LOM Color 3D Printing via Duplex Ink Penetration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 3D color printing in LOM systems faces issues with ink spreading and intermixing between layers, leading to image blurring and color mixing, especially when printing on porous media like paper, resulting in non-uniform color saturation and visual effects that vary with the orientation of the printed object.
Innovation Solution
A Layered Object Manufacturing (LOM) system that employs a duplex printing module to apply color on both sides of the media layers, using an optimized ink that penetrates the media evenly, and a 3D object gamut mapping method to normalize color intensity across different surface orientations, ensuring accurate color representation regardless of the viewing angle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If inkjet printing is used to apply color to media layers in conventional 3D color printing, then color can be applied to the surface, but the ink spreads into the thickness of the layer and into wider areas causing image blurring and color mixing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from single-sided printing to dual-sided printing, adding a spatial dimension to the printing process. By printing from both the front and back surfaces of the media layer simultaneously, the system achieves complete color saturation throughout the layer thickness without requiring the ink to travel through the entire media thickness from a single side, thereby preventing lateral spread and maintaining image acuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies a sizing agent or filler to the media layer before printing to reduce porosity and create a barrier against ink migration. This preliminary treatment prevents the ink from spreading laterally and mixing between layers, ensuring sharp image edges and accurate color representation.
2Reliability
If ink is applied densely to ensure complete coverage of the media layer surface, then color saturation is improved, but adjacent ink dots converge and mix causing brown or black color mixing
Solution Approach 1:
By printing from both sides of the media layer, the system achieves complete color saturation with lower ink density per side. The ink from front and back surfaces meets in the middle, fully saturating the layer without requiring high ink density that would cause lateral spread and color mixing between adjacent dots.
3Device complexity
If printing is done from one side only of the media layer, then the printing process is simple, but it is necessary to print adjacent dots sufficiently close together which causes color mixing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds the dimension of dual-sided printing capability to the system. By printing from both front and back surfaces, the system can use lower ink density while achieving complete saturation, thereby maintaining color separation and preventing mixing between adjacent dots.
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
The solution effectively reduces image spread and color intermixing, maintaining color fidelity and uniformity across the 3D object, providing better image feature control and consistent color saturation, even when viewed from different angles.
Implementation Method 1
the ink tends to percolate throughout the open porosity of the media causing the image to spread beyond the initial contact area
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a Layered Object Manufacturing, LOM, system configured to form a colored three-dimensional (3D) object, the system comprising: a 3D object gamut mapping module configured to define a 3D object formed from a plurality of surfaces and provide a printing regime consistent with the defined 3D object, wherein the 3D object gamut mapping module is configured to analyze the orientation of a surface of each of a plurality of media layers to be printed in order to adaptively modify the color printed to that layer; and a printer configured to color print at least a portion of a first surface of each of the plurality of layers in accordance with the printing regime. Also provided is a color 3D object media layer printing module for providing a print-through region in a 3D object media layer. Also provided is a 3D object gamut mapping method, and ink for use in a Layer Object Manufacturing (LOM) system including the printing module.