WO2023200894A1

WO2023200894A1 - 3d printer with pressure-assisted fluid extraction

Info

Publication number: WO2023200894A1
Application number: PCT/US2023/018376
Authority: WO
Inventors: Morteza VATANI; Steven Zhichao Shi
Original assignee: Sakuu Corporation
Priority date: 2022-04-12
Filing date: 2023-04-12
Publication date: 2023-10-19

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) printer, including a receiver device including a substrate, a liquid deposition device configured to deposit a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto the substrate to form a non-patterned layer on the substrate, a solvent removal device configured to remove at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried non-patterned layer, and a liquid binder print head configured to deposit a liquid binder onto the dried non-patterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

Description

3D PRINTER WITH PRESSURE-ASSISTED FLUID EXTRACTION

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to three-dimensional (3D) printing using inkjet printers, particularly to the use of vacuum to extract liquid vehicle from printed layers for assembly. In alternative implementations, this application relates to 3D printing apparatuses and methods using a liquid dispersion printer to deposit particulate material prior to using an inkjet printer to deposit liquid binder for assembly of printed layers.

Background

[0002] Three-dimensional (3D) printing has generated a high degree of interest in the potential for a faster and more economical manufacturing approach since the first patents were granted over 30 years ago. To date, however, that potential has largely gone unfulfilled Today, the majority of 3D printers are used to make demonstration parts or nonfunctional prototypes, most from a plastic material that is chosen primarily for compatibility with the printer rather than the materials requirement of the final part.

[0003] While jetted binder 3D printers are arguably the most efficient technology for creating a 3D printed object, one of their attributes, the ability to deposit relatively thick layers, limits its usefulness when precise thin layers are needed. Inkjet printing, while rapidly depositing large areas of ink, is restricted to layer thicknesses in the range of a few microns. The trade-off is that printed resolution is significantly finer than is possible with jetted binder printing.

[0004] While inkjet-based 3D printers have been the subject of study and development, the approach has not been commercially deployed in significant breath. Inkjet technology in 3D printing applications, as suggested above, offers limited deposition rates, which limit the economic practicality. Notwithstanding the slow build rates possible with pure inkjet technology, inkjet-based 3D printers possess major advantages. Specifically, inkjet printers are readily adapted to printing multiple different materials (colors) into a single printed layer. Inkjet printers can be easily controlled with respect to the amount of material in each drop and can achieve pixel sizes as small as ,010mm. Additionally, inkjet printers can print a complete layer very quickly, as fast as 1 second for an “A4” size sheet. [0005] On the negative side, while inkjet printers can cover a lot of area per second, the volume per unit time, particularly in the context of a 3D printer, is very low. Currently available 3D printers based on inkjet technology are capable of depositing a few hundred cubic centimeters of active material (e.g. a powder) per hour, which may be compared to jetted binder deposition rates as high as tens of liters per hour.

[0006] Accordingly, a need remains for a 3D printing system that can preserve the fine resolution of inkjet technology while substantially improving speed of printing to have material deposition rates comparable with jetted binder deposition rates as high as tens of liters per hour.

Summary

[0007] In one aspect, a three-dimensional (3D) printer includes a receiver device including a substrate, an inkjet print head configured to deposit an ink including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle onto the substrate to form a printed layer, a removal system configured to use a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer to form a dried layer; and a transfer system configured to transfer the dried layer to a build station.

[0008] In another aspect, a method of three-dimensional (3D) printing includes depositing an ink onto a substrate with an inkjet print head to form a printed layer, the ink including a particulate material and a liquid vehicle, transporting the printed layer away from the inkjet print head, using a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer to form a dried printed layer, and transferring the dried printed layer to a build station to form a stack of printed layers.

[0009] In another aspect, an inkjet printer includes a receiver device including a substrate, an inkjet print head configured to deposit an ink including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle onto the substrate to form a printed layer, and a removal system configured to use a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer.

