WO2017071762A1

WO2017071762A1 - Three-dimensional part production

Info

Publication number: WO2017071762A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/075155
Authority: WO
Inventors: Esteve COMAS; Lluis HIERRO DOMENECH; Sergi CULUBRET
Original assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Priority date: 2015-10-29
Filing date: 2015-10-29
Publication date: 2017-05-04

Abstract

There is provided a method and an additive manufacturing system. The additive manufacturing system comprises a container body (106, 302, 502, 702) to hold a fluidic material (306, 504, 804), a control module to control a level of the fluidic material with respect to a three-dimensional part printed in the container body and an application module (104) to apply a build material over the surface of the fluidic material to join to a portion of the three-dimensional printed part. The fluidic material supports the build material.

Description

THREE-DIMENSIONAL PART PRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

[0001 ] Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing technology used for producing three-dimensional objects. The three-dimensional objects are produced by an additive process in which successive layers of build material are provided onto the surface of a platform. For example, an extruder is used to supply molten material in the form of layers to the surface of the platform and those layers harden following extrusion.

[0002] The technology can be used to produce three-dimensional parts that together form an object. In some systems the extruder, or an additional extruder, may be used to apply a support structure between the parts during production. For example, a part may be hollow and a support structure may be applied to the hollow part to support another part in order to form an object. In one example, the support structure may be printed with a different material to the build material. The support structure material may have different properties from the build material in that it is designed to be easily detachable from the parts. After production, an appropriate cleaning technique is used to separate the support structure from the parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0003] For a more complete understanding, various examples will now be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0004] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an additive manufacturing system according to an example;

[0005] Figure 2 is an illustration of a process employed according to an example;

[0006] Figures 3A, 3B and 3C are block diagrams of the additive manufacturing system in operation according to an example;

[0007] Figure 4 is an illustration of an example process employed in the example of Figures 3A, 3B and 3C; [0008] Figures 5A, 5B and 5C are block diagrams of the additive manufacturing system in operation according to another example;

[0009] Figure 6 is an illustration of an example process employed in the example of Figures 5A, 5B and 5C;

[0010] Figure 7 is a block diagram of the example additive manufacturing system of Figures 5A, 5B and 5C in use according to another example;

[0011 ] Figure 8 is a block diagram of the example additive manufacturing system of Figures 5A, 5B and 5C in use according to another example; and

[0012] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a computing system according to an example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Some examples described herein provide an additive manufacturing system and method for producing (or printing) three-dimensional parts. The additive manufacturing system may be a Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) system or printer. A fluidic material acts as a support structure for the parts during production. For example, the support provided by the fluidic material enables a three-dimensional part (or component) to be printed over a hollow three- dimensional printed part or printed to overhang a three-dimensional printed part. This may allow, for example, overhanging portions of objects to be generated without having to use support structures.

[0014] The present subject-matter is further described with reference to

Figures 1 , 2, 3A-C, 4, 5A-C, 6, 7, 8, and 9. It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate principles of the present subject-matter. It is thus understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject-matter.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles and examples of the present- subject matter, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.

[0015] Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of an additive manufacturing system 100 according to an example. The additive manufacturing system 100 comprises a container body 106 to hold a fluidic material (not shown), a control module 102 to control a level of the fluidic material with respect to a three- dimensional part (or component) printed in the container body 106 and an application module 104 to apply a build material over the surface of the fluidic material to connect (or join) to a portion (or part) of the three-dimensional printed part. For example, the application module 104 may be an extruder and may apply the build material using an extrusion technique in which the build material is applied corresponding to the cross-section of the three-dimensional part to be printed. The fluidic material supports the build material.

[0016] The build material may be a material that softens for application

(for example, through heating) and that hardens following application (for example, through cooling). Examples of build material may include a plastic such as a polyamide, polycarbonate, polyethylene, or the like.

[0017] A property of the fluidic material enables the fluidic material to support the build material. For example, the property of the fluidic material may be a density of the fluidic material, a surface tension of the fluidic material, a viscosity of the fluidic material, the fluidic material comprising suspended particles or any other property or combination of properties that enable the fluidic material to support the build material. In some examples, the fluidic material may be denser than (i.e. have a density greater than a density of) the build material, the fluidic material may have a high surface tension, the fluidic material may have a high viscosity, or there may be insoluble particles suspended in the fluidic material. Although some examples of the property of the fluidic material are provided, it will be understood that the fluidic material may have any of these properties and any other properties or combination of properties that enable the fluidic material to support the build material.

