Method for producing ceramic stereolithography parts
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorsMichael Christopher Maguire, Michael Dean Baldwin, Max Eric Schlienger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In addition to working curves, other equally important, but previously not understood, relationships exist for both the green strength and the cured line width of ceramic-loaded resins. These characteristics of cured parts are strongly affected by the dose rate, a parameter usually controlled with laser power. Multiple smaller doses are used to produce a total integrated dose. Multiple exposures benefit from using high power to produce a fast process. However, since the dose for a given layer is broken into several smaller doses, the negative effect of high power on strength and cured linewidth is reduced.
Claims36
A method of manufacturing a ceramic stereolithography component, comprising:
- determining a maximum interexposure period;
- providing a ceramic loaded resin;
- performing a first exposure of a line in a first layer of the ceramic loaded resin;
- and
- performing a second exposure of the line within the maximum interexposure period.
A method of manufacturing a stereolithography component, comprising:
- determining a maximum interexposure period;
- determining an energy dose required to cure a layer in a ceramic loaded resin;
- sub dividing the energy dose into a plurality of subdoses, each subdose being individually insufficient to cure the layer;
- initiating the provision of a first subdose to the layer;
- and
- initiating the provision of a subsequent subdose to the layer within the maximum interexposure period after the initiation of the first subdose.
A method of manufacturing a stereolithography component using a stereolithography system, comprising:
- determining a maximum interexposure period;
- determining a scan rate of the stereolithography system;
- determining a maximum number of components which can be scanned by the stereolithography system at the scan rate and within the maximum interexposure period;
- and
- within the maximum interexposure period:
- completing a first scan of a ceramic loaded resin for a quantity of components no greater than the maximum number of components;
- and
- initiating a second scan of the ceramic loaded resin for the quantity of components.
A method of reducing cured linewidth of a green part produced by stereolithography, comprising:
- determining a first relationship between an overcure depth and a cured linewidth for a single exposure cure;
- determining a second relationship between the overcure depth and the cured linewidth for a multiple exposure cure;
- selecting an overcure depth where the cured linewidth in the second relationship is less than the cured linewidth in the first relationship;
- and
- providing a multiple exposure cure of a photo-polymerizable resin to reach the selected overcure depth.
A method of manufacturing a component comprising:
- building the component layer by layer via stereolithography using a photocurable resin containing a dispersed ceramic constituent and minimizing interlayer draw time by using multiple smaller doses to produce a total integrated dose necessary for a cure depth for the layer.
A method of improving the quality of an apparatus manufactured using ceramic stereolithography by controlling curing of each layer based on a working curve of the resin and further based on other temporal parameters.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.