Additive manufacturing using foaming radiation-curable resin
AssigneeIntrnls, Inc.
InventorMatthew Noah Pearlson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
SLA-based additive manufacturing using radiation-curable foams enables the production by 3D printing of lightweight parts having desirable physical and functional attributes. A representative method of manufacturing such items includes processing a radiation-curable resin in liquid form to produce a stable, non-aqueous radiation-curable foam, on-demand deposition of the foam at a build layer of a build surface within a 3D printer, and then curing the non-aqueous radiation-curable foam to produce a layer of a 3D build item. Processing the resin typically includes agitation, mixing, shaking, gas injection, ultrasonic stimulation, or combinations thereof. 3D articles of manufacture made by the above-described manufacturing process are also provided.
Claims7
A method of additive manufacturing in which a three-dimensional (3D) object is built in a layer-by-layer fashion upon a build platform, comprising:
- receiving, at a build layer, a photo-curable foam, the photo-curable foam having been produced by mixing a particle solid into a photo-curable liquid resin;
- depositing the photo-curable foam at the build layer to create a layer of the 3D object, the layer having a thickness up to 500 μm, the thickness being a maximum cure depth;
- and
- with the particle solid present in the deposited photo-curable foam, irradiating the deposited photo-curable foam to create the layer.
A method of improving an additive manufacturing process in which a three-dimensional (3D) object is built at least in part by curing a non-foamed photo-curable liquid resin, the improvement comprising:
- receiving, at a build layer of a build platform, a photo-curable foam, the photo-curable foam having been produced by mixing a particle solid into a photo-curable liquid resin;
- and
- depositing the photo-curable foam at the build layer to create a layer of the 3D object, the layer having a thickness up to 500 μm, the thickness being a maximum cure depth;
- and
- with the particle solid present in the deposited photo-curable foam, irradiating the deposited photo-curable foam to create the layer;
- wherein inclusion of the particle solid in the photo-curable foam increases a cure rate of the deposited photo-curable foam as compared to the cure rate of the non-foamed photo-curable liquid resin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.