Systems and methods for additive manufacturing
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsWilliam Joseph Steele, Christopher David Barnhill, Brian Thomas Thompson, Meredith Elissa Dubelman, Xi Yang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An additive manufacturing apparatus includes a support plate defining a window and a resin support configured to support an uncured layer of resin. A stage is configured to hold one or more cured layers of the resin to form a component positioned opposite a support plate. A radiant energy device is positioned on an opposite side of the resin support from the stage and is operable to generate and project radiant energy in a patterned image through the window. The stage is configured to move simultaneously with the resin support from a first position to a second position in an X-axis direction.
Claims14
A method of operating an additive manufacturing apparatus, the method comprising:
- depositing a layer of a resin onto a resin support;
- moving a stage in a Z-axis direction such that a working surface contacts the layer of the resin;
- curing a first portion of the resin while the stage and the resin support are in a first position relative to a window by applying radiant energy from a radiant energy device through the window;
- translating the stage and the resin support simultaneously along the window in an X-axis direction;
- curing a second portion of the resin while the stage and the resin support are in a second position relative to the window by applying radiant energy from the radiant energy device through the window;
- and
- pneumatically retaining the resin support in a predefined position along a support plate in an activated state during the applying radiant energy and allowing translation of the resin support along the support plate in a deactivated state during the translating the stage and the resin support.
A method of operating an additive manufacturing apparatus, the method comprising:
- depositing a layer of a resin onto a resin support;
- moving a stage in a Z-axis direction such that a working surface contacts the layer of the resin;
- curing a first portion of the resin while the stage and the resin support are in a first position relative to a window by applying radiant energy from a radiant energy device through the window;
- translating the stage and the resin support simultaneously along the window in an X-axis direction;
- curing a second portion of the resin while the stage and the resin support are in a second position relative to the window by applying radiant energy from the radiant energy device through the window;
- and
- altering a first viscosity of the resin to a second viscosity by applying a shearing stress with a viscosity modification assembly operable coupled with the resin support.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.