US 5,059,359 A · Methods and apparatus for production of three-dimensional objects by stereolithography

Abstract

An improved sterolithography system for generating a three-dimensional object by creating a cross-sectional pattern of the object to be formed at a selected surface of a fluid medium capable of altering its physical state in response to appropriate synergistic stimulation by impinging radiation, particle bombardment or chemical reaction, information defining the object being specially processed to reduce curl and distortion, and increase resolution, strength, accuracy, speed and economy of reproduction even for rather difficult object shapes, and successive adjacent laminae, representing corresponding successive adjacent cross-sections of the object, being automatically formed and integrated together to provide a step-wise laminar buildup of the desired object, whereby a three-dimensional object is formed and drawn from a substantially planar surface of the fluid medium during the forming process.

Claims57

Dependent claims

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to process data descriptive of said three-dimensional object comprised of at least some polygons having vertices, the polygons substantially spanning a surface of the object, by overlaying the descriptive data with a plurality of slicing planes spaced along a slicing axis, placing at least some of the polygon vertices to at least one of the slicing planes to obtain preliminary descriptive data, and then converting the preliminary descriptive data to data descriptive of object cross-sections;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to process data descriptive of said three-dimensional object comprised of at least some polygons having vertices, the polygons substantially spanning a surface of the object, by overlaying the descriptive data with a plurality of slicing planes spaced along a slicing axis, placing at least some of the polygon vertices to at least one of the slicing planes to obtain preliminary descriptive data, and then converting the preliminary descriptive data to data descriptive of object cross-sections, said data descriptive of said cross-sections being created, at least in part, from the preliminary descriptive data at planes offset from the slicing planes;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of object cross-sections, by overlaying the object descriptive data with a plurality of slicing levels spaced along a slicing axis, and generating near-flat skin data on a cross-section from the object descriptive data at more than one of said slicing levels;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data representative of cross-sections of the object, the data representative of said cross-sections specifying, at least in part, lines of solidified material on a cross-section which leave areas of substantially unsolidified material on that cross-section;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into preliminary data descriptive of cross-sections of the object specifying, at least in part, lines of solidified material having a width, and to modify at least some of the preliminary data in order to offset at least some of the lines to at least partially compensate for the width of the lines to obtain data descriptive of said cross-sections;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying first and second blocks of lines of solidified material on a cross-section, with a first exposure specified for the first block of lines which is different from a second exposure specified for the second block of lines;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object into data descriptive of object cross-sections;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A method for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising the steps of:

providing data descriptive of said three-dimensional object comprised of at least some polygons having vertices, the polygons substantially spanning a surface of the object;
processing said object descriptive data by overlaying the object descriptive data with a plurality of slicing planes spaced along a slicing axis, and placing at least some of the polygon vertices to at least one of the slicing planes to obtain preliminary object descriptive data;
converting the preliminary object descriptive data to data representative of object cross-sections;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

2 more elements

providing data descriptive of said three-dimensional object comprised of at least some polygons having vertices, the polygons substantially spanning a surface of the object;
processing said descriptive data by overlying said data with a plurality of slicing planes spaced along a slicing axis, and placing at least some of the polygon vertices to at least one of the slicing planes to obtain preliminary object descriptive data;
converting the preliminary object descriptive data to data representative of object cross-sections, the data representative of said cross-sections being created, at least in part, from the object descriptive data at planes offset from the slicing planes;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

2 more elements

providing data descriptive of the three-dimensional object;
converting the object descriptive data into data representative of object cross-sections by overlaying the object descriptive data with a plurality of slicing levels spaced along a slicing axis, and generating near-flat skin data for a cross-section from said object descriptive data at more than one of said slicing levels;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

providing data descriptive of the three-dimensional object;
converting the data descriptive of the object into preliminary data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the preliminary data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying lines of solidified material having a width;
modifying at least some of the data to offset at least some of the lines to at least partially compensate for the width of the lines to obtain data descriptive of said cross-sections;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object substantially cross-section by cross-section.

2 more elements

providing data descriptive of the three-dimensional object;
converting the data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying first and second blocks of lines of solidified material on a cross-section, with a first exposure specified for the first block of lines which is different from a second exposure specified for the second block of lines;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

A method for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising the steps of:

providing data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object;
converting the object descriptive data to data descriptive of object cross-sections;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, said system comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of object cross-sections by generating data descriptive of a boundary of a cross-section, and boundary orientation information, and generating skin data, specifying lines of solidified material within the boundary of that cross-section, at least in part, from the data descriptive of the boundary and the boundary orientation information;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, said system comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of object cross-sections including generating data descriptive of a boundary of a cross-section, and boundary orientation information, and then generating cross-hatch data, specifying lines of solidified material within the boundary of that same cross-section, at least in part, from the data descriptive of the boundary and the boundary orientation information;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying first and second blocks of lines of solidified material on a cross-section, and specifying a spacing between the lines in the first block which is different from a spacing between the lines in the second block;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