[0018] The fluidic material may have a density 1 .1 times greater than the density of the build material. The fluidic material may have a high surface tension in that the surface tension may be sufficiently high that alone or in combination with other properties of the fluidic material, the fluidic material is able to support the build material. The fluidic material may have a high viscosity in that the viscosity may be sufficiently high that alone or in combination with other properties of the fluidic material, the fluidic material is able to support the build material. In an example, the fluidic material may be a viscous liquid. Examples of fluidic material may include Glycerine, a thixotropic fluid (such as a Cecagel-300), or the like.

[0019] Figure 2 illustrates a process employed according to an example. At block 200 of Figure 2, a level (or depth) of a fluidic material is adjusted (or controlled) in the container body 106 of the additive manufacturing system 100 with respect to a three-dimensional part printed in the container body 106. The control module 102 controls the level of fluidic material in the container body 106. The level of the fluidic material is adjusted to partly submerge (or immerse) the three-dimensional printed part in the fluidic material. For example, the level of the fluidic material may be adjusted depending on the position at which build material is to be applied to the three-dimensional part. In some examples, the build material may be applied at a predetermined height in relation to the three-dimensional part, the build material may be applied to overhang the three-dimensional part, or the build material may be applied to a hollow portion of the three-dimensional part. Although some examples have been provided, it will be understood that other examples are also possible. The process may include printing the three- dimensional part prior to adjusting the level of the fluidic material at block 200.

[0020] In one example, the level of the fluidic material is controlled with respect to the three-dimensional printed part by supplying fluidic material to the container body 106 (to increase the level of fluidic material) or by removing fluidic material from the container body 106 (to decrease the level of fluidic material). The three-dimensional printed part may comprise a predetermined number of layers of build material and the fluidic material may be supplied to increase (or removed to decrease) the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part by a distance equal to or greater than a thickness of a layer of build material.

[0021] In another example, the level of the fluidic material is controlled with respect to the three-dimensional printed part by moving a substrate, which holds the three-dimensional printed part (i.e. onto which the three-dimensional part is printed) through the fluidic material. The substrate allows fluidic material to pass through the substrate to control the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part. For example, the substrate is lowered in the fluidic material to increase the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three- dimensional printed part and raised in the fluidic material to decrease the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part. The three- dimensional printed part may comprise a predetermined number of layers of build material and the substrate may be lowered to increase the level of fluidic material (or raised to decrease the level of fluidic material) with respect to the three- dimensional printed part by a distance equal to or greater than a thickness of a layer of build material. The substrate may be of any form to allow the fluidic material to pass through (i.e. to move, or cross over, from one side of the substrate to the other side of the substrate) such as a porous substrate, a substrate having a mesh structure or a substrate comprising holes.

[0022] At block 202 of Figure 2, a build material is applied over (or deposited on) the surface of the fluidic material to connect to a portion of the three- dimensional printed part. The application module 104 applies the build material. In one example, the application module 104 may be an extruder and the build material may be applied by the extruder using an extrusion technique. The build material is applied corresponding to the cross-section of the three-dimensional part to be printed using the build material.

[0023] Due to the properties of the fluidic material (such as those mentioned above), the fluidic material (or the surface of the fluidic material) supports the weight of the build material (i.e. the fluidic material prevents the build material from sinking). In this way, the fluidic material acts as a support or a platform for the build material. For example, the three-dimensional printed part in the fluidic material may comprise a hollow portion over which the build material can be applied (without falling into the hollow portion) since the build material is supported by the fluidic material or the build material may be applied to overhang the three-dimensional printed part and is supported by the fluidic material. The fluidic material may support a predetermined number of layers of build material (for example, between 1 to 10 layers of build material) depending on the properties of the fluidic material and the size/shape of the three-dimensional printed part.

[0024] Figures 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate block diagrams of the additive manufacturing system 300 in operation according to an example and Figure 4 illustrates a process employed in that example. The additive manufacturing system 300 of Figures 3A, 3B and 3C comprises a container body 302 to hold a fluidic material 306.

[0025] At block 400 of Figure 4, a three-dimensional part 304 is printed

(or created) in the container body 302 (as shown in Figure 3A). At block 402 of Figure 4, the level of the fluidic material is controlled with respect to the three- dimensional printed part 304 by supplying the container body 302 with the fluidic material 306. By supplying the container body 302 with the fluidic material 306, the level of the fluidic material is increased in the container body 306 with respect to the three-dimensional printed part 304 (as shown in Figure 3B). The control module 102 controls the supply of fluidic material 306 to the container body 302. The container body 302 may be supplied with the fluidic material 306 from an opening in the top or side of the container body 302. At block 404 of Figure 4, a build material 308 is applied over the fluidic material 306 (as shown in Figure 3C). The application module 104 applies the build material 308.

