WO2015108556A1 - Génération d'objets en trois dimensions - Google Patents

Génération d'objets en trois dimensions Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2015108556A1
WO2015108556A1 PCT/US2014/036001 US2014036001W WO2015108556A1 WO 2015108556 A1 WO2015108556 A1 WO 2015108556A1 US 2014036001 W US2014036001 W US 2014036001W WO 2015108556 A1 WO2015108556 A1 WO 2015108556A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
build material
shell
agent
layer
data
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2014/036001
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Krzysztof Nauka
Lihua Zhao
Howard S. Tom
Sivapackia Ganapathiappan
Yan Zhao
Hou T. Ng
Original Assignee
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from PCT/EP2014/050841 external-priority patent/WO2015106816A1/fr
Application filed by Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. filed Critical Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Priority to PCT/US2014/036001 priority Critical patent/WO2015108556A1/fr
Publication of WO2015108556A1 publication Critical patent/WO2015108556A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
    • G06T19/00—Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
    • G06T19/20—Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
    • B29C64/30—Auxiliary operations or equipment
    • B29C64/386—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
    • B29C64/393—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
    • B29C64/40—Structures for supporting 3D objects during manufacture and intended to be sacrificed after completion thereof

Definitions

  • Some additive manufacturing systems generate three-dimensional objects through the selective solidification of successive layers of a build material, such as a powdered build material.
  • Figures 1 a-1 g show a series of cross-sections of a layer or layers of build material according to one example
  • Figure 2 is a flow diagram outlining a method of generating a three- dimensional object according to one example
  • Figure 3 is a simplified isometric illustration of an additive manufacturing system according to one example
  • Figure 4 is a cut-away perspective view illustrating a three-dimensional object generated according to one example
  • Figure 5 is a cut-away perspective view illustrating a three-dimensional object and shell generated according to one example
  • Figure 6 is a block diagram of a processing system according to one example
  • Figure 7 is a flow diagram outlining a method of adding a shell according to one example
  • Figure 8 is a block diagram of a processing system according to one example.
  • Figure 9 is a flow diagram outlining a method of adding a shell according to one example.
  • Figure 10 is an illustration of an image slice according to one example.
  • Figure 1 1 is an illustration of an image slice according to one example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
  • Some additive manufacturing systems generate three-dimensional objects through the selective solidification of successive layers of a build material, such as a powdered build material.
  • Some such systems may solidify portions of a build material by selectively delivering an agent to a layer of build material.
  • Some systems may use a liquid binder agent to chemically solidify build material.
  • Other systems for example, may use liquid energy absorbing agents, or coalescing agents, that cause build material to solidify when suitable energy, such as infra-red energy, is applied.
  • Repetition of these processes enables a three-dimensional object to be generated layer-by-layer, through selective solidification of portions of successive layers of build material.
  • PCT patent application PCT/EP2014/050841 filed by Hewlett-Packard Development Company on 16 January 2014, the contents and teachings of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety, and for which priority is claimed, describes an additive manufacturing system to generate a three- dimensional object.
  • the described system enables the generation of a three- dimensional object through the selective solidification of portions of successive layers of a build material through selective delivery of multiple agents to layers of a build material.
  • a coalescing agent and a coalescence modifier agent may be selectively delivered to layers of build material.
  • a coalescing agent is a material that, when a suitable amount of energy is applied to a combination of build material and coalescing agent, may cause the build material to coalesce and solidify.
  • a coalescence modifier agent is a material that serves to modify the degree of coalescence of a portion of build material on which the coalescence modifier agent has been delivered or has penetrated.
  • Figures 1a-1g show a series of cross-sections of a layer or layers of build material according to one example.
  • Figure 2 is a flow diagram outlining a method of generating a three-dimensional object according to one example.
  • a first layer 102a of build material may be provided, as shown in Figure 1a.
  • the first layer of build material is provided on a suitable support member (not shown).
  • the thickness of the layer of build material provided is in the range of about 90 to 110 microns, although in other examples thinner or thicker layers of build material may be provided. Using thinner layers may enable higher resolution objects to be generated but may increase the time taken to generate an object.
  • a coalescing agent 104 and a coalescence modifier agent 106 are selectively delivered to one or more portions of the surface of the layer 102a of build material.
  • the selective delivery of the agents 104 and 106 is performed in accordance with data derived from a model of a three-dimensional object to be created.
