Additive manufacturing with soluble build sheet and part marking

• US 9,610,733 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2015
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stratasys Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Stratasys Incorporated
• Inventors: Swanson, William J., Mannella, Dominic F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tentoni, Leo B
• Application Number:
  US14/590,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20160193791A1
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 264129, 264132, 2642971, 2642978, 264308, 264313, 264316, 264317, 264337, 264338
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/448 destructible B29C33/52 takes precedence; in particular used in injection moulding B29C45/4457
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 37/0025 Applying surface layers, e.g. coatings, decorative layers, printed layers, to articles during shaping, e.g. in-mould printing moulding on preformed layers as inserts B29C70/68; applying fluent material to surfaces in general B05
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/106 using only liquids or viscous materials, e.g. depositing a continuous bead of viscous material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/112 using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/118 using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM]
• 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 2829/00 Use of polyvinylalcohols, polyvinylethers, polyvinylaldehydes, polyvinylketones or polyvinylketals or derivatives thereof, as mould material
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 40/20 Post-treatment, e.g. curing, coating or polishing

Abstract

A method for producing three-dimensional parts, which includes printing the three-dimensional parts and associated support structures onto soluble build sheets, marking each three-dimensional part with information relating to the three-dimensional part, and removing the associated support structures and the soluble build sheets from the printed three-dimensional parts with an aqueous solution using a support removal process. The markings remain applied to the three-dimensional parts after the support removal process, and preferably do not detract from aesthetic qualities of the three-dimensional parts.

Claims

1. A method for producing a three-dimensional part, the method comprising:

securing a film to a platen assembly of an additive manufacturing system;

printing the three-dimensional part onto the secured film;

removing the film having the printed three-dimensional part from the additive manufacturing system; and

exposing the three-dimensional part and the film to a solvent to at least partially dissolve the film to remove the film from the three-dimensional part.

2. The method of claim 1, and further comprising printing a support structure onto the secured film in coordination with printing the three-dimensional part, wherein exposing the three-dimensional part and the film to the solvent also exposes the support structure to the solvent to remove the support structure from the three-dimensional part.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent comprises an alkaline aqueous solution.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the alkaline aqueous solution comprises a solution comprising sodium hydroxide, a silicate salt, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the silicate salt comprises sodium metasilicate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the film compositionally comprises a polyvinyl alcohol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the film compositionally comprises a copolymer polymerized from monomers of carboxylic acids, ionic salts of carboxylic acids, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, aromatic momoners, or combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, and further comprising applying a marking to the three-dimensional part that relates to workflow-control information for the three-dimensional part, wherein the marking remains applied to the three-dimensional part after the film is removed from the three-dimensional part.

9. A method for producing a three-dimensional part, the method comprising:

securing a film to a platen assembly of an additive manufacturing system, wherein the film comprises a soluble material;

printing a support structure and at least a portion of the three-dimensional part onto the secured film;

applying a marking to a surface of the three-dimensional part with a material that is substantially invisible to the naked eye;

exposing the film, the support structure, and the three-dimensional part with the applied marking to solvent to at least partially dissolve the film to remove the support structure with the film from the three-dimensional part, wherein the marking remains applied to the three-dimensional part after removing the support structure;

reading the marking on the three-dimensional part after removing the support structure; and

performing at least one post-printing operation based on the read marking.

10. The method of claim 9, and further comprising:

encoding information with a computer system using an encoding scheme;

generating, with the computer system, printing data for the marking based on the encoded information; and

transmitting, with the computer system, the generated printing data for the marking to the additive manufacturing system or to a post-printing device for applying the marking to the three-dimensional part.

11. The method of claim 9, and further comprising removing the support structure and the three-dimensional part from the additive manufacturing system, wherein applying the marking to the three-dimensional part comprises applying the marking onto a surface of the three-dimensional part after being removed from the additive manufacturing system.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein applying the marking to the three-dimensional part comprises jetting the marking onto the three-dimensional part with a jetting print head of the additive manufacturing system.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the material comprises an ultraviolet-fluorescent material, and wherein reading the marking on the three-dimensional part comprises illuminating the marking with an ultraviolet-wavelength light.

14. A method for producing three-dimensional parts with a printing farm, the method comprising:

operating multiple additive manufacturing systems of the printing farm to print the three-dimensional parts and associated support structures onto soluble build sheets;

marking each three-dimensional part with information relating to the three-dimensional part;

removing the associated support structures and the soluble build sheets from the printed three-dimensional parts with a solvent in one or more support removal systems;

reading the markings on the three-dimensional parts after the associated support structures and the soluble build sheets are removed; and

performing one or more post-printing operations on the three-dimensional parts based on the read markings.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein marking each three-dimensional part comprises applying the marking with an ultraviolet-fluorescent material.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein reading the markings on the three-dimensional parts comprises illuminating the markings with an ultraviolet-wavelength light.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein marking each three-dimensional part comprises printing the marking with the additive manufacturing system as an extension of the three-dimensional part.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the solvent comprises an alkaline aqueous dispersion.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the alkaline aqueous dispersion comprises sodium hydroxide, a silicate salt, or a combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the soluble build sheet compositionally comprises a copolymer polymerized from monomers of carboxylic acids, ionic salts of carboxylic acids, alkyl acrylates, alkyl methacrylates, aromatic momoners, or combinations thereof.