Systems and methods for fabricating three-dimensional objects
AssigneesGeorgia Tech Research Corporation, The Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsSuman Das, John W. Halloran
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for fabricating three-dimensional objects. The system includes an optical imaging system providing a light source; a photosensitive medium adapted to change states upon exposure to a portion of the light source from the optical imaging system; a control system for controlling movement of the optical imaging system, wherein the optical imaging system moves continuously above the photosensitive medium. The method includes moving a maskless optical imaging system providing the light beam in a continuous sequence; presenting the light beam on a portion of the photosensitive medium; lowering a plate upon which the photosensitive medium resides; and applying a new layer of the photosensitive medium.
Claims9
A system for fabricating a three-dimensional object, the system comprising:
- an optical imaging system providing a light source;
- a liquid photosensitive medium adapted to change states upon exposure to a portion of the light from the optical imaging system;
- a control system for controlling movement of the optical imaging system with one micron positioning accuracy, wherein the optical imaging system moves continuously above the photosensitive medium to prevent flow related disturbances in the photosensitive medium;
- and
- the optical imaging system comprising:
- a reflector receiving a portion of the light;
- an optical lens system comprising a lens that receives a portion of the reflected light;
- a spatial light modulator for receiving the reflected light from the optical lens system;
- and a projection lens for focusing the light received from the spatial light modulator onto a surface of the photosensitive medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.