  • coalescing agent 104 may be selectively delivered to a portion of build material according to a first pattern
  • coalescence modifier agent 106 may be selectively delivered to a portion of build material according to a second pattern.
  • the patterns define a bitmap.
  • the coalescing agent 104 and coalescence modifier agent 106 are fluids that may be delivered using any appropriate fluid delivery mechanism, as will be described in greater detail below.
  • the agents are delivered in droplet form. It should be noted, however, that Figures 1 a to 1 g show the delivery of the agents in schematic form.
  • Figure 1 b shows that the agents 104 and 106 delivered to the surface of the build material penetrate into the layer 102a of build material.
  • the degree to which the agents penetrate may differ between the two different agents, or may be substantially the same in different examples. The degree of penetration may depend, for example, on the quantity of agent delivered, on the nature of the build material, on the nature of the agent, etc.
  • the agent is shown to penetrate substantially completely into the layer 102a of build material, although it will be appreciated that this is purely for the purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting.
  • one or both of the agents may penetrate less than 100% into the layer 102a.
  • one or both of the agents may penetrate completely into the layer 102a of build material.
  • one or both of the agents may penetrate completely into the layer 102a of build material and may further penetrate into an underlying layer of build material.
  • a predetermined level of energy is temporarily applied to the layer 102a of build material.
  • the energy applied is infra-red or near infra-red energy, although in other examples other types of energy may be applied, such as microwave energy, ultra-violet (UV) light, halogen light, ultra-sonic energy or the like.
  • the length of time the energy is applied for, or energy exposure time may be dependent, for example, on one or more of: characteristics of the energy source; characteristics of the build material; characteristics of the coalescing agent; and characteristics of the coalescence modifier agent.
  • the type of energy source used may depend on one or more of: characteristics of the build material; characteristics of the coalescing agent; and characteristics of the coalescence modifier agent.
  • energy may be applied for predetermined length of time.
  • the temporary application of energy may cause portions of the build material on which coalescing agent has been delivered or has penetrated to heat up above the melting point of the build material and to coalesce. Upon cooling, the portions which have coalesced become solid and form part of the three-dimensional object being generated.
  • One such portion is shown as portion 108a in Figure 1c.
  • Energy absorbed by build material on which coalescing agent has been delivered or has penetrated may also propagate into surrounding build material and may be sufficient to cause surrounding build material to heat up. This may cause, for example, heating of build material beyond its melting point, or may cause, for example, heating of build material below its melting point but to a temperature suitable to cause softening and bonding of build material. This may result in the subsequent solidification of portions of the build material that were not intended to be solidified and this effect is referred to herein as coalescence bleed. Coalescence bleed may result, for example, in a reduction in the overall accuracy of generated three-dimensional objects.
  • coalescence bleed may be managed by delivering coalescence modifier agent on appropriate portions of build material.
  • the coalescence modifier agent serves to reduce the degree of coalescence of a portion of build material on which the coalescence modifier agent has been delivered or has penetrated.
  • coalescence modifier agent may be used for a variety of purposes.
  • coalescence modifier agent 106 may be delivered adjacent to where coalescing agent 104 is delivered, as shown in Figure 1a, to help reduce the effects of lateral coalescence bleed. This may be used, for example, to improve the definition or accuracy of object edges or surfaces, and/or to reduce surface roughness.
  • coalescence modifier agent may be delivered interspersed with coalescing agent (as will be described further below) which may be used to enable object properties to be modified, as mentioned previously.
  • the combination of the energy supplied, the build material, and the coalescing and coalescence modifier agent may be selected such that, excluding the effects of any coalescence bleed: i) portions of the build material on which no coalescing agent have been delivered do not coalesce when energy is temporarily applied thereto; ii) portions of the build material on which only coalescing agent has been delivered or has penetrated do coalesce when energy is temporarily applied thereto; and iii) portions of the build material on which only coalescence modifier agent has been delivered or has penetrated do not coalesce when energy is temporarily applied thereto.
  • Portions of the build material on which both coalescing agent and coalescence modifier agent have been delivered or have penetrated may undergo a modified degree of coalescence when energy is applied thereto.
  • the degree of modification may depend, for example, on any one or more of:
  • a new layer of build material 102b is provided on top of the previously processed layer of build material 102a, as shown in Figure 1 d. This is illustrated in block 202 of Figure 2. In this way, the previously processed layer of build material acts as a support for a subsequent layer of build material.
