Thermal stereolithography using slice techniques

• US 6,027,682 A
• Filed: 05/19/1998
• Issued: 02/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: 3D Systems, Inc. (3D Systems Corporation)
• Original Assignee: 3D Systems, Inc. (3D Systems Corporation)
• Inventors: Smalley, Dennis R., Almquist, Thomas A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tentoni, Leo B.
• Application Number:
  US09/080,981
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 264/40.1, 264/40.7, 264/225, 264/308, 264/401, 425/135, 425/145, 425/147, 425/174.4, 425/375, 364/468.27
• US Class Current: 264/401
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/135 the energy source being concentrated, e.g. scanning lasers or focused light sources
• 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 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/4257 applied to monitoring the characteristics of a beam, e.g. laser beam, headlamp beam monitoring arrangements for lasers in general H01S3/0014
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/0037 Production of three-dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70416 2.5D lithography
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/10 Constructive solid geometry [CSG] using solid primitives, e.g. cylinders, cubes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/20 Finite element generation, e.g. wire-frame surface description, tesselation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/17 Surface bonding means and/or assemblymeans with work feeding or handling means

Abstract

The invention involves an improved system for producing a three-dimensional object by forming successive cross-sections of the object from a material which is normally solid but which may be made flowable, including using data manipulation for converting a three-dimensional object representation into cross-sectional representations.

Claims

1. Apparatus for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object into data descriptive of object cross-sections;

means for maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material;

a dispenser responsive to the at least one computer for selectively dispensing successive layers of the flowable building material according to the data descriptive of object cross-sections; and

a building environment which is maintained below the flowable temperature and into which the flowable building material is dispensed.

2. A method for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature, comprising:

providing data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object;

converting the data to data descriptive of object cross-sections;

maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material; and

selectively dispensing successive layers of the flowable building material according to the data descriptive of object cross-sections into a building environment which is maintained below the flowable temperature to form a three-dimensional object.

3. Apparatus for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature,. comprising:

means for maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material;

a building environment maintained at a temperature below the flowable temperature;

at least one computer coupled to a CAD computer, the at least one computer programmed to

convert data descriptive of the object generated on the CAD computer to data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object, and

convert the data descriptive of the faceted object representation to data descriptive of object cross-sections; and

a dispenser responsive to the at least one computer for selectively dispensing successive layers of the flowable material into the building environment according to the data descriptive of object cross-sections.

4. A method for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature, comprising:

maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material;

providing a building environment maintained at a temperature below the flowable temperature;

providing data descriptive of the object generated on a CAD computer;

converting the data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object;

converting the data descriptive of the faceted object representation to data descriptive of object cross-sections; and

selectively dispensing the flowable building material into the building environment according to the data descriptive of object cross-sections to form a three dimensional object.

5. Apparatus for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature, comprising:

means for maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material;

a building environment maintained at a temperature below the flowable temperature;

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the cross-sectional data specifying at least in part, portions of a cross-section where building material is to be dispensed thereby creating areas between the portions on that cross-section substantially without dispensed building material; and

a dispenser responsive to the at least one computer for selectively dispensing successive layers of the flowable building material into the building environment according to the cross-sectional data.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the at least one computer converts data which specifies portions of the cross-section that comprise lines where building material is to be disposed.

7. A method for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature, comprising:

maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material;

providing a building environment maintained at a temperature below the flowable temperature;

converting data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the cross-sectional data specifying at least in part, portions on a cross-section where building material is to be dispensed thereby creating areas between the portions on that cross-section substantially without dispensed building material; and

selectively dispensing successive layers of the flowable building material into the building environment according to the cross-sectional data to form a three-dimensional object.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the portions comprise lines.

9. Apparatus for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature, comprising:

means for maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material;

a building environment maintained at a temperature below the flowable temperature;

at least one computer programmed to convert a representation of the object to representations of object cross-sections, the cross-sectional representations specifying first areas on a cross-section where building material is to be dispensed and second areas on that cross-section substantially without dispensed building material, the first areas enclosing the second areas, the second areas originally being solid in the representation of the object; and

a dispenser responsive to the at least one computer for selectively dispensing successive layers of the flowable building material Into the building environment according to the cross-sectional representations.

10. A method for forming a three-dimensional object on a substantially cross-section by cross-section basis from a building material which is normally in a solid state and which is flowable when maintained at or above a flowable temperature, comprising:

maintaining the building material at or above the flowable temperature thereby forming flowable building material;

providing a building environment maintained at a temperature below the flowable temperature;

converting a representation of the object to representations of object cross-sections, the cross-sectional representation specifying first areas on a cross-section where building material is to be dispensed and second areas on that cross-section substantially without dispensed building material the first areas enclosing the second areas, the second areas originally being solid in the representation of the object; and

selectively dispensing successive layers of the flowable building material into the building environment according to the cross-sectional representations to form a three-dimensional object.