System and method for enabling fused deposition metal 3d printing
AssigneeRobotic Research OpCo, LLC
InventorsAlberto Daniel Lacaze, Karl Nicholas Murphy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A metal fused, deposition printer, that uses the thixotropic (or other) properties of a metal (or alloy) to control the viscosity of the material being deposited. In the invention presented in this patent, the viscosity of the metal is controlled by shearing it before, during, or after the deposition process. Since thixotropic (or other) properties allow for the control of the viscosity separately from the temperature, the taught invention allows for precise control of the temperature differential between the layer being deposited, and the substrate layer.
Claims14
-16. (canceled)
A method comprising:
- melting a metal into a slurry using a liquefier comprising both a heating element and a shearing device;
- independently controlling the heating element and the shearing device to cause the metal to have a first temperature and to achieve a viscosity within a thixotropic range;
- dispensing, utilizing an extrusion nozzle in communication with the liquefier, the slurry onto a substrate at a second temperature;
- and
- moving the extrusion nozzle as the slurry is deposited,
- wherein the first temperature is substantially the same as the second temperature.
A system for metal fused deposition 3-D printing, comprising:
- a printing chamber operable to maintain a temperature therein;
- a multi-axis positioning table disposed in the printing chamber and comprising a printing substrate;
- a liquefier comprising a heating element and a shearing device, the heating element and the shearing device being independently controllable to affect properties of a metal printing material;
- a controller operatively coupled to the printing chamber and the liquefier, the controller being configured to:
- control the liquefier such that the metal printing material has a first temperature and a viscosity in a thixotropic range of the metal printing material;
- and
- control the printing chamber such that the substrate has a second temperature substantially the same as the first temperature;
- and
- an extrusion nozzle coupled to receive the metal printing material from the liquefier and deposit the metal printing material on the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.