Pressure-Assisted Fluid Extraction for 3D Inkjet Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 3D printing technologies, particularly inkjet-based systems, face limitations in deposition rate and economic practicality due to their low volume per unit time, which restricts their ability to produce functional parts efficiently, despite offering fine resolution and the capability to print multiple materials quickly.
Innovation Solution
A 3D printing system that incorporates an inkjet print head to deposit a suspension of particulate material in a liquid vehicle onto a substrate, utilizing a pressure differential to rapidly remove the liquid vehicle and form dried layers, allowing for faster printing while maintaining fine resolution, and a transfer system to stack these layers for building.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If inkjet printing is used to deposit material layers, then fine resolution and multi-material capability are achieved, but deposition rate and volume per unit time are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The process segments the deposition and drying functions into separate stages. The inkjet print head deposits liquid ink suspending particulate material, then a separate drying system removes the liquid vehicle. This allows the inkjet system to maintain its fine resolution capability while the drying system enables faster processing by rapidly removing liquid to form dried layers suitable for stacking.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid vehicle is removed in advance before the layer is stacked with other layers. By performing the drying action preliminarily, the system prepares the layer in a stable, dry state that can be immediately stacked, eliminating the need for slow evaporation during the stacking process and thereby increasing overall deposition rate.
2Productivity
If jetted binder printing is used to achieve high deposition rates, then volume per unit time increases, but the ability to print precise thin layers is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the functions of deposition and drying. The inkjet print head handles precise deposition of thin layers with controlled material distribution, while the separate drying system handles the removal of liquid vehicle. This segmentation allows each subsystem to optimize for its specific function, maintaining precision while enabling faster processing.
3Speed
If liquid vehicle is not removed from printed layers, then printing speed is maintained, but the layers cannot be properly stacked for building three-dimensional structures
Solution Approach 1:
The drying action is performed preliminarily on each layer before it is stacked. By removing the liquid vehicle in advance, the layer is prepared in a stable, dry state that can be immediately stacked with other layers. This preliminary drying enables continuous stacking operations without waiting for slow evaporation, thereby maintaining printing speed while enabling proper layer stacking for three-dimensional structure building.
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 enhances the speed of 3D printing while preserving the fine resolution of inkjet technology, enabling the creation of functional parts with high-performance engineering materials like ceramics and metals, and allows for the rapid removal of the majority of the liquid vehicle, overcoming the limitations of existing inkjet technology.
Implementation Method 1
an inkjet print head configured to deposit an ink including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle onto the substrate to form a printed layer
Implementation Method 2
a removal system configured to use a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer to form a dried layer
Data Source
AI summary
A three-dimensional (3D) inkjet printer is configured to build up an object by printing a series of layers and stacking them to form the object. In order to speed printing, drying of each layer is accelerated by using a pressure differential to extract liquid vehicle from the ink, and by moving the printed layer away from the inkjet print heads before drying so that the inkjet print heads may print the next layer. The dried printed layer may also be conditioned and/or cured. Dried printed layers are stacked at a build station to assemble the finished object.