  • FIG. 1 e illustrates additional coalescing agent 104 and coalescence modifier agent 106 being selectively delivered to the newly provided layer of build material, in accordance with block 204 of Figure 2.
  • Figure 1f illustrates penetration of the agents 104 and 106 into the build material 102b.
  • Figure 1 g illustrates coalescence and solidification of portions of build material 102b where coalescing agent 104 has been delivered or has penetrated, upon the application of energy in accordance with block 206 of Figure 2.
  • FIG. 3 there is shown a simplified isometric illustration of an additive manufacturing system 300 according to one example.
  • the system 300 may be operated, as described herein, for example with reference to the flow diagram of Figure 2, to generate a tangible three- dimensional object by causing the selective solidification of portions of successive layers of a build material.
  • the build material is a powder-based build material.
  • powder-based materials is intended to encompass both dry and wet powder-based materials, particulate materials, and granular materials.
  • the examples described herein are not limited to powder-based materials, and may be used, with suitable modification if appropriate, with other suitable build materials.
  • the build material may be a paste or a gel, or any other suitable form of build material, for instance.
  • the system 300 comprises a system controller 302 that controls the general operation of the additive manufacturing system 300.
  • the controller 302 is a microprocessor-based controller that is coupled to a memory 304, for example via a communications bus (not shown).
  • the memory stores processor executable instructions 306.
  • the controller 302 may execute the instructions 306 and hence control operation of the system 300 in accordance with those instructions.
  • the system 300 further comprises a coalescing agent distributor 308 to selectively deliver coalescing agent to a layer of build material provided on a support member 314.
  • the support member has dimensions in the range of from about 10 cm by 10 cm up to 100 cm by 100 cm. In other examples the support member may have larger or smaller dimensions.
  • the system 300 also comprises a coalescence modifier agent distributor 310 to selectively deliver coalescence modifier agent to a layer of build material provided on a support member 314.
  • the controller 302 controls the selective delivery of coalescing agent and coalescence modifier agent to a layer of provided build material in accordance with agent delivery control data 316.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 are printheads, such as thermal printheads or piezo inkjet printheads.
  • printheads such as suitable printheads commonly used in commercially available inkjet printers may be used.
  • the printheads 308 and 310 may be used to selectively deliver coalescing agent and coalescence modifier agent when in the form of suitable fluids.
  • the printheads may be selected to deliver drops of agent at a resolution of between 300 to 1200 dots per inch (DPI).
  • DPI dots per inch
  • the printheads may be selected to be able to deliver drops of agent at a higher or lower resolution.
  • the printheads may have an array of nozzles through which the printhead is able to selectively eject drops of fluid.
  • each drop may be in the order of about 10 pico liters (pi) per drop, although in other examples printheads that are able to deliver a higher or lower drop size may be used.
  • printheads that are able to deliver variable size drops may be used.
  • the agent distributor 308 may be configured to deliver drops of coalescing agent that are larger than drops of coalescence modifier agent delivered from the agent distributor 310. [00046] In other examples the agent distributor 308 may be configured to deliver drops of coalescing agent that are the same size as drops of coalescence modifier agent delivered from the agent distributor 310. [00047] In other examples the agent distributor 308 may be configured to deliver drops of coalescing agent that are smaller than drops of coalescence modifier agent delivered from the agent distributor 310.
  • the first and second agents may comprise a liquid carrier, such as water or any other suitable solvent or dispersant, to enable them to be delivered via a printhead.
  • a liquid carrier such as water or any other suitable solvent or dispersant
  • the printheads may be drop-on-demand printheads. In other examples the printheads may be continuous drop printheads.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 may be an integral part of the system 300.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 may be user replaceable, in which case they may be removably insertable into a suitable agent distributor receiver or interface module (not shown).
  • a single inkjet printhead may be used to selectively deliver both coalescing agent and coalescence modifier agent.
  • a first set of printhead nozzles of the printhead may be configured to deliver coalescing agent
  • a second set of printhead nozzles of the printhead may be configured to deliver coalescence modifier agent.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 have a length that enables them to span the whole width of the support member 314 in a so-called page-wide array configuration. In one example this may be achieved through a suitable arrangement of multiple printheads.