at least one computer including a CAD computer, programmed to convert data descriptive of the object, generated on the CAD computer, to data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object, and to convert the data descriptive of the faceted representation to data descriptive of object cross-sections;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon selective exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert a descriptive representation of the object to representations of object cross-sections, the representations of said cross-sections specifying a surface comprised of substantially transformed material enclosing at least some material that is not substantially transformed in an area specified to be solid by the descriptive representation;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said representations of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data representative of object cross-sections by first generating preliminary cross-sectional data from the data descriptive of the object located at spaced splicing planes, and then adding at least some near-flat data to the preliminary cross-sectional data to form said data representative of said cross-sections, which specifies an object which is substantially uniformly oversized compared to the object described by the object descriptive data;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data representative of object cross-sections by first generating preliminary cross-sectional data from the object descriptive data located at spaced slicing planes, and the removing at least some near-flat data from the preliminary cross-sectional data to form said data representative of said cross-sections which specifies an object which is substantially uniformly undersized compared to the object specified by the object descriptive data;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data representative of a number of object cross-sections, which are situated between an up-facing feature of the object spaced from a down-facing feature of the object by a distance, by utilizing a number of slicing planes spaced along a slicing axis between the up and down-facing features, which planes substantially span the distance between the up- and down-facing features, wherein the number of cross-sections is one less than the number of slicing planes;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A method for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon selective exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

providing data descriptive of the object;
utilizing a number of slicing planes, spaced along a slicing axis between an up-facing feature of the object and a down-facing feature of the object spaced by a distance from the up-facing feature, which planes substantially span the distance between the up- and down-facing features, to convert the data descriptive of the object into data representative of a number of object cross-sections situated between the up- and down-facing features, wherein the number of cross-sections is one less than the number of slicing planes;
and
selective exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

providing data descriptive of the object;
converting the data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying first and second blocks of lines of solidified material on a cross-section, and specifying a spacing between the lines of the first block which is different from a spacing between the lines of the second block;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

A system for forming three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying first and second blocks of lines of solidified material on a cross-section, the lines in the first block specified to be exposed before the lines on the second block;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

providing data descriptive of the object;
converting the data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying first and second blocks of lines of solidified material on a cross-section, the lines in the first block specified to be exposed before the lines in the second block;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying a first block of lines of solidified material on a cross-section generated from a first boundary, and a second block of lines of solidified material on the cross-section generated from a second boundary;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

providing data descriptive of the object;
converting the data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying a first block of lines of solidified material on a cross-section generated from a first boundary, and a second block of lines of solidified material on the cross-section generated from a second boundary;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section out of a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying a first boundary on a cross-section generated from the data descriptive of the object located at at least one slicing plane, and specifying a second boundary on the cross-section generated from the data descriptive of the object located at at least one different slicing plane;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

providing data descriptive of the object;
converting the data descriptive of the object into data descriptive of cross-sections of the object, the data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying a first boundary on a cross-section generated from the data descriptive of the object located at at least one slicing plane, and specifying a second boundary on the cross-section generated from the data descriptive of the object located at at least one different slicing plane;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

providing data descriptive of the object;
converting the data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of object cross-sections including generating data descriptive of a boundary on a cross-section, and boundary orientation information, and then generating cross-hatch data specifying lines of solidified material within the boundary at least in part from the data descriptive of the boundary and the boundary orientation information;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data representative of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

1 more element

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of object cross-sections, including generating at least some boundary data specifying forming a first block of lines of solidified material on a cross-section, and generating cross-hatch data specifying forming a second block of lines of solidified material on the same cross-section which leaves areas of substantially unsolidified material on that cross-section;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said cross-sectional data to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of object cross-sections, including generating preliminary cross-sectional data specifying lines of solidified material on the cross-sections, and removing any of said preliminary data specifying duplicate lines of solidified material on the cross-sections;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of object cross-sections, said data descriptive of said cross-sections specifying over-curing at least some regions on a cross-section that overlay regions on a previous cross-section to insure adhesion between these cross-sections;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of object cross-sections, including generating preliminary data specifying lines of solidified material on the cross-sections, and ordering the preliminary data to reduce jumping distance of said beam of said synergistic stimulation;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said beam of said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

providing data descriptive of the object generated on a CAD computer;
converting the data descriptive of the object to data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object;
converting the data descriptive of the faceted representation of data descriptive of object cross-sections;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

2 more elements

A system for forming a three-dimensional object cross-section by cross-section from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to synergistic stimulation, comprising:

at least one computer programmed to convert data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object, the faceted representation comprising a plurality of facets substantially spanning a surface of the object, including specified facets having slopes with respect to the surface, to data descriptive of cross-sections of the object utilizing at least in part information representative of the slopes;
and
means for selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

providing data descriptive of a faceted representation of the object, the faceted representation comprising a plurality of facets substantially spanning a surface of the object, including specified facets having slopes relative to the surface of the object, to data descriptive of object cross-sections utilizing at least in part information representative of said slopes;
and
selectively exposing layers of said material to said synergistic stimulation in accordance with said data descriptive of said cross-sections to form said object cross-section by cross-section.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Methods and apparatus for production of three-dimensional objects by stereolithography

Life of this patent

Methods and apparatus for production of three-dimensional objects by stereolithography

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims57