3D Printing Recoating With Vibrating Blades for Uniform Resin Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 3D printing systems face challenges such as printing defects like layer delamination, incomplete curing, and resin viscosity issues, which lead to non-uniform resin layers, print failures, and increased material waste.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a carrier film with a first blade to form a uniform resin layer and a second blade to prevent printed features from contacting the first blade, ensuring uniformity and directing printed features into a capture basin. Additionally, the system includes a vibrating blade to reduce resin viscosity, allowing for faster printing and smaller feature sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a conventional single blade is used to form resin layers, then the device complexity is low, but printing defects such as layer delamination and non-uniform resin layers occur
Solution Approach 1:
The recoating system divides the single blade function into multiple specialized blades: a first blade (doctor blade) configured to form a uniform resin layer, and a second blade configured to prevent printed features from contacting the first blade. This segmentation allows each blade to perform its specific function optimally, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and device complexity.
2Productivity
If resin viscosity is high, then material waste is reduced, but printing speed decreases and feature size cannot be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the physical parameter of resin viscosity through controlled heating. The resin is heated to reduce its viscosity, enabling faster printing speeds and smaller feature sizes while minimizing material waste through the precise layer formation capability of the first blade.
3Reliability
If the second blade is positioned close to the carrier film to capture printed features, then print failures are reduced, but resin flow is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The second blade is configured with a porous structure that allows resin to flow through it while still capturing printed features. This porous design resolves the contradiction by permitting resin passage to prevent accumulation and waste, while maintaining the capability to intercept and remove printed features that would otherwise cause print failures.
4Use of energy by moving object
If printing is performed without feature capture, then device complexity is low, but energy consumption increases due to reprints
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes printed features (defects) from the resin layer using the second blade before they can cause print failures. By taking out these problematic features, the system avoids energy-wasting reprints while maintaining relatively simple device architecture through the straightforward mechanical removal approach.
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 print failures, material waste, and energy consumption while improving the uniformity and quality of the resin layers, enabling the production of dental appliances and other objects with enhanced precision and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a vibrating blade to reduce resin viscosity, allowing for faster printing and smaller feature sizes
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a build platform configured to support an object that is being formed from layers of resin. The system further includes one or more blades configured to provide the layers of resin to form the object on the build platform. At least a first blade of the one or more blades is configured to vibrate to reduce viscosity of the layers of resin.