3D Printer Adjustable Post Platform for Overhang Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional FDM 3D printing faces challenges in printing flowable filament material between elevated structures due to its fluid-like properties, necessitating manual creation and placement of supporting structures, which increases complexity, cost, and time.
Innovation Solution
A 3D printer with a build platform featuring adjustable posts that can be raised to support flowable filament across gaps between elevated structures, eliminating the need for manual supporting structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual supporting structures are created and placed to support flowable filament between elevated structures, then the filament can be successfully deposited, but the manufacturing complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The build platform automatically generates and positions supporting structures using its own movable posts without requiring external manual intervention. The system serves itself by detecting the need for support and autonomously providing it through programmable post elevation, eliminating the manual creation and placement process while ensuring reliable filament deposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The build platform incorporates movable posts that can dynamically adjust their elevation during the printing process. These posts transition between retracted and elevated states based on real-time printing requirements, allowing the system to adaptively provide support where and when needed rather than requiring pre-configured static supporting structures.
2Reliability
If manual supporting structures are created and placed to support flowable filament between elevated structures, then the filament can be successfully deposited, but the manufacturing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The build platform proactively elevates the necessary posts to appropriate heights before the nozzle arrives at the corresponding location to deposit filament. This preliminary positioning of supporting structures eliminates waiting time and ensures immediate support availability, preventing printing interruptions while maintaining efficient workflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The system autonomously manages the timing and positioning of supporting structures without requiring manual intervention at each step. The automated coordination between post elevation and filament deposition eliminates the time-consuming manual processes of creating, positioning, and removing supporting structures, significantly reducing overall manufacturing time.
3Ease of manufacture
If movable posts are raised to support filament across gaps, then manual supporting structures are eliminated, but the build platform complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable posts serve multiple functions: they act as supporting structures for filament deposition, serve as formers for creating overhanging features, and can be selectively positioned at various locations across the build platform. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate manual operations into a single integrated system, making the printing process easier despite the added mechanical capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The build platform utilizes programmable control to dynamically change the elevation parameter of posts based on printing requirements. By controlling the height parameter of movable posts through software, the system achieves complex supporting structures without proportional increases in physical complexity, as the same mechanical posts can be positioned at different heights for different printing scenarios.
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional supporting structures are used, then simple build platforms can be used, but the ability to print complex geometries is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The movable posts provide dynamic support that can be adjusted during printing to accommodate complex geometries with varying height requirements and multiple overhanging features. Unlike static supporting structures, the posts can be repositioned and re-elevated as the print progresses, enabling the fabrication of geometries that would be impossible with fixed supporting structures while maintaining a relatively simple build platform design.
Data Source
AI summary
A three-dimensional (3D) printer includes a platform assembly on which a 3D object can be built, an extruder, a filament feeding assembly feeding a filament to the extruder, a movable nozzle receiving heated filament from the extruder in a flowable form and directing the flowable filament material on the platform assembly to create the 3D object, and a controlling circuit for controlling an operation of the 3D printer. The platform assembly may include first and second plates separated from one another, a plurality of elongated structures connecting the first and second plates to one another, and a plurality of post assemblies disposed between the first and second plates. The post assemblies may include posts that can be selectively raised and lowered to protrude over the plate, from among the first and second plates, on which the 3D object will be built to assist with the building process.