Movable Sheet in Additive Manufacturing for Extended Build Volume
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 3D printing systems face limitations in fabricating long objects and efficiently processing multiple objects simultaneously due to manual handling and restricted build volumes, which hampers rapid and automated fabrication.
Innovation Solution
A long, movable sheet, such as nylon fabric, is used within a fabrication system where a digital micromirror device projects light images onto a vat of liquid photopolymer, allowing for continuous layer formation and attachment to the sheet, enabling the fabrication of extended objects and simultaneous processing of multiple objects without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a conventional 3D printing system with a fixed build surface is used, then the fabrication process is simple to operate, but the build volume is restricted and manual handling is required for each object
Solution Approach 1:
The build surface is transformed from a static platform to a dynamic movable sheet that can travel through the fabrication system. The sheet moves continuously or in steps, allowing the build volume to extend along the travel path rather than being confined to a fixed space. This dynamic approach enables fabrication of long objects and simultaneous processing of multiple objects at different stages along the sheet's path.
Solution Approach 2:
The build volume is extended by adding a temporal and spatial dimension through the sheet's movement. Instead of expanding the build chamber in all directions, the system extends the effective build volume along the direction of sheet travel, allowing objects to be fabricated at different positions along the sheet's path and processed simultaneously in different zones.
2Productivity
If manual removal and transport of objects to post-processing stations is used, then the system is simpler in design, but the fabrication speed and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple fabrication and post-processing operations are merged into a single continuous process along the movable sheet. Different zones along the sheet's path can simultaneously perform fabrication, drying, cleaning, and other post-processing operations on different objects or different portions of the same object, eliminating the need for separate manual handling steps between operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The fabrication and post-processing operations continue without interruption as the sheet moves through the system. Objects undergo continuous processing from fabrication through post-processing steps without being removed or stopped, maintaining continuous productive action throughout the system rather than having discrete manual intervention points.
3Manufacturing precision
If the sheet moves step by step through the vat, then precise layer-by-layer fabrication is achieved, but the fabrication time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet movement alternates between stepping phases (for precise layer formation) and faster transport phases (for moving completed layers or objects through the system). During stepping, precise control maintains layer accuracy; during transport phases, the sheet can move more quickly between processing zones, reducing overall fabrication time while maintaining precision where required.
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 extends the build volume, facilitates rapid and automated fabrication of long objects, and allows for simultaneous processing of multiple objects, significantly improving the efficiency and speed of the additive manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
a digital micromirror device projects a sequence of images unto a surface of the liquid photopolymer. At each step, a projected light image may cure liquid photopolymer, thereby producing a new layer of solid, cured polymer
Data Source
AI summary
A long sheet may travel lengthwise through a fabrication system. The sheet may be much longer than it is wide or high. One or more objects that are being fabricated may be attached to the sheet. The sheet may move, step by step, through a vat of liquid photopolymer while a digital micromirror device projects a sequence of images unto a surface of the liquid. At each step, a projected light image may cure liquid photopolymer, thereby producing solid, cured polymer that becomes part of an object being fabricated. The sheet may be included in the final fabricated object, or may be a sacrificial material that is removed from the final fabricated object. Alternatively, the sheet may be in the shape of a loop. Or, the sheet may be detached from the final fabricated object and then fed through the system again.