Three-dimensional printing control
AssigneeChromatic 3D Materials, Inc.
InventorsCora Leibig, Daniel Gilbert, Paul Hopkins, Michael Garrod
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A three-dimensional (3D) object production system and methods for 3D printing reactive components to form a thermoset product. The disclosure relates to Use of a 3D printer having a controller comprising one or more processors to print a 3D object. The disclosure also provides a 3D object production system and methods for 3D printing comprising adjusting one or more parameters of an at least one actuator to produce a 3D object based on a reaction rate between reactive components.
Claims20
A three-dimensional (3D) object production system comprising:
- an extruded thermoset printing apparatus comprising:
- a printhead comprising a mixing chamber to receive and mix at least a first reactive component and a second reactive component to provide a partially reacted thermoset product operably coupled to an extrusion nozzle to deliver the partially reacted thermoset product to form a 3D object;
- a metering apparatus to individually control at least an amount and a flow rate of one or more of the reactive components into the mixing chamber;
- and
- a controller comprising one or more processors operably coupled to the extruded thermoset printing apparatus, wherein the controller is configured to:
- receive a 3D object design;
- produce a 3D object based on the 3D object design using the partially reacted thermoset product delivered by the extruded thermoset printing apparatus, and
- adjust one or more printing parameters of producing the 3D object based on a reaction rate between the first reactive component and the second reactive component to provide the partially reacted thermoset product according to the 3D object design,
- wherein the one or more printing parameters comprise at least one of:
- a time per layer of thermoset product;
- a flow rate of a proportion of at least one reactive component relative to another reactive component into the mixing chamber, and relative to a volume of the mixing chamber;
- a flow rate of the thermoset product through the extrusion nozzle relative to a volume of the mixing chamber;
- a pressure of at least one of the reactive components flowing into the mixing chamber;
- and
- wherein the system is configured to overlap an end of a first layer with a portion of a second layer deposited over the first layer;
- and/or
- utilize a different flow rate of the thermoset product through the extrusion nozzle based on a cross-section of a portion of the 3D object proximate to a start and/or stop point of one or more layers, to reduce and/or hide a seam of the 3D object.
The system according to 13, wherein the controller is configured to calculate one or more flow properties of the partially reacted thermoset product to produce the 3D object based on the 3D object design, and
- wherein the adjusting of the of one or more of the reactive components using the metering apparatus based on one or more of the flow properties of the partially reacted thermoset product comprises comparing the actual one or more flow properties to the one or more calculated flow properties.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.