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Method of making a three-dimensional object by stereolithography

  • US 5,182,055 A
  • Filed: 05/17/1991
  • Issued: 01/26/1993
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1988
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. In a stereolithographic method for constructing an object from a medium solidifiable upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising the successive formation of layers of the medium applied to previously formed layers of the medium, each layer of the medium having a desired thickness, and selectively exposing the layers to synergistic stimulation in a pattern corresponding to cross-sections of the three-dimensional object, to build up the three-dimensional object layer by layer, the pattern including paths of exposure defined by vectors, with the exposure of the vectors resulting in a cure depth and a cure width, the improvement comprising the steps of:

  • partially solidifying a portion of a first layer according to a first set of vectors, the vectors of the first set being substantially parallel to each other with their exposure specified such that the resulting cure depth of the vectors of the first set is less than the desired thickness of the first layer of the medium and with adjacent vectors of the first set spaced apart from each other by at least the cure width; and

    at least partially solidifying the portion of the first layer with a second set of vectors with adjacent vectors of the second set spaced apart from each other by at least the cure width, the vectors of the second set being substantially parallel to each other and not parallel to the vectors of the first set, such that at least some of the vectors of the second set intersect at least some of the vectors of the first set, the vectors of the second set having exposure specified such that their resulting cure depth achieves adhesion to the previously formed layer only at points where vectors of the second set overlap vectors of the first set, with no adhesion occurring at points where vectors of the first set and second set do not overlap.

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