[0026] The process of applying the build material 308 over the fluidic material 306 (block 404 of Figure 4) may be repeated to form a predetermined number of layers of build material to produce another three-dimensional part, which is connected (or joined) to the previous three-dimensional printed part. The process of supplying (or removing) the fluidic material 306 to adjust the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part 304 (block 402 of Figure 4) and applying a build material 308 over the fluidic material 306 (block 404 of Figure 4) to produce further three-dimensional parts may be repeated to form a three-dimensional object comprising the three-dimensional printed parts. A three- dimensional object can be removed from the container body following production.

[0027] Figures 5A, 5B and 5C illustrate block diagrams of the additive manufacturing system 500 in operation according to another example and Figure 6 illustrates a process employed in that example. The additive manufacturing system 500 of Figures 5A, 5B and 5C comprises a container body 502 to hold a fluidic material 504 and a substrate 506 to hold a three-dimensional printed part 508. The substrate 506 is moveable through the fluidic material 504 to adjust a level of the fluidic material 504 with respect to the three-dimensional printed part 508.

[0028] The substrate 506 is of any form to allow the fluidic material 504 to pass through the substrate 506 (i.e. to move, or cross over, from one side of the substrate 506 to the other side of the substrate 506), as discussed earlier, and to alter the depth of the fluidic material 504 with respect to a three-dimensional part 508 that is printed on the substrate 506.

[0029] At block 600 of Figure 6, a three-dimensional part 508 is printed onto the substrate 506 (as shown in Figure 5A). At block 602 of Figure 6, the substrate 506 is lowered into the fluidic material 504 to increase the level of the fluidic material 504 with respect to the three-dimensional printed part 508 that is printed on the substrate 506 (as shown in Figure 5B). The control module 102 controls the lowering of the substrate 506 into the fluidic material 504. At block 604 of Figure 6, build material 510 is applied over the fluidic material 504 and the fluidic material 504 supports the applied build material 510 (as shown in Figure 3C). The application module 104 applies the build material 510.

[0030] In one example, the three-dimensional printed part 508 may comprise a predetermined number of layers of build material and the substrate 506 may be lowered by a distance equal to the thickness of a layer (or a predetermined number of layers) of build material in the three-dimensional printed part 508. For example, the thickness of the layer of build material may be between 20-100μηι. In another example, the substrate 506 may be lowered by a distance to partially cover the three-dimensional printed part 508 in the fluidic material 504.

[0031 ] The process of applying the build material 510 over the fluidic material 504 (block 604 of Figure 6) may be repeated to form a predetermined number of layers of build material to produce another three-dimensional part, which is connected (or joined) to the previous three-dimensional printed part. The process of lowering (or raising) the substrate 506 to adjust the level of the fluidic material 504 with respect to the three-dimensional printed part 508 (block 602 of Figure 6) and applying a build material 510 over the fluidic material 504 (block 604 of Figure 6) may be repeated to form a three-dimensional object comprising the three-dimensional printed parts. A three-dimensional object can be removed from the container body following production.

[0032] Figure 7 is a block diagram of the example additive manufacturing system of Figures 5A-5C in use according to another example. With reference to Figure 7, the container body 702 holds the fluidic material 704. A three-dimensional part 708 is printed on the substrate 706. The control module 102 controls movement of the substrate 706 by lowering the substrate 706 to increase the level of the fluidic material 704 with respect to the three-dimensional printed part 708 (as shown in Figure 7). The fluidic material 704 is present above and below the substrate 706 since the substrate is of a form that allows the fluidic material 704 to pass through the substrate 706, as discussed earlier.

[0033] The application module 104 applies a build material 710 over the fluidic material 704. The applied build material 710 connects to a portion of the three-dimensional part 708 (for example, the portion of the three-dimensional part 708 that it contacts with) and the other portion of the applied build material 710 is supported by the surface of the fluidic material 704. For example, the three- dimensional part 708 may be hollow or contain hollow portions over which the build material 710 is applied. The support of the fluidic material 704 prevents the build material 710 from falling (or dropping or sinking) into the hollow portions.

[0034] Figure 8 is a block diagram of the example additive manufacturing system of Figures 5A, 5B and 5C in use according to another example. With reference to Figure 8, the container body 802 holds the fluidic material 804. In this example, a predetermined number of three-dimensional parts 814 are printed on the substrate 806. The control module 102 controls movement of the substrate 806 by lowering (or raising) the substrate 806 to change the level of the fluidic material 804 with respect to any three-dimensional printed parts 814during the printing process. The fluidic material 804 is present above and below the substrate 806 since the substrate is of a form that allows the fluidic material to pass through the substrate 806, as discussed earlier.

