# US 11,999,100 B2 · Additive manufacturing system using interlinked repeating subunits

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- Number: US 11,999,100 B2
- Document ID: US11999100B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/947,197
- Filed: 2020-07-22
- Published: 2020-11-12
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2018-04-03
- Applicants: Ivan Li Chuen Yeoh
- Inventors: Ivan Li Chuen Yeoh
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11999100B2

## CPC

- B29C 64/141: using only solid materials
- B22F 12/50: Means for feeding of material, e.g. heads
- B28B 1/001: {Rapid manufacturing of 3D objects by additive depositing, agglomerating or laminating of material (selective deposition modelling of metallic powder B22F10/00; rapid manufacturing of 3D objects in general and in particular of plastics B29C64/00)}
- B29C 64/20: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B29C 70/222: {the structure being shaped to form a three dimensional configuration}
- B29C 70/382: {Automated fiber placement [AFP]}
- B29C 70/388: {Tape placement heads, e.g. component parts, details or accessories}
- B33Y 10/00: Processes of additive manufacturing
- B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B33Y 70/00: Materials specially adapted for additive manufacturing
- B22F 10/18: by mixing binder with metal in filament form, e.g. fused filament fabrication [FFF]
- B22F 10/62: by chemical means
- B22F 10/64: by thermal means (control of energy beam parameters for post heating B22F10/364)
- B22F 10/66: by mechanical means
- B22F 10/80: Data acquisition or data processing
- B22F 12/13: to preheat the material
- B22F 12/222: {for motion along a direction orthogonal to the plane of a layer}
- B22F 12/90: Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors
- Y02P 10/25: Process efficiency
- 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)
- 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
- B28B: SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS; SHAPING SLAG; SHAPING MIXTURES CONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER (foundry moulding B22C; working stone or stone-like material B28D; shaping of substances in a plastic state, in general B29C; making layered products not composed wholly of these substances B32B)
- 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
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

An additive manufacturing system and an input material that overcomes that need to heat and extrude solidifying materials to create a three-dimensional structure. The system arranges subunits of the input material into repeating, interlinked subunits that can be arranged to manufacture a three-dimensional structure that is flexible but also has sufficient structural integrity to retain a desired shape during the additive manufacturing process or post-manufacturing usage. During the additive manufacturing process, the flexible input material can be manipulated and reformed to match the shape and structure of a target three-dimensional structure, upon which the manufactured three-dimensional structure is based. As elongated units of the input material are received by the additive manufacturing machine, the machine assembles the input material into the interlinked, repeating subunits, thereby removing the need to heat and extrude an input material to create a structure.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system capable of incrementally producing a 3D structure, the system comprising:
a material feeder with an amount of an input material disposed thereon;
a receiver in communication with the material feeder, the receiver comprising an end effector, wherein the end effector is adapted to contact at least a portion of the amount of the input material disposed on the material feeder, translate the portion of the amount of the input material away from the material feeder, or both, and wherein the end effector is configured to interloop the portion of the amount of the input material into a plurality of interlinked subunits, a plurality of interwoven subunits, or both that resemble a desired 3D structure by:
forming a subunit of the plurality of interlinked subunits, the plurality of interwoven subunits, or both by traversing the portion of the amount of the input material through at least one loop of at least one previously-formed subunit, thereby interlinking, interweaving, or both the formed subunit with the at least one previously-formed subunit; and
selecting the at least one previously-formed subunit, the selection made such that the interlinked formed subunit, the interwoven formed subunit, or both and at least one previously-formed subunit are disposed adjacent each other, such that a volume of an incrementally produced 3D structure incrementally increases;
a ground platform, wherein the ground platform is configured to anchor the incrementally produced 3D structure thereon;
a protruding tusk, the protruding tusk disposed proximate to the end effector of the receiver, wherein the protruding tusk is disposed proximate to the ground platform such that the incrementally produced 3D structure is disposed between the protruding tusk and the ground platform, and wherein at least one portion of the protruding tusk is configured to contact in between the at least one loop of the plurality of interlinked subunits, the plurality of interwoven subunits, or both of the 3D structure and at least one alternative loop of the plurality of interlinked subunits, the plurality of interwoven subunits, or both of the 3D structure; and
wherein the protruding tusk is adapted to apply a directed force onto at least one portion of the incrementally produced 3D structure, thereby facilitating manipulation of the 3D structure.