Three dimensional modelling apparatus

• US 5,263,130 A
• Filed: 02/25/1991
• Issued: 11/16/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Objet Geometries
• Original Assignee: Cubital Ltd.
• Inventors: Katz, Mathew, Nagler, Michael, Sheinman, Yehoshua, Bieber, Avigdor, Ben-Ezra, Barry, Dollberg, Yehoshua, Pomerantz, Itzchak, Barequet, Gill, Gilad, Shalev
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K.
• Application Number:
  US07/661,528
• Time in Patent Office: 995 Days
• Field of Search: 364/518, 364/521, 364/522, 364/468, 364/476, 364/472, 425/174, 425/162, 264/22, 264/183, 395/118, 395/119, 395/120
• US Class Current: 345/418
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/40 Structures for supporting 3D objects during manufacture and intended to be sacrificed after completion thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0073 smooth
• 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 50/00 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/0037 Production of three-dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49013 Deposit layers, cured by scanning laser, stereo lithography SLA, prototyping
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49015 Wire, strang laying, deposit fluid, welding, adhesive, hardening, solidification, fuse
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49039 Build layer of different, weaker material between support and prototype

Abstract

A system responsive to coordinate information for automatically providing a three-dimensional physical model of a desired geometry and comprising apparatus for selectably solidifying a solidifiable material on a sequential layer by layer basis characterized in that following selectable solidification of a given layer, the non-solidified portions thereof are removed and replaced by a removable support material which is not solidifiable under the same conditions as the solidifiable material.

Claims

1. A system for automatically providing a three-dimensional physical model of a desired geometry and comprising:

a selectably solidifiable material which solidifies when a given stimulation is applied thereto;

means for generating said given stimulation in response to input data representing the three-dimensional configuration of said physical model; and

means for selectably solidifying some portions of the solidifiable material on a sequential layer by layer basis, thereby defining solidified and non-solidified portions of each layer of the solidifiable material, the means for selectably solidifying being characterized in that following selectable solidification of said layer, the non-solidified portions thereof are replaced by a removable support material which is not solidifiable in response to the given stimulation.

2. A system according to claim 1 and wherein said solidifiable material comprises an active resin having a given shrinkage coefficient mixed with a second resin having a given expansion coefficient in order to provide a mixture which has a zero or near zero shrinkage coefficient.

3. A system according to claim 1 and also comprising:

means for providing coordinate information with respect to a three-dimensional element;

means arranged to receive the coordinate information from the providing means and manipulate the coordinate information so as to adapt it for use in three-dimensional modeling.

4. A system according to claim 3 and also comprising means for selectably associating stored shapes with said three dimensional model.

5. A system according to claim 1 and wherein said support material is removable from said physical model without damaging the shape thereof or requiring disassembly thereof.

6. A system according to claim 1 and comprising a mirror whose reflectance can be modulated in accordance with the coordinate information such that parts of the mirror are reflective, while other parts are not, thereby providing selectable illumination of said solidifiable material.

7. A system according to claim 1 and also comprising means for removing unsolidified solidifiable material comprising means for applying a solvent to the unsolidified solidifiable material, means for mixing the solvent with the unsolidified solidifiable material and means for suctioning the thus-dissolved unsolidified solidifiable material.

8. A system according to claim 7 and also comprising means for solidifying residual unsolidified solidifiable material.

9. A system according to claim 1 and also comprising means for mechanically machining the layers building up the physical model.

10. A system according to claim 1 and wherein said means for selectably solidifying comprises:

means for applying a solidifiable liquid onto a support in layers; and

means for irradiating said solidifiable liquid at a solidification plane defined therein, said means for irradiating including means for irradiating said solidifiable liquid through multiple masks.

11. A system according to claim 1 and also comprising means for providing said removable support material in a melted state and means for subsequently cooling said support material for accelerating the hardening thereof.

12. A system according to claim 1 and comprising fluid strip generating means for removal of non-solidified solidifiable material from said layer, thereby permitting reclamation of said non-solidified solidifiable material.

13. A system according to claim 1 and wherein at least a portion of said removable support material is removed as a solid unit.

14. A system according to claim 1 wherein the given stimulation comprises ultraviolet radiation.

15. A method for automatically providing a three-dimensional physical model of a desired geometry and comprising the steps of:

providing a solidifiable material which solidifies when given stimulation is provided; and

selectably solidifying the solidifiable material on a sequential layer by layer basis, the step of selectably solidifying comprising the step of performing the following steps a plurality of times;

selectably solidifying an individual layer, thereby defining colidified portions of the individual layer and non-solidified portions of the individual layer; and

removing the non-solidified portions of the individual layer and replacing the non-solidified portions by a removable support material which is not solidifiable in response to the given stimulation.

16. A method according to claim 15 and wherein the step of selectably solidifying an individual layer comprises the step of irradiation of solidifiable material in a pattern such that as shrinkage occurs and additional solidifiable liquid moves into place to take up the shrinkage and is solidified, uniform thickness of the entire solidified portion of the solidifiable liquid layer is maintained.

17. A method according to claim 15 and wherein the step of selectably solidifying comprises the steps of irradiation of solidifiable material sequentially in complementary patterns.

18. A method according to claim 15 and also comprising the step of removing said support material by melting it.

19. A method according to claim 15 and also comprising the step of removing said support material by application thereto of a solvent.

20. A method according to claim 15 and also comprising the steps of generating a fluid strip in operative association with said layer for removal of non-solidified solidifiable material therefrom, thereby permitting reclamation of said non-solidified solidifiable material.

21. A method according to claim 15 wherein the given stimulation comprises ultraviolet radiation.

22. A method of automatically providing a three-dimensional physical model of a desired geometry and comprising the steps of:

receiving coordinate information;

producing a plurality of masks on a reusable substrate in accordance with the coordinate information;

after producing each said mask, sequentially irradiating a layer of a solidifiable liquid via the mask; and

for each said layer, replacing the non-solidified portions by a removable support material which is not solidifiable in response to the radiating.

23. A method according to claim 22 and also comprising the step of exposure of the plurality of layers through an individual one of the plurality of masks in a line-by-line manner.

24. A method according to claim 22 and wherein the step of producing a plurality of masks comprises the step of writing each individual one of the plurality of masks directly onto the surface of the solidifiable liquid.

25. A method according to claim 22 and wherein said step of sequentially irradiating comprises the step of selecting the optical geometry to at least partially compensate for overflow of material used in generating the mask, by deliberately enlarging a light source employed in said irradiating step to enlarge the areas of said layer exposed through said mask.

26. A system for automatically providing a three-dimensional physical model of a desired geometry and comprising:

means for selectably solidifying a solidifiable material on a sequential layer by layer basis, the solidifiable material being solidifiable in response to a given stimulation, the means for selectably solidifying comprising at least one of each of the following elements;

selectably solidifying apparatus for selectably solidifying some portions of an individual layer, thereby defining solidified and non-solidified portions thereof; and

means for removing the non-solidified portions of the individual layer and for replacing the non-solidified portions by a removable support material which is not solidifiable in response to said given stimulation.

27. A system according to claim 26 wherein the given stimulation comprises ultraviolet radiation.