3D Printing Extraction Plate with Helical Motion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 3D printing technologies using photo-curing polymers are limited by slow printing speeds due to the need for slow and controlled tilting movements to prevent layer tearing and ensure resin refreshment, resulting in production times of hours per centimeter.
Innovation Solution
The use of a supporting plate that moves in a tilting, swinging, rotating, or swirling motion, such as a spiral or helical path, to continuously refresh the resin and reduce the area being printed at any given time, allowing for faster polymer curing and reduced stress on the object, while employing a flexible membrane to prevent layer adhesion to the tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the extraction plate moves slowly to prevent layer tearing, then the structural integrity of the object is improved, but the printing speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The extraction plate transitions from static or slow linear movement to dynamic multi-axis motion including tilting, swinging, rotating, and swirling movements. This dynamic approach allows the plate to minimize contact area with cured layers while maintaining structural integrity through controlled motion trajectories.
Solution Approach 2:
The extraction plate movement extends from one-dimensional linear motion to multi-dimensional motion comprising tilting, swinging, rotating, and swirling components. This dimensional expansion allows the plate to navigate around cured layers more effectively, reducing stress concentration and enabling faster extraction speeds without compromising layer integrity.
2Productivity
If the extraction plate moves quickly to increase printing speed, then productivity is improved, but the risk of layer tearing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs dynamic multi-axis motion control to optimize the extraction plate trajectory, allowing faster movement speeds while maintaining layer integrity through intelligent motion planning that avoids high-stress zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The extraction plate incorporates vibrational movements as part of its multi-axis motion pattern, which can prevent adhesion between the plate and cured layers, enabling faster extraction without increasing tearing risk.
3Device complexity
If the extraction plate moves in a simple tilting motion, then the device complexity is low, but the resin refreshment efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The extraction plate incorporates dynamic multi-axis motion including tilting, swinging, rotating, and swirling components that work together to efficiently refresh resin in the printing region while maintaining manageable device complexity through integrated motion control.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex multi-axis motion sequence is designed to continuously refresh resin in the printing region without interruption, eliminating dead time between layers and maintaining productive action throughout the printing process.
4Productivity
If the extraction plate moves in a complex multi-axis motion, then the resin refreshment efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The extraction plate mechanism is designed to perform multiple functions through a single integrated motion system: layer extraction, resin refreshment, and stress distribution. This multi-functionality achieves high productivity without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The extraction plate's multi-axis motion is controlled to automatically optimize its own trajectory based on the printing process requirements, reducing the need for external complex control mechanisms and simplifying the overall device architecture.
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 significantly increases printing speed by minimizing the time spent on resin refreshment and reducing stress on the object, enabling faster production of three-dimensional objects with intricate shapes and patterns.
Implementation Method 1
photo-curing polymer which is in a special tank; and digital light processing ('DLP') printing, according to which a photo-curing polymer, again in a liquid state in a tank, is exposed to luminous radiation emitted by a device similar to a projector
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for forming three-dimensional objects by photo-curing a photo-curing liquid polymer exposed to a radiation in a space between a base transparent to the radiation and a supporting plate. The supporting plate moves progressively, in some cases continuously, away from said transparent base during the printing process, and that movement is characterized in that it is tilting, swinging, rotating, and/or swirling in three-dimensional space, based on the print geometry, in order to expedite printing speed and resin propagation throughout the build area. In one embodiment, the movement may resemble a spiral or helical path from the standpoint of points around its circumference.