edge essentially in the plane of said surface, said electrodes being electrically oppositely charged, said charge being enabled by an alternating electric current, said alternating electric current flowing from one electrode to the other electrode, said alternating electric current partly flowing in said layers, and (b) measuring the capacitance between said two electrodes.
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeDeborah D.L. Chung
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Original AssigneeDeborah D.L. Chung
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InventorsChung, Deborah D.L.
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Granted Patent
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Time in Patent OfficeDays
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Field of Search
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US Class Current
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CPC Class CodesB22F 10/14 by jetting of binder onto a...B22F 10/18 by mixing binder with metal...B22F 10/22 Direct deposition of molten...B22F 10/25 Direct deposition of metal ...B22F 10/28 Powder bed fusion, e.g. sel...B22F 12/30 Platforms or substratesB22F 12/90 Means for process control, ...B22F 2301/052 AluminiumB28B 1/001 Rapid manufacturing of 3D o...B28B 17/0072 Product control or inspectionB29C 64/245 Platforms or substrates sup...B29C 64/386 Data acquisition or data pr...B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manu...B33Y 50/00 Data acquisition or data pr...B33Y 70/10 Composites of different typ...C04B 2235/6026 Computer aided shaping, e.g...G05B 19/4099 Surface or curve machining,...G05B 2219/49007 Making, forming 3-D object,...Y02P 10/25 Process efficiency
