Electrostatic 3D Printer Leveling Material and Mechanical Planer
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Solution Overview
Problem
In three-dimensional (3-D) printing using electrostatic processes, achieving uniformity in layer thickness and surface characteristics is challenging, leading to dimensional inaccuracies and malformations due to non-uniformities in build and support materials, which accumulate to significant errors in the final product.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical planer is used to apply and level a third powder material, the leveling powder, which is selected to be incompatible with the support material, ensuring it forms discrete droplets and remains with the build material, facilitating easy removal of the support material and maintaining part strength, while optimizing particle size for precision and minimizing material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a mechanical planer is used to level the top surface of the stack, then surface uniformity and dimensional accuracy are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A leveling material is introduced as an intermediary substance between the non-uniform stack surface and the planarizing mechanism. This material fills in surface irregularities and provides a uniform working surface, allowing the mechanical planer to operate effectively without requiring complex adaptive mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The surface characteristics of the stack are modified by applying a leveling material that changes the physical parameters of the top surface. This creates a uniform surface geometry that is compatible with simple planarizing mechanisms, transforming the surface from non-uniform to uniform state.
2Ease of manufacture
If support material is used to enable freestanding layer formation, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to non-uniformities accumulating in the final product
Solution Approach 1:
The support material is selectively removed after the build process is complete. This extraction of the support material reveals the final product with high dimensional accuracy, as the support material's temporary presence during manufacturing enabled freestanding layer formation without compromising the final precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Support material is applied in advance during the layer formation process to enable freestanding structure creation. This preliminary action facilitates easy manufacturing during the build process, and the support material is later removed to reveal the precise final product.
3Manufacturing precision
If leveling material is applied to correct surface unevenness, then manufacturing precision is improved, but loss of substance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling material is applied selectively only to areas where surface unevenness exists, rather than uniformly across the entire surface. This localized application corrects surface uniformity issues while minimizing the total amount of leveling material consumed.
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 approach ensures dimensional accuracy and repeatability by correcting unevenness in the 3-D build process, allowing for precise layer formation and easy removal of support material, thereby enhancing the quality of the final 3-D printed part.
Implementation Method 1
a mechanical planer, that is also separate from the ITB, is positioned to contact and level the leveling material on the freestanding stack
Implementation Method 2
a fusing station is positioned to apply heat and pressure to the freestanding stack to fuse the layers together
Implementation Method 3
a curing station is positioned to apply heat and ultraviolet light to the freestanding stack (e.g., to crosslink polymers in the build material)
Implementation Method 4
build and support material development stations positioned to transfer (e.g., electrostatically or mechanically) build and support material to the ITB
Data Source
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AI summary
A three-dimensional (3-D) printer includes build and support material development stations (114, 116) positioned to transfer layers of build and support materials (102, 104) to an intermediate transfer surface (110). A platen (118) having a flat surface is positioned to contact the intermediate transfer surface (110). The intermediate transfer surface (110) transfers a layer of the build and support materials (102, 104) to the flat surface of the platen (118) as the platen (118) contacts one of the layers (102, 104) on the intermediate transfer surface (110). A dispenser (142) is positioned to deposit a leveling material on the layer on the platen (118), and a mechanical planer (144) is positioned to contact and level the leveling material on the layer on the platen (118) to make the top of the leveling material parallel to the flat surface of the platen (118).