[0010] In another aspect, a three-dimensional (3D) printer includes a receiver device including a substrate, a liquid deposition device configured to deposit a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto the substrate to form a non-pattemed layer on the substrate, a solvent removal device configured to remove at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried non-pattemed layer, and a liquid binder print head configured to deposit a liquid binder onto the dried non-pattemed layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

[0011] In another aspect, a method of three-dimensional (3D) printing includes depositing, via a liquid deposition device, a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto a substrate to form a non-patterned layer on the substrate, transporting the non-patterned layer away from the liquid deposition device, removing, via a solvent removal device, at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried non-patterned layer, and depositing, via a liquid binder print head, a liquid binder onto the dried non-patterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

[0012] In still another aspect, a jetted material printing system includes a carrier substrate configured to travel along a longitudinal direction, one or more printheads, each of the one or more printheads being configured to deposit an amount of material onto the carrier substrate to form a printed layer, a liquid removal device located at a first position from the one or more printheads in the longitudinal direction, the liquid removal device being configured to remove a liquid from the printed layer formed onto the carrier substrate, and a binder conditioning device located at a second position downstream from the liquid removal device in the longitudinal direction, the binder conditioning device being configured to deposit a binder material on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the liquid removal.

[0013] In a further aspect, a method of jetted material printing includes depositing a material from one or more printheads onto a carrier substrate to form a printed layer, the material including at least one of a powder, a solvent, a binder, and one or more additives, removing at least the solvent from the printed layer via a liquid removal device, and conditioning the printed layer by depositing an amount of conditioning binder on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the solvent removal via a binder conditioning device.

[0014] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

[0015] Additional advantages and novel features of these various implementations will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or upon learning by practice of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord with the present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation. In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. Furthermore, it should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a control flow for a 3D inkjet printer.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a drawing of a 3D inkjet printer.

[0019] Fig. 3 is a drawing of layers of a receiver/carrier device as shown in Fig. 2.

[0020] Fig. 4 is a top-down view of a receiver device as shown in Fig. 3 including a plurality of apertures.

[0021] Fig. 5 is a top-down view of a receiver device as shown in Fig. 3 including a fibrous material.

[0022] Fig. 6 is a drawing of a pressure-assisted system for solvent removal.

[0023] Fig. 7 is a drawing of a pressure plate for solvent removal.

[0024] Fig. 8 is a drawing of a pressure cuff for solvent removal.

[0025] Fig. 9 is a drawing of a roller transfer device.

[0026] Fig. 10 is a drawing of an articulating transfer device.

[0027] Fig. 11 is a drawing of a flat pressing transfer device.

[0028] Fig. 12 is a drawing of a curved pressing transfer device.

[0029] Fig. 13 is a drawing of a multi -method 3D printer system.

[0030] Fig. 14 is a diagram of a computer system that may control a 3D inkjet printer.

[0031] Fig. 15 is a schematic of a print station controller for use with a 3D inkjet printer.

[0032] Fig. 16 is a block diagram of an example computing device, which may be used to provide implementations of the systems and methods described herein.

[0033] Fig. 17 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example machine configured to read instructions from a machine-readable medium. [0034] Fig. 18 is a drawing of a 3D liquid dispersion printer in accordance with an alternative implementation of the present disclosure.

[0035] Fig. 19 is a flowchart of operations using the 3D liquid dispersion printer shown in Fig. 18.

[0036] FIG. 20 illustrates a diagram representation of a 3D printing apparatus, according to various implementations.

[0037] FIG. 21 A depicts a 3D printing apparatus including a binder conditioning device, according to various implementations;

[0038] FIG. 2 IB depicts a binder conditioning device, according to various implementations;

[0039] FIG. 22 illustrates a basic methodology showing incorporation of the sensors into the 3D printing apparatus, according to various implementations;

[0040] FIG. 23 illustrates a method of conditioning a printed material by adding binder material to a jetted material, according to various implementations;

[0041] FIG. 24 is a diagram of a computer system that may control a 3D inkjet printer;

[0042] FIG. 25 is a diagram of a print station controller for use with a 3D inkjet printer.

Detailed Description

[0043] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent that the present teachings may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present teachings.