[0035] The application module 104 applies a layer (or a predetermined number of layers) of build material 810 over the fluidic material 804 to print the three-dimensional parts 814. The applied build material 810 connects to a portion, or a predetermined number of portions, of a three-dimensional part 814 that has already been printed (for example, the portions of the three-dimensional part 814 that it contacts with) and the other portion of the applied build material 810 is supported by the surface of the fluidic material 804. The application module 104 may apply the build material 810 at more than one location over the fluidic material 804 to create various forms or shapes of three-dimensional parts 814.

[0036] Each time the application module 104 applies a layer (or a predetermined number of layers) of build material 810 over the fluidic material 804, the control module 102 may lower (or raise) the substrate 806 to adjust the level of the fluidic material 804 with respect to the applied layer (or a predetermined number of layers) of build material 810. Once the substrate 806 is lowered (or raised), the application module 104 applies a further layer of build material 810 over the fluidic material 804. The process may be repeated to complete the formation of the three-dimensional parts 814.

[0037] In the example illustrated in Figure 8, a portion of the three- dimensional parts formed includes a breakable part 808 (i.e. a breakable union, connection, interconnection, or bond). The breakable part is intended to join or connect three-dimensional parts such that the three-dimensional parts may later be separated by breaking the breakable part. The breakable part may be printed onto a portion of applied build material and the level of the fluidic material changed in the same way as for the three-dimensional parts. In other words, a level of the fluidic material is controlled with respect to the breakable part and a build material is applied over the surface of the fluidic material to connect to the printed breakable part. The fluidic material supports the build material. In this way, a further three- dimensional part is printed over the surface of the fluidic material to connect to the printed breakable part.

[0038] The breakable part may be breakable through properties such as the build material with which it is printed (for example, a more brittle build material than the build material used for the three-dimensional parts) and/or the shape in which it is printed (for example, the breakable part may have a smaller circumference or width at its ends connecting to the three-dimensional parts). The breakable parts may be formed from a material that softens for application (for example, through heating) and that hardens following application (for example, through cooling).

[0039] In the examples of Figures 5A-5C, 7 and 8, the control module

102 is illustrated to control movement of the substrate 506, 706, 806 in the z- direction (i.e. downwards, away from the application module 104, or toward the base of the container body 502, 702, 802). However, the control module 102 may control movement of the substrate 506, 706, 806 in any of the x-, y-, and z- directions or in any combination of those directions.

[0040] In any of the above examples, the properties of the fluidic material and the printing conditions may be set or changed to adjust the quality of a three-dimensional part that is printed using the apparatus and method according to the present disclosure. The fluidic material may be a fluidic material chosen to have properties that will maintain (i.e. not alter) the properties of the build material. For example, the fluidic material may be an inert material (i.e. a material that does not cross react with the build material). The printing conditions may include the speed at which the application module dispenses build material, the speed at which the application module moves to apply build material, etc. In one example, the speed at which the application module dispenses build material may be set higher than the speed at which the application module moves to apply the build material.

[0041] According to the present disclosure, there is provided a non- transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor. The machine-readable storage medium comprises instructions to perform at least part of the method described herein. The method may be used in conjunction with any other programs.

[0042] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a computing system according to an example. There is provided a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium 902 encoded with instructions 904, 906 executable by a processor 900. The machine-readable storage medium comprises instructions to perform at least part of the method described herein. For example, the machine-readable storage medium comprises instructions 904 to control a level of a fluidic material in a container body of an additive manufacturing system with respect to a three- dimensional component printed in the container body and instructions 906 to apply build material over the surface of the fluidic material to connect to a part of the three-dimensional printed component, wherein the surface of the fluidic material holds the weight of the build material.

[0043] Examples in the present disclosure can be provided as methods, systems or machine-readable instructions, such as any combination of software, hardware, firmware or the like. Such machine-readable instructions may be included on a machine-readable storage medium (including but is not limited to disc storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) having machine-readable program code therein or thereon.

[0044] The present disclosure is described with reference to flow charts and/or block diagrams of the method, apparatus and systems according to examples of the present disclosure. Although the flow diagrams described above show a specific order of execution, the order of execution may differ from that which is depicted. Blocks described in relation to one flow chart may be combined with those of another flow chart. It shall be understood that each flow and/or block in the flow charts and/or block diagrams, as well as combinations of the flows and/or diagrams in the flow charts and/or block diagrams can be realised by machine- readable instructions.

