Laser-assisted controlled heating hotspot mitigation for 3D printing
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsPatrick Y. Maeda, Adrian Lew, Dogan Timucin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method of three-dimensional printing that includes heating a portion of a build surface by impinging multiple laser pulses onto the build surface in a time controlled pattern to provide a desired heated build surface prior to depositing a molten material onto the build surface. The time controlled pattern of laser pulses includes at least one heating period and at least one cooling period, and the time for the cooling period is determined by the cooling time of the build surface material, and the temperature differences between the original temperature of the build surface and the desired temperature of the build surface material.
Claims20
A method of three-dimensional printing comprising:
- providing a molten material to a printhead of a three-dimensional printer;
- measuring an original temperature of a build surface;
- determining a temperature difference between the original temperature of the build surface and a desired temperature of the build surface;
- determining a number of laser pulses to achieve the temperature difference;
- and
- calculating an increase in temperature needed during each of the laser pulses;
- heating the build surface up to the desired temperature of the build surface temperature by impinging more than one laser pulses onto the build surface in a time controlled pattern;
- and
- depositing the molten material onto the build surface that was heated to the desired temperature to form a layer.
A method of stepwise laser-assisted heating in a three-dimensional printing process comprising:
- estimating an original temperature on a build surface;
- calculating a temperature difference between the original temperature of the build surface and a desired temperature of the build surface;
- determining a number N of incremental steps to increase the original temperature on the build surface to the desired temperature of the build surface;
- calculating a temperature change needed during each of the N incremental steps using a formula (1/(N−1)) multiplied by the calculated temperature difference;
- and
- heating the build surface for the determined number N of incremental steps using a laser.
A method of three-dimensional printing comprising:
- providing a molten material to a printhead of a three-dimensional printer;
- measuring an original temperature of a build surface;
- determining a temperature difference between the original temperature of the build surface and a desired temperature of the build surface;
- heating the build surface up to the desired temperature of the build surface temperature by impinging more than one laser pulses onto the build surface in a time controlled pattern;
- and
- depositing the molten material onto the build surface that was heated to the desired temperature to form a layer,
- wherein the time controlled pattern includes one or more of heating time periods when the laser pulse is turned on, and one or more cooling time periods in between each one or more heating time period when the laser pulse is turned off.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.