# US 11,992,878 B2 · Cure time for 3D printing green parts

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- Number: US 11,992,878 B2
- Document ID: US11992878B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/734,591
- Filed: 2019-02-27
- Published: 2021-07-29
- Granted: 2024-05-28
- Earliest claimed: 2019-02-27
- Assignees: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
- Applicants: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
- Inventors: Fernando Viciano Martin; Jason Cassidy Hower; Sergio Puigardeu Aramendia
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11992878B2

## CPC

- B22F 10/14: by jetting of binder onto a bed of metal powder
- B22F 10/85: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B22F 12/90: Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors
- B29C 64/165: using a combination of solid and fluid materials, e.g. a powder selectively bound by a liquid binder, catalyst, inhibitor or energy absorber
- B29C 64/245: Platforms or substrates (support structures intended to be sacrificed after manufacture B29C64/40)
- B29C 64/393: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B33Y 10/00: Processes of additive manufacturing
- B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B33Y 40/20: Post-treatment, e.g. curing, coating or polishing
- B33Y 50/02: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B22F 3/10: Sintering only
- B22F 12/222: {for motion along a direction orthogonal to the plane of a layer}
- B22F 12/63: Rollers
- C22C 33/02: by powder metallurgy
- Y02P 10/25: Process efficiency
- B22F: WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER (making alloys by powder metallurgy C22C); APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00)
- B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
- C22C: ALLOYS (treatment of alloys C21D, C22F)
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

In one example, a memory having instructions thereon that when executed cause a 3D printing system to determine a cure time for a functional agent applied to print a part as a function of build platform position and then cure the functional agent for the determined cure time.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A 3D printing system, comprising:
a printing unit, including:
a drive to lower a platform incrementally to accommodate a succession of layers of build material;
a layering device to layer powdered build material on to the platform;
an applicator to selectively apply a functional agent to build material on the platform;
a curing unit to cure functional agent applied to the build material; and
a controller programmed to:
instruct the drive to lower the platform incrementally to accommodate the succession of layers of build material that together form a powder bed of build material;
instruct the applicator to apply the functional agent to the build material in some or all of the layers of build material to form a part in the powder bed;
determine a depth of the powder bed;
determine a cure time based on the determined depth; and
display the determined cure time, and/or automatically instruct the curing unit to cure the functional agent for the determined cure time, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein:
the printing unit includes a sensor to sense a position of the platform; and
the controller is programmed to receive, from the sensor, a position of the platform after the part is formed and determine the depth of the powder bed based on the position of the platform.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to determine the depth of the powder bed based on a number of layers of build material to form the powder bed.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the programming to determine the cure time includes programming to determine the cure time according to the equation t=mZ+b where t is the cure time, Z represents the depth of the powder bed, m is a factor for the build material, and b is an offset for the curing unit.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to automatically instruct the curing unit to cure the functional agent part for the determined cure time.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The system of claim 5, wherein the printing and curing units are integrated together into a single unit.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the programming to determine the cure time includes programming to read a look up table with cure times determined as a function of the depth of the powder bed.