Roll Coater Additive Manufacturing for Scratch-Free Lamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing additive manufacturing apparatuses using blades to form layers are limited by high-speed scratch damage, resulting in slow manufacturing speeds.
Innovation Solution
An additive manufacturing apparatus and method utilizing a roll coater with a first and second roll, where the second roll rotates faster than the first, allowing for higher speed lamination of thin films without scratch damage, and optionally including a third roll for forming thicker films, with ceramic surfaces to prevent wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a blade is used to flatten the material at high speed, then manufacturing speed increases, but scratch damage occurs to the layer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the blade-based mechanical flattening system with a roll coater system consisting of a first roll and a second roll. The material is fed between these rolls, which rotate at different peripheral speeds to evenly flatten the material without causing scratch damage. This substitution of mechanical action from blade contact to roll compression resolves the contradiction between high-speed operation and layer integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters by using two rolls rotating at different peripheral speeds. The first roll rotates at a first peripheral speed and the second roll rotates at a second peripheral speed that is different from the first. This parameter differentiation allows the material to be evenly flattened through the speed differential without the high-speed scratch damage caused by blade contact.
2Manufacturing precision
If the blade moves at low speed to avoid scratch damage, then layer quality is maintained, but manufacturing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the single blade mechanical system with a dual-roll coater system where the first roll and second roll work together. The rolls can operate at optimized speeds to maintain layer uniformity while achieving higher manufacturing speeds compared to the low-speed blade operation. The roll compression mechanism provides even flattening without the time penalty of low-speed blade movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic operation by having the first roll and second roll rotate at different peripheral speeds. This dynamic speed differential allows the system to adapt to different manufacturing requirements, maintaining layer uniformity through controlled material flow while enabling higher operational speeds than static low-speed blade operation.
3Productivity
If the roll coater moves at high speed on the stage, then manufacturing efficiency increases, but thin film lamination reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic speed control where the first roll and second roll rotate at different peripheral speeds. This dynamic configuration allows the roll coater to move at high speeds on the stage while maintaining reliable thin film lamination. The speed differential between rolls ensures proper material flow and adhesion even during high-speed operation, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing efficiency and lamination reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An additive manufacturing apparatus configured to laminate a plurality of thin films to form a modeled object, the additive manufacturing apparatus including a stage; a roll coater, including a first roll and a second roll, configured to form each of the thin films, the thin film being made of a modeling material, the modeling material being a material of the modeled object; and a drive unit configured to move the roll coater on the stage, the roll coater: is arranged so that the second roll is located on the stage; passes the modeling material between a first roll surface of the first roll and a second roll surface of the second roll; and the drive unit moves the roll coater on the stage in a direction orthogonal to the second axis, and thereby laminates the thin film, formed on the second roll surface, onto the stage.