  • a single printhead having an array of nozzles having a length to enable them to span the width of the support member 314 may be used.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 may have a shorter length that does not enable them to span the whole width of the support member 314.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 are mounted on a moveable carriage (not shown) to enable them to move bi-directionally across the length of the support 314 along the illustrated y-axis. This enables selective delivery of coalescing agent and coalescence modifier agent across the whole width and length of the support 314 in a single pass.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 may be fixed, and the support member 314 may move relative to the agent distributors 308 and 310.
  • the term 'width' used herein is used to generally denote the shortest dimension in the plane parallel to the x and y axes illustrated in Figure 3, whilst the term 'length' used herein is used to generally denote the longest dimension in this plane.
  • the term 'width' may be interchangeable with the term 'length'.
  • the agent distributors may have a length that enables them to span the whole length of the support member 314 whilst the moveable carriage may move bi-directionally across the width of the support 314.
  • the agent distributors 308 and 310 do not have a length that enables them to span the whole width of the support member but are additionally movable bi-directionally across the width of the support 314 in the illustrated x-axis.
  • This configuration enables selective delivery of coalescing agent and coalescence modifier agent across the whole width and length of the support 314 using multiple passes.
  • Other configurations may enable three-dimensional objects to be created faster.
  • the coalescing agent distributor 308 may include a supply of coalescing agent or may be connectable to a separate supply of coalescing agent.
  • the coalescence modifier agent distributor 310 may include a supply of coalescence modifier agent or may be connectable to a separate supply of coalescing agent.
  • the system 300 further comprises a build material distributor 318 to provide the layer of build material 102 on the support 314. Suitable build material distributors may include, for example, a wiper blade and a roller. Build material may be supplied to the build material distributor 318 from a hopper or build material store (not shown). In the example shown the build material distributor 318 moves across the length (y-axis) of the support 314 to deposit a layer of build material. As previously described, a first layer of build material will be deposited on the support 314, whereas subsequent layers of build material will be deposited on a previously deposited layer of build material.
  • the support 314 is moveable in the z-axis such that as new layers of build material are deposited a predetermined gap is maintained between the surface of the most recently deposited layer of build material and lower surface of the agent distributors 308 and 310.
  • the support 314 may not be movable in the z-axis and the agent distributors 308 and 310 may be movable in the z-axis.
  • the system 300 additionally comprises an energy source 320 to apply energy to build material to cause the solidification of portions of the build material according to where coalescing agent has been delivered or has penetrated.
  • the energy source 320 is an infra-red (IR) or near infra-red light source.
  • the energy source 320 may be a single energy source that is able to uniformly apply energy to build material deposited on the support 314.
  • the energy source 320 may comprise an array of energy sources.
  • the energy source 320 is configured to apply energy in a substantially uniform manner to the whole surface of a layer of build material.
  • the energy source 320 may be said to be an unfocused energy source.
  • a whole layer may have energy applied thereto simultaneously, which may help increase the speed at which a three-dimensional object may be generated.
  • the energy source 320 is configured to apply energy in a substantially uniform manner to a portion of the whole surface of a layer of build material.
  • the energy source 320 may be configured to apply energy to a strip of the whole surface of a layer of build material.
  • the energy source may be moved or scanned across the layer of build material such that a substantially equal amount of energy is ultimately applied across the whole surface of a layer of build material.
  • the energy source 320 may be mounted on the moveable carriage.
  • the energy source may apply a variable amount of energy as it is moved across the layer of build material, for example in accordance with agent delivery control data.
  • the controller 302 may control the energy source only to apply energy to portions of build material on which coalescing agent has been applied.
  • the energy source 320 may be a focused energy source, such as a laser beam.
  • the laser beam may be controlled to scan across the whole or a portion of a layer of build material.
  • the laser beam may be controlled to scan across a layer of build material in accordance with agent delivery control data.
  • the laser beam may be controlled to apply energy to those portions of a layer on which coalescing agent is delivered.
  • the system 300 may additionally comprise a pre-heater to maintain build material deposited on the support 314 within a predetermined temperature range.
  • a pre-heater may help reduce the amount of energy that has to be applied by the energy source 320 to cause coalescence and subsequent solidification of build material on which coalescing agent has been delivered or has penetrated.
  • the support 214 may not be a fixed part of the system 100, but may, for example, be part of a removable module.
  • both the support 114 and the build material distributor may not be a fixed part of the system 100, but may, for example, be part of a removable module.
  • other elements of the system 100 may be part of a removable module.
