Loading patent…
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsWilliam Langford, Matthew Eli Carney, Benjamin Jenett, Neil Gershenfeld
Estimating the term…
An alternative to additive manufacturing is disclosed, introducing an end-to-end workflow in which discrete building blocks are reversibly joined to produce assemblies called digital materials. Described is the design of the bulk-material building blocks and the devices that are assembled from them. Detailed is the design and implementation of an automated assembler, which takes advantage of the digital material structure to avoid positioning errors within a large tolerance. To generate assembly sequences, a novel CAD/CAM workflow is described for designing, simulating, and assembling digital materials. The structures assembled using this process have been evaluated, showing that the joints perform well under varying conditions and that the assembled structures are functionally precise.
An apparatus for automated assembly of digital materials made up of individual building blocks as parts, each having a discrete set of possible positions and orientations that structurally interlock with neighboring building blocks such that they form a press-fit joint and register to a lattice, the apparatus comprising:
A method of measuring and evaluating the electrical interfaces between parts of a digital material assembly where the performance of joints within a three-dimensional structure is examined, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.