Apparatus and method for the separation of a foil from a material layer
AssigneeDsm IP Assets B.V.
InventorsBrian Bauman, Richard Thomas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for additive fabrication which helps to prevent the newly hardened layer from being separated from the previously formed layer of the object while the foil is peeled from the newly hardened layer is provided. In one embodiment, use of a peel angle helps prevent the newly hardened layer from being separated from the previously formed layer during peeling by distributing the peeling force so that less of the z-direction component of the peeling force is applied to the newly hardened layer. In another embodiment, the object can be oriented to initiate the peel at an area, of the object which results in a lesser initial peeling force applied to the newly hardened layer.
Claims20
A method for additive fabrication where a foil is peeled from a newly hardened layer of build material comprising steps of:
- performing a pre-build assessment of an object comprising determining an object orientation that will result in a peeling force applied to a newly hardened layer of the object during a building of the object, and determining a separation time of the object to be formed;
- and building the object, the object being positioned at the object orientation, from a plurality of individual layers formed by performing steps comprising coating a build material onto a foil and irradiating the build material;
- wherein the separation time is adjustable by a separator that comprises a series of foil orientation adjustment devices, wherein the foil orientation adjustment devices are independently operable to adjust a peel angle and are configured to provide differing separation delays along different locations within an individual layer;
- wherein the separation time is adjustable by a separator that comprises a series of foil orientation adjustment devices, wherein each of the foil orientation adjustment devices is independently operable to create or adjust a peel angle, such that when a first foil orientation adjustment device creates or adjusts a peel angle, a second foil orientation adjustment device is capable of simultaneously not being operated such that no peel angle is created, and wherein each of the foil orientation adjustment devices is configured to provide differing separation delays along different locations within an individual layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.