  • FIG 4 there is illustrated a three-dimensional object 402 that has been generated in the manner described above.
  • the object 402 is generated based on object model data.
  • the object model data is transformed into control data to control an additive manufacturing system to generate the object.
  • the object model data is thus transformed into data which defines on which portions of a layer of build material are to be deposited one or more of: a coalescing agent; and a coalescence modifier agent.
  • the object 402 is surrounded by volumes 404 and 406 of non-solidified build material.
  • the build material in volume 404 may not be contaminated with coalescence modifier agent.
  • coalescence modifier agent was delivered around the external surfaces of the object 402. This has created the volume 406 of non-solidified build material on which coalescence modifier agent has been delivered.
  • This build material in volume 406 is hereinafter referred to as contaminated build material.
  • the volume 406 of contaminated build material mixes with the volume 404 of non-solidified build material. Since coalescence modifier agent may be used to prevent coalescence of build material, the mixing of the volume 404 of build material with the volume 406 of contaminated build material causes contamination of the volume 404 of build material.
  • Contamination of the volume 404 of non-solidified build material is undesirable since it may affect the properties of the build material, especially where the percentage of contamination is above a predetermined threshold. Contamination of build material may thus reduce the number of times that non- solidified build material may be reused, as each time build material is reused its level of contamination may increase. Build material which is contaminated above a predetermined threshold may cause quality problems in generated objects. The reuse of build material may help reduce the cost of generating three-dimensional objects.
  • volume 406 of contaminated build material is in a non-solidified form and is contained within the volume 404 of non-solidified build material 404, there are no practical ways in which the volume 406 of contaminated build material may be separated from the volume 404 of non- solidified build material.
  • a thin shell or skin 502 may be formed around both the object 402 and any contaminated powder 406 as the object 402 is being generated, as illustrated in Figure 5.
  • the shell 502 (herein after referred to as the confinement shell) internally confines a volume of contaminated build material between the shell and the object, preventing contaminated build material from contaminating the remainder of the volume 404 of build material.
  • a shell may be formed to confine both a volume of contaminated build material and a volume of non-contaminated build material, for example to allow a safety margin to ensure that all of the contaminated build material is confined within the confinement shell.
  • the object 402 and confinement shell 502 may be removed from the volume of build material 404, without contaminating the volume 404 of the build material.
  • the shell is generated to be strong enough to enable the object 402 and shell 502 to be removed from the volume 404 of build material without breaking, but is weak enough to be easily broken once removed from the volume 404 of build material.
  • This enables the object 402 to be easily separated from the shell 502.
  • a shell 502 having a thickness of between about 1 to 5 mm may be used, although in other examples a higher or lower thickness of shell may be used.
  • the position of the confinement shell may also be chosen to be as close as possible to the object 402 whilst ensuring that as much contaminated build material is confined within the confinement shell 502.
  • the confinement shell 502 may be formed by delivering a coalescing agent in an appropriate pattern on a layer of build material as the additive manufacturing system generates each layer of an object, such as the object 402. In other words, the object and the confinement shell are generated simultaneously.
  • the confinement shell 408 may be formed by applying a suitable binding agent, such as a chemical binding agent, an adhesive, or the like, in an appropriate pattern on a layer of build material.
  • a suitable binding agent such as a chemical binding agent, an adhesive, or the like
  • the binding agent may be different from the coalescing agent used in the generation of the object 402.
  • a suitable binding agent may be delivered by a binding agent distributor (not shown).
  • the confinement shell 502 may be formed without the use of a coalescence modifier agent.
  • the creation of a confinement shell 502 may be performed at various stages of the creation of a three-dimensional object.
  • the confinement shell 502 may be added to a model of a three-dimensional object, for example by a computer aided design (CAD) application, or other three-dimensional object processing system, such as a processing system 600 shown in Figure 6.
  • CAD computer aided design
  • the system 600 comprises a processor 602, such as a microprocessor- based processor, that is coupled to a memory 604, for example via a communications bus (not shown).
  • the memory 604 stores processor executable instructions 606.
  • the controller 602 may execute the instructions 606 and hence control operation of the system 600 in accordance with those instructions.
  • Figure 7 shows a flow diagram outlining example processing operations defined by the instructions 606.
  • the system 600 obtains data defining an object model.
  • the system 600 processes the object model data and adds geometrical features, or shell data, that define a shell suitable to contain the object and a volume of build material around the object.
