Actinic activation shaping system and method

A method of forming the three dimensional configuration of an article, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a plurality of sheets of polymer material, the thickness of each sheet corresponding to an incremental heighth of the article,
• b) providing means for exposing an actinic radiation image patterned to correspond with the configuration of an incremental heighth of the article on a sheet of the plurality,
• c) exposing actinic radiation images patterned to correspond with configurations of successive incremental heighths of the article on successive sheets of the plurality to effect a change of chemical reactivity on each of the successive sheets corresponding to the patterned images exposed on each sheet,
• d) providing means for stacking successive sheets of the plurality on previously exposed sheets to form a matrix,
• e) providing an unpatterned energy source for segregating the configuration of the article from the matrix by effecting a reactive change in the molecular structure of the polymer material of each of the sheets which comprise the matrix as a function of the differential in the chemical reactivity between the exposed and unexposed portions of each sheet,
• f) segregating the configuration of the article from the matrix by effecting a reactive change in the molecular structure of the polymer material of each of the sheets as a function of the differential in chemical reactivity by exposing the matrix to the unpatterned energy source, and
• g) providing means for separating the segregated configuration of the article from the matrix by altering the dimensional stability of the polymer material as a function of the changed molecular structure.

A method of forming the three-dimensional configuration of an article from a plurality of sheets of polymer material, the thickness of each sheet corresponding to an incremental heighth of the article, the method comprising:

• (a) facilitating the curing of at least a portion of the polymer material of each sheet by exposing each sheet to actinic radiation configured in the shape of an incremental heighth of the article,
• (b) stacking successive exposed sheets over previously exposed sheets to form a matrix,
• (c) curing the portions of the polymer material whose curing has been facilitated to segregate the shape of the article from the matrix, and
• (d) simultaneously removing from all of the sheets which comprise the matrix, the portions of each sheet which do not comprise the configuration of the article.

A method of forming the three dimensional configuration of an article, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a plurality of sheets of polymer material, the thickness of each sheet corresponding to an incremental heighth of the article,
• b) exposing actinic radiation images patterned to correspond with configurations of successive incremental heighths of the article on successive sheets of the plurality to effect a change of chemical reactivity on each of the successive sheets corresponding to the patterned images exposed on each sheet,
• c) stacking successive sheets of the plurality on previously exposed sheets to form a matrix,
• d) segregating the configuration of the article from the matrix by effecting a reactive change in the molecular structure of the polymer material of each of the sheets which comprise the matrix as a function of the differential in the chemical reactivity between the exposed and unexposed portions of each sheet, and
• e) separating the segregated configuration of the article from the matrix by altering the dimensional stability of the polymer material as a function of the changed molecular structure.