Method of smoothing a surface of an additively manufactured part
AssigneeAdditive Manufacturing Technologies Limited
InventorsJoseph Gwilliam CRABTREE, Konstantin RYBALCENKO, Andre GAIO
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Abstract
Provided is an apparatus for post-processing an additively manufactured polymer part, comprising a reservoir (402) for containing a liquid solvent; a processing chamber (408) in controllable fluid communication with the reservoir; and a controller (418) configured to controllably post-process an additively manufactured polymer part located in the processing chamber by the solvent responsive to at least one parameter associated with the part. A method for post-processing an additively manufactured polymer part is also provided.
Claims21
Apparatus for post-processing an additively manufactured polymer part, comprising:
- a reservoir for containing a liquid solvent;
- a processing chamber in controllable fluid communication with the reservoir;
- and
- a controller configured to controllably post-process the additively manufactured polymer part located in the processing chamber by the solvent responsive to at least one parameter associated with the part, and
- wherein the reservoir is provided as a removable solvent cartridge.
A method of post-processing an additively manufactured polymer part, comprising:
- providing an apparatus for post-processing an additively manufactured polymer part;
- locating an additively manufactured polymer part in a processing chamber of said apparatus, said part having an upper layer with a surface in a first state;
- coupling a removable solvent cartridge, containing a liquid solvent, to the apparatus;
- transferring a dose of solvent from the removable solvent cartridge to a dosing chamber, wherein the quantity of solvent transferred from the removable solvent cartridge to the dosing chamber is controlled based on at least one parameter associated with the additively manufactured polymer part;
- creating a vaporized solvent by heating a dose of said liquid solvent so as to cause the dose of solvent to vaporize;
- delivering the vaporized solvent into the processing chamber;
- creating a condensate on the surface of the additively manufactured polymer part from the vaporized solvent;
- maintaining the condensate on the surface of the additively manufactured polymer part for a pre-determined exposure time;
- and
- using the condensate to dissolve at least a portion of the upper layer of the additively manufactured polymer part to bring said surface of the upper layer into a second state, wherein the second state is smoother than the first state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.