  • the volume of build material around the object may be a volume in which a coalescence modifier agent may be delivered when the object 402 is generated by an additive manufacturing system, and which volume is not intended to form part of the generated object.
  • the system 600 generates a shell around the whole of the object to ensure that any build material on which a coalescence modifier agent is delivered during generation of the object is confined within the shell and cannot contaminate any non-solidified portions of build material, such as the volume 404 shown in Figure 4.
  • a confinement shell in the form of a suitable cuboid may be the easiest confinement shell shape to generate, since at the object model creation stage precise details about the type of additive manufacturing system on which the object is to be generated may not be known.
  • a cuboid-shape shell for example, may be easy to remove from a generated object.
  • a cuboid-shape confinement shell may result in non-contaminated build material being confined within the shell in addition to contamination build material. Consequently, a cuboid-shape confinement shell may not be the most optimized shape in terms of minimizing the volume of confined build material.
  • a shell that follows at least some of the external contours of the object may be generated.
  • Generation of the confinement shell should therefore take into account various factors that may include, for example: the amount of build material to be confined within the shell; the ease of removing the shell; and stresses that may be applied to an object within a confinement shell upon removal of the shell. For example, for objects that have open internal structures or volumes (e.g. such as a torus type shape) removal of a shell from those open structures may prove difficult.
  • a confinement shell may be generated to have variable thickness walls, for example to enable portions of the shell to be weaker than other portions of the shell to facilitate removal of the shell.
  • the shell 502 may be added by a slice processing system, such as a processing system 800 shown in Figure 8.
  • a slice processing system 800 may be incorporated into an additive manufacturing system.
  • the system 800 comprises a processor 802, such as a microprocessor- based processor, that is coupled to a memory 804, for example via a communications bus (not shown).
  • the memory 804 stores processor executable instructions 806.
  • the controller 802 may execute the instructions 806 and hence control operation of the system 800 in accordance with those instructions.
  • Figure 9 shows a flow diagram outlining example processing operations defined by the instructions 806.
  • the system 800 obtains data defining slices of a three- dimensional object model to be generated. Each slice may be represented, for example, by an image, such as a vector or bitmap image.
  • each slice may define portions of a layer of build material onto which a coalescing agent may be delivered, and may additionally define portions of a layer of build material onto which a coalescence modifier agent may be delivered.
  • Each slice may represent one layer of build material to be processed by an additive manufacturing system.
  • FIG. 10 An example slice is illustrated in Figure 10.
  • the slice 1000 defines a portion 1002 of a layer of build material 1006 on which a coalescing agent is to be deposited and defines a portion 1002 of a layer of build material on which a coalescence modifier agent is to be delivered.
  • the system 800 modifies the slice data to generate a modified slice 1 100.
  • the modified slice 1 100 comprises an additional portion 1 102 which defines a portion or portions of a layer of build material on which a coalescence agent is to be deposited to form a portion of a confinement shell, as described herein.
  • the confinement shell may be defined by shell data.
  • the additional portion 1 102 may define a region on which a coalescing agent, or a binding agent, different from the coalescing agent used to generate object portion 1002 is to be deposited.
  • the system 800 may add one or multiple additional slices, for example to provide a base or a top for a generated shell.
  • the system 800 may add one or multiple slices to be generated by an additive manufacturing system to form a base of a confinement shell, and on which the object to be generated may be formed.
  • the shell may be open, for example without a top.
  • the shell may be closed shell. If the confinement shell is generated to have an open shape, for example a cuboid without a top, an object generated within the confinement shell may be removed from the confinement shell without having to break the confinement shell.
  • suitable processing systems may be used to add a suitable confinement shell to an object model, to slice data, to additive manufacturing system control data, or the like.
  • examples of the present invention can be realized in the form of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software. Any such software may be stored in the form of volatile or non-volatile storage such as, for example, a storage device like a ROM, whether erasable or rewritable or not, or in the form of memory such as, for example, RAM, memory chips, device or integrated circuits or on an optically or magnetically readable medium such as, for example, a CD, DVD, magnetic disk or magnetic tape. It will , be appreciated that the storage devices and storage media are embodiments of machine-readable storage that are suitable for storing a program or programs that, when executed, implement examples described herein. Accordingly, some examples may provide a program comprising code for implementing a system or method as claimed in any preceding claim and a machine readable storage storing such a program.

