Segmented Substrate Plate for Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing additive manufacturing methods face challenges in reducing the time from receiving an order for small products to their completion, especially for products with dimensions much smaller than the substrate plate, leading to low productivity and long manufacturing times due to the need for bundling orders and simultaneous production on a single substrate plate.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using multiple detachable substrate plate segments that can be processed simultaneously, allowing for staggered production start times and individual completion times, with material layers applied and cured across segments, enabling quasi-continuous production and efficient removal of uncured material without affecting adjacent segments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple products are manufactured simultaneously on a single substrate plate, then productivity increases, but the manufacturing time for individual products increases
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate plate is divided into multiple detachable segments, allowing independent processing of each segment. This enables simultaneous manufacturing of multiple products across different segments while maintaining the ability to complete and remove individual products independently, thus resolving the contradiction between batch production efficiency and individual product turnaround time
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple substrate plate segments are prepared in advance and positioned in the production device before manufacturing begins. This allows the manufacturing process to start immediately upon receiving an order for any product, rather than waiting for all products to be fully defined, thereby reducing individual product manufacturing time while maintaining high productivity
2Productivity
If a single substrate plate is used for manufacturing, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate plate is segmented into multiple detachable sections that can be independently handled, loaded, and processed. This segmentation increases manufacturing throughput by enabling parallel processing while keeping each segment relatively simple in design, thus improving productivity without substantially increasing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The segmented substrate plate design serves multiple functions: it enables batch production, allows individual product completion and removal, facilitates material reuse, and maintains compatibility with existing additive manufacturing processes. This multi-functionality achieves high productivity without requiring fundamentally different or overly complex 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 reduces the manufacturing time for individual products while maintaining high productivity by allowing staggered production and efficient material handling, enabling the simultaneous production of multiple products in different stages of completion on multiple substrate plate segments.
Implementation Method 1
processes in which a plastic in solid or liquid form is selectively hardened by photopolymerization using a high-energy beam, such as a laser or focused light beam
Implementation Method 2
selective laser sintering or laser melting (SLS, SLM) processes for metallic powders
Implementation Method 3
processes in which a granulate or other solid material is sintered or melted by a high-energy beam, such as a laser beam or electron beam
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing products with individual geometry, in particular dental prostheses or dental auxiliary parts, comprising the steps of manufacturing several products on the surface (13) of a substrate plate by means of selective curing, in particular by means of selective sintering or melting, in which the material is applied in successive layers, and after each layer application, one or more predetermined areas of the applied layer are selectively cured by means of high-energy radiation (40, 140, 240, 340, 640) and bonded to one or more areas of the underlying layer, wherein the predetermined areas are predetermined based on a cross-sectional geometry of the product in the respective layer. According to the invention, a substrate plate is provided which is divided into a first substrate plate segment (12, 112, 212, 312, 412, 512, 612, 712) and at least one further substrate plate segment (12, 112,212,312,412,512,612,712) is subdivided, which are detachably connected to each other or to a base carrier, a first product is produced on the first substrate plate segment (12,112,212,312,412,512,612,712) by successive application of material layers to the first substrate plate segment (12,112,212,312,412,512,612,712) and selective curing of predetermined areas of each applied material layer after its application, and at least one further product is produced on the at least one further substrate plate segment (12,112,212,312,412,512,612,712) by successive application of material layers to the further substrate plate segment (12, 112, 212, 312, 412, 512, 612, 712) and selective curing of predetermined areas of each applied material layer after its application. The invention further relates to a device for carrying out such a method.