[0045] The machine-readable instructions may, for example, be executed by a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, an embedded processor or processors of other programmable data processing devices to realise the functions described in the description and figures. For example, a processing apparatus or processor may execute the machine-readable instructions. Thus, functional modules of the apparatus and devices may be implemented by a processor executing machine-readable instructions stored in a memory, or a processor operating in accordance with instructions embedded in logic circuitry. The term "processor" is to be interpreted broadly to include a processing unit, central processing unit (CPU), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), logic unit, programmable gate array, etc. The methods and functional modules may all be performed by a single processor or divided amongst several processors.

[0046] Such machine-readable instructions may also be stored in a machine-readable storage that can guide the computer or other programmable data processing devices to operate in a specific mode.

[0047] Such machine-readable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing devices, so that the computer or other programmable data processing devices perform a series of operations to produce computer-implemented processing, thus the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable devices provide a means for realising functions specified by flow(s) in the flow charts and/or block(s) in the block diagrams.

[0048] Further, the teachings herein may be implemented in the form of a computer software product, the computer software product being stored in a storage medium and comprising a plurality of instructions for making a computer device implement the methods recited in the examples of the present disclosure.

[0049] While the method, apparatus and related aspects have been described with reference to certain examples, various modifications, changes, omissions, and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the above-mentioned examples illustrate rather than limit what is described herein, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative implementations without departing from the scope of the appended claims. For example, a feature or block from one example may be combined with or substituted by a feature/block of another example.

[0050] The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements other than those listed in a claim, "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality, and a single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several units recited in the claims.

[0051 ] The features of any dependent claim may be combined with the features of any of the independent claims or other dependent claims.

Claims

1 . An additive manufacturing system comprising:

a container body to hold a fluidic material;

a control module to control a level of the fluidic material with respect to a three- dimensional part printed in the container body; and

an application module to apply a build material over the surface of the fluidic material to join to a portion of the three-dimensional printed part, wherein the fluidic material supports the build material.

2. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 1 , wherein a property of the fluidic material enables the fluidic material to support the build material.

3. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 2, wherein the property of the fluidic material is a density of the fluidic material, a surface tension of the fluidic material, a viscosity of the fluidic material and/or the fluidic material comprising suspended particles.

4. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 1 , wherein the control module supplies fluidic material to the container body or to removes fluidic material from the container body to control the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part.

5. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a substrate to hold the three-dimensional printed part and to allow the fluidic material to pass through the substrate, wherein the control module moves the substrate through the fluidic material to control the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part.

6. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 5, wherein the control module moves the substrate through the fluidic material to control the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part by lowering the substrate in the fluidic material to increase the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three- dimensional printed part.

7. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 6, wherein the three- dimensional printed part comprises a predetermined number of layers of build material and the control module lowers the substrate in the fluidic material by a distance equal to or greater than a thickness of a layer of build material.

8. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 5, wherein the control module moves the substrate through the fluidic material to control the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed part by raising the substrate in the fluidic material to decrease the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three- dimensional printed part.

9. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 5, wherein the substrate is a porous substrate, a substrate having a mesh structure or a substrate comprising holes to allow the fluidic material to pass through the substrate.

10. An additive manufacturing system according to claim 1 , wherein the application module is to print a breakable part onto a portion of the applied build material.

1 1 . An additive manufacturing system according to claim 10, wherein the control module is to control a level of the fluidic material with respect to the breakable part; and the application module is to apply further build material over the surface of the fluidic material to connect to the printed breakable part, wherein the fluidic material supports the build material.

12. A method comprising:

adjusting a level of a fluidic material in a container body of an additive manufacturing system with respect to a three-dimensional component printed in the container body; and

applying a build material over the surface of the fluidic material to connect to a part of the three-dimensional printed component, wherein the fluidic material supports the build material.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein adjusting a level of the fluidic material with respect to a three-dimensional printed component comprises supplying fluidic material to the container body or removing fluidic material from the container body.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the three-dimensional printed component is held on a substrate and adjusting a level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed component comprises lowering the substrate in the fluidic material to increase the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed component or raising the substrate in the fluidic material to decrease the level of the fluidic material with respect to the three-dimensional printed component.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor, the machine-readable storage medium comprising:

instructions to control a depth of a fluidic material in a container body of an additive manufacturing system with respect to a three-dimensional component printed in the container body; and

instructions to apply a build material over the surface of the fluidic material to connect to a part of the three-dimensional printed component, wherein the surface of the fluidic material holds the weight of the build material.