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  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)

Abstract

Selon un exemple, l'invention concerne un procédé de traitement de données représentant au moins une partie d'un objet tridimensionnel destiné à être généré par un système de fabrication additive. Ledit procédé consiste à ajouter des données d'enveloppe auxdites données pour générer des données modifiées, de sorte qu'au moins ladite partie de l'objet, lorsqu'elle est générée par le système de fabrication additive, est générée à l'intérieur d'une enveloppe.
PCT/US2014/036001 2014-01-16 2014-04-30 Génération d'objets en trois dimensions WO2015108556A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

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PCT/US2014/036001 WO2015108556A1 (fr) 2014-01-16 2014-04-30 Génération d'objets en trois dimensions

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2014/050841 WO2015106816A1 (fr) 2014-01-16 2014-01-16 Génération d'un objet tridimensionnel
EPPCT/EP2014/050841 2014-01-16
PCT/US2014/036001 WO2015108556A1 (fr) 2014-01-16 2014-04-30 Génération d'objets en trois dimensions

Publications (1)

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WO2015108556A1 true WO2015108556A1 (fr) 2015-07-23

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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WO2017174112A1 (fr) * 2016-04-04 2017-10-12 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L P Définition d'un élément de protection pour la fabrication additive
WO2018182589A1 (fr) 2017-03-29 2018-10-04 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Fabrication d'enveloppes d'objets de limites

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US20110076438A1 (en) * 2005-02-25 2011-03-31 Isaac Farr Core-shell solid freeform fabrication
JP4770838B2 (ja) * 2005-11-15 2011-09-14 パナソニック電工株式会社 三次元形状造形物の製造方法
WO2011135496A2 (fr) * 2010-04-25 2011-11-03 Objet Geometries Ltd. Fabrication en forme libre solide d'objets à enveloppes
WO2012138842A1 (fr) * 2011-04-07 2012-10-11 Stratasys, Inc. Procédé de fabrication d'un additif basé sur l'extrusion et comprenant le recuit d'une partie
US8470231B1 (en) * 2009-06-01 2013-06-25 Stratasys Ltd. Three-dimensional printing process for producing a self-destructible temporary structure

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20110076438A1 (en) * 2005-02-25 2011-03-31 Isaac Farr Core-shell solid freeform fabrication
JP4770838B2 (ja) * 2005-11-15 2011-09-14 パナソニック電工株式会社 三次元形状造形物の製造方法
US8470231B1 (en) * 2009-06-01 2013-06-25 Stratasys Ltd. Three-dimensional printing process for producing a self-destructible temporary structure
WO2011135496A2 (fr) * 2010-04-25 2011-11-03 Objet Geometries Ltd. Fabrication en forme libre solide d'objets à enveloppes
WO2012138842A1 (fr) * 2011-04-07 2012-10-11 Stratasys, Inc. Procédé de fabrication d'un additif basé sur l'extrusion et comprenant le recuit d'une partie

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2017174112A1 (fr) * 2016-04-04 2017-10-12 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L P Définition d'un élément de protection pour la fabrication additive
CN109070467A (zh) * 2016-04-04 2018-12-21 惠普发展公司，有限责任合伙企业 用于增材制造的防护特征的定义
US20190030821A1 (en) * 2016-04-04 2019-01-31 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Definition of a shield feature for additive manufacture
US10919228B2 (en) 2016-04-04 2021-02-16 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Definition of a shield feature for additive manufacture
CN109070467B (zh) * 2016-04-04 2021-04-13 惠普发展公司，有限责任合伙企业 用于增材制造的防护特征的定义
US11565478B2 (en) * 2016-04-04 2023-01-31 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Definition of a shield feature for additive manufacture
WO2018182589A1 (fr) 2017-03-29 2018-10-04 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Fabrication d'enveloppes d'objets de limites
EP3600846A4 (fr) * 2017-03-29 2020-12-02 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Fabrication d'enveloppes d'objets de limites
US11518104B2 (en) 2017-03-29 2022-12-06 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Manufacturing boundary object shells

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