Method for printing a three-dimensional structure with smooth surfaces

• US 9,662,837 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2013
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: META Platforms Technologies LLC (Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: LUXeXceL Holding B.V. (Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.))
• Inventors: Van De Vrie, Richard, Biskop, Joris
• Primary Examiner(s): TENTONI, LEO B
• Application Number:
  US14/398,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20150093544A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,485 Days
• Field of Search: 264 401, 264308, 264406, 264494, 264496
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/0827 using UV radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 35/0805 using electromagnetic radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/112 using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/393 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/40 Structures for supporting 3D objects during manufacture and intended to be sacrificed after completion thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00442 Curing the lens material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0002 monomers or prepolymers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0058 Liquid or visquous
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0073 smooth
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24479 including variation in thickness

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for printing a three-dimensional structure with a smooth surface comprising the following steps of depositing multiple droplets of printing material at least partially side by side and one above the other and curing the deposited droplets by light irradiation to build up a three-dimensional pre-structure in a first step, and smoothing at least one surface of the three-dimensional pre-structure by targeted placement of compensation droplets in boundary areas of adjacent deposited droplets and/or in edges of the surface to be smoothed in a second step to build up the three-dimensional structure with a smooth surface.

Claims

1. A method for printing a three-dimensional structure with a smooth surface comprising the following steps:

depositing multiple droplets of printing material at least partially side by side and one above the other,

curing the deposited droplets by, light irradiation to build up a three-dimensional pre-structure in a first step; and

smoothing at least one surface of the three-dimensional pre-structure by targeted placement of compensation droplets in boundary areas of adjacent deposited droplets and/or near edges of the surface to be smoothed in a second step to build up the three-dimensional structure with a smooth surface;

wherein the compensation droplets deposited in the second step have a smaller mean diameter than the droplets deposited in the first step, and

wherein the compensation droplets deposited in the second step are cured in the second step by light irradiation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein locations of the compensation droplets are calculated in dependency of locations of the deposited droplets.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the surface of the pre-structure is measured in an intermediate step, performed between the first and the second step, and the locations of the compensation droplets are calculated in dependency of the measured shape of the pre-structure.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the compensation droplets deposited in the second step are cured only after a certain time period has expired in order to let the deposited compensation droplets spread out and/or melt with adjacent deposited droplets before they get cured.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the second step compensation droplets are deposited which are made from another material than the droplets deposited in the first step, and the compensation droplets have a higher viscosity than the droplets deposited in the first step.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein a shape of the surface of the pre-structure is measured in an intermediate step, performed between the first and the second step, and the locations of the compensation droplets are calculated in dependency of the measured shape of the pre-structure.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the compensation droplets deposited in the second step are cured only after a certain time period has expired in order to let the deposited compensation droplets spread out and/or melt with adjacent deposited droplets before they get cured.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the compensation droplets deposited in the second step are cured only after a certain time period has expired in order to let the deposited compensation droplets spread out and/or melt with adjacent deposited droplets before they get cured.

9. The method according to claim 2, wherein in the second step compensation droplets are deposited which are made from another material than the droplets deposited in the first step, and the compensation droplets have a higher viscosity than the droplets deposited in the first step.

10. The method according to claim 3, wherein in the second step compensation droplets are deposited which are made from another material than the droplets deposited in the first step, and the compensation droplets have a higher viscosity than the droplets deposited in the first step.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the second step compensation droplets are deposited which are made from another material than the droplets deposited in the first step, and the compensation droplets have a higher viscosity than the droplets deposited in the first step.