Build Platform Mechanical Engagement for Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current additive manufacturing build platforms face issues with unreliable adhesive bonds leading to delamination, especially in large-scale parts, requiring costly and impractical heated chambers, and high human intervention for part removal and finishing operations.
Innovation Solution
The development of build platforms with protrusive and recessive areas that mechanically engage the extruded material, allowing for improved part quality and reduced human intervention through mechanical engagement and thermal bonding, enabling efficient disengagement of completed parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive bonds are used to attach the first layer to the build platform, then the part can be built layer by layer, but the bond becomes unreliable during cooling and shrinking causing delamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the chemical adhesive bonding system with a mechanical engagement system. The build platform includes mechanical features such as teeth, grippers, or clamps that physically engage with corresponding features on the first layer of the part. This mechanical engagement maintains a reliable connection throughout the build process, preventing delamination caused by thermal shrinkage and cooling stresses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the build platform with mechanical engagement features before the build begins. The first layer is designed with integrated engagement features that mate with the platform's mechanical structures, establishing a secure connection before subsequent layers are deposited. This preliminary mechanical bonding prevents delamination issues that plague adhesive-based systems.
2Manufacturing precision
If heated build chambers are used to reduce material shrinkage and delamination, then quality defects are reduced, but the cost and complexity increase significantly for large build envelopes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heating requirement from the overall build chamber environment and applies it locally only to the build platform surface where material is deposited. This localized heating approach maintains proper material adhesion and reduces shrinkage without requiring a fully heated chamber, significantly reducing energy consumption and system complexity for large-scale builds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by providing heating specifically at the interface between the build platform and the first layer, rather than heating the entire build chamber. This targeted approach addresses the adhesion and shrinkage issues at the critical bonding zone without the excessive cost and complexity of uniform chamber heating, making large-scale additive manufacturing more practical.
3Reliability
If textured build platforms are used to optimize adhesive forces, then adhesion is improved, but the platforms are not reusable and add to cost and waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the build platform surface configurable and changeable. The mechanical engagement features can be adjusted, repositioned, or reconfigured between builds, allowing the same physical platform to adapt to different part geometries and requirements. This dynamic capability enables platform reuse across multiple builds while maintaining reliable mechanical engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements universality by designing the build platform with mechanical engagement features that can accommodate various part types and geometries. The platform serves multiple functions: providing mechanical engagement, supporting localized heating, and enabling easy part removal. This multi-functional design increases platform reusability and reduces waste compared to single-use textured platforms.
4Manufacturing precision
If human operators manually remove parts and perform finishing operations, then part quality can be monitored, but throughput is limited and part cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling automatic part removal through the mechanical engagement system. The same mechanical features (teeth, grippers, or clamps) that secure the part during building can automatically disengage and release the completed part. This self-service capability eliminates the need for manual intervention in part removal, increasing throughput while maintaining quality control through consistent mechanical engagement and release.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances part quality by reducing delamination and warping, increases throughput by minimizing human intervention, and maintains the original coordinate system for post-processing operations, making it suitable for large-scale parts like the Strati electric car.
Implementation Method 1
During the build, the thermoplastic material cools and shrinks, breaking the bond between the first layer of the print and the build platform
Implementation Method 2
Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), is by using a heated nozzle to extrude a thermoplastic material to create each 2D layer of a part on a build platform
Implementation Method 3
Some extrusion type additive manufacturing machines include a heated build chamber and/or a heated build platform to reduce material shrinkage and the resulting quality defects
Data Source
AI summary
A build platform and methods of fabricating an article with such a platform in an extrusion-type additive manufacturing machine are provided. A platform body 202 includes features 204 that extend outward from the body 202. The features 204 define protrusive areas 206 and recessive areas 208 that cooperate to mechanically engage the extruded material that forms the initial layers 220 of an article when the article is being fabricated by a nozzle 12 of the additive manufacturing machine 10.