[0044] Inkjet print heads work most effectively with low-viscosity ink, for example ink with a viscosity of no more than about 40 centipoise (cP), which can dictate a very low loading of insoluble materials such as metals, ceramics or polymers. Typically, the volumetric loading of insoluble materials in inkjet ink is 20% or less. Binders may also make up 5% to 20% of the total volume of the ink, leaving 60% to 75% or more as liquid vehicle, much of which must be removed in order to achieve practical green density of at least 40% by volume of the active materials. [0045] Jetted material printers can be used with inks that include materials that may be polymerized to a solid mass after deposition, an approach that is useful for making parts built largely of organic materials. While it may theoretically be possible to formulate a virtually 100% polymerizable material that may be jetted, it is unlikely that inks comprising solutions of inorganic materials will ever exceed around 20% by volume of persistent material. Therefore, if jetted material printers are ever to be practical for high speed 3D printing, they must be provided with a means of removing the majority of the liquid vehicle deposited during the printing cycle much more rapidly than can be accomplished by evaporation alone. The printer described herein provides just such a tool, augmenting or replacing evaporation by using an applied pressure differential drying technique, and in some implementations, enabling printing of successive layers while previous layers are drying.

[0046] The 3D inkjet printers described herein are designed to create printed objects, printed layers and printed parts using combinations of materials not typically associated with inkjet printing. These materials may be high performance engineering materials designed specifically to meet the engineering requirements of the final printed part, incorporated in inks specifically designed for use in inkjet print heads. These materials may include ceramic and metals as well as organic materials that may be included as particles suspended in a liquid vehicle.

Printing process

[0047] A basic process for manufacturing a 3D printed part typically begins with a CAD file fully defining the structure, materials and specifications of the desired part. The part described in the CAD file may be sliced into print pattern layers, the thickness each layer determined by specifications for each position within the printed part, such as final thickness and pattern tolerance. Each layer may then be separated into regions, which may require different materials. Printer control instructions for each of the regions of different material requirement may then be transferred from the design file via input device and central processing unit and interface bus to appropriate print station control units of the jetted material printer system. As used herein, a “printed part” includes any assemblage of printed subparts or layers which may be fused together to form the part. Such an assemblage may be referred to as a “printed part” before or after fusing together its constituent parts. As used herein, a “printed layer” includes a layer of one or more materials, one voxel thick, which may have a horizontal design conforming to a design of a predetermined location within a desired printed part.

[0048] Fig. 1 depicts a method 100 of creating a 3D printed part at a highly abstracted level. Details of each step of the depicted method will be expanded as subsequent figures are described below. The method 100 begins by depositing inkjet ink onto a substrate (step 104) in a patterned layer using an inkjet print head as further described below. The deposited patterned layer is then transported away from the inkjet print head (step 106), and a pressure differential is applied in order to rapidly dry the printed layer (step 108). Optionally, the printed layer may also be conditioned, cured, and/or further dried (step 110). Once processing steps for the single printed layer are complete, the printed layer is transported to a build station, where it is transferred to a stack of previously printed layers (or, for the first layer printed, begins a new stack on the build station) (step 112). This process is repeated until all layers of the desired printed part have been transferred to the build station (conditional step 114). For some implementations, after all of the layers have been stacked at the build station, postprocessing on the printed part may be completed (step 116), for example by sintering together the stacked layers or by applying heat or another energy input in order to activate an adhesive from the conditioning step. Finally, the completed printed part may be removed from the build station (step 118).

Three-Dimensional Jetted Material Printer

[0049] With reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, deposition of the patterned layer (step 104) starts by providing inkjet inks appropriate for each of the plurality of inkjet print heads 202 of the 3D inkjet printer 200 onto receiver device 204 (also referred to herein as carrier 204 or as receiver 204), depicted in Fig. 2 as a continuous belt. In other implementations, receiver device 204 may take other forms, such as individual carrier plates or an extended length of carrier material that may be cycled through the printer one time before being reconditioned or disposed of. Each one of the plurality of inkjet print heads 202 deposits ink in the predetermined pattern of a printed layer according to instructions received from a control system in communication with a computer, as further described below in connection with Fig. 14 and Fig. 15. The deposited inks form printed layer 304, visible in Fig. 3 atop receiver device 204 and permeable membrane 302, which will be further described below. Each of the plurality of inkjet material print heads 202 may be supplied with inkjet ink containing a same or different building material, each material conforming to a predetermined physical specification. Each of the plurality of inkjet print heads may be of the types known in the art and supplied by companies such as Xaar, Hewlett Packard and Konica Minolta (e.g., piezo heads, thermal heads, or valve-based heads). The plurality of print heads may all be of the same type, or each of the plurality of print heads may be of a type that is different from one or more of the other ones of the plurality of print heads. Print heads 202 may be configured to print directly to a receiver device 204 in order to create a 3D printed layer thereon, or onto a permeable membrane 302 placed on receiver device 204 as further discussed below.

[0050] Each one of print heads 202 deposits a predetermined quantity of inkjet ink onto receiver device 204 in a predetermined pattern of voxels, as directed by a print station controller described below in connection with Fig. 15. The predetermined pattern of voxels of each one of the plurality of print heads 202 may be separated from all of the voxel patterns from any other ones of the plurality of print heads 202, or it may partially or completely overlap the voxel pattern of any other one or all of the rest of the plurality of print heads 202. The result may be a complete printed layer 304 of a predetermined pattern of a plurality of ink types on the receiver device 204. It will be understood that a “complete” pattern of ink may not cover 100% of receiver device 204, depending on the part to be printed and any subsequent processing of the layer.

[0051] Receiver device 204 may be moved in a direction of travel using printer drive motor 256 (step 106) such that printed layer 304 may be juxtaposed with vacuum liquid extraction device 206. Vacuum liquid extraction device 206 may then be evacuated to cause low viscosity constituents of ink making up printed layer 304 to be partially or completely removed from printed layer 304, thereby drying the layer. Fluid pressure may also be applied in the optional upper portion of liquid extraction device 206 to assist liquid removal, as further discussed below in connection with Fig. 6-Fig. 8.

[0052] As shown at step 110 in Fig. 1, receiver device 204 may be moved in a direction of travel such that printed layer 304 may be juxtaposed with conditioning device 208, further described below. Before, after, or instead of conditioning printed layer 304, receiver device may also move printed layer 304 adjacent to curing device 210, which may be used to cure printed layer 304 as described below. Before or after either of these steps, printed layer 304 may be moved to additional fluid removal device 212, which may remove further carrier fluid not extracted during previous steps.

[0053] After printed layer 304 has been dried and optionally conditioned and/or cured, receiver device 204 may move it to build plate 214, where transfer device 216 may be used to transfer it to build plate 214. As used herein, a “transfer device” includes any apparatus for moving a printed layer to an assembly apparatus. The first printed layer 304 may be transferred directly to build plate 214, while subsequent layers may be placed atop it to create a stack 218 of printed layers.

[0054] Receiver device 204 may be provisioned with a printer drive motor 256 such that (under control of a print station control unit), the receiver device 204 may be moved in a direction of travel. The plurality of print heads 202 may be positioned such that the nozzles of each one of the plurality of print heads 202 form one or more substantially straight lines, and that the straight lines of the nozzles in all of the plurality of print heads 202 are juxtaposed parallel to each other. In an implementation of the present application, the plurality of print heads may be aligned such that the parallel rows of nozzles are aligned perpendicular to the direction of travel of the receiver device 204 and that the nozzles may extend substantially the full width of receiver device 204. The plurality of print heads 202 may be provisioned with a transport device to allow the plurality of print heads 202 to traverse a length of receiver device 204 to create a predetermined pattern of voxels on receiver device 204.

[0055] In some implementations of the present application, the plurality of print heads may be fixed across the width of receiver device 204 and receiver device 204 may be caused to move in a direction of travel such that the plurality of print heads may deposit a predetermined pattern of ink, in voxels, on a length of receiver device 204. In other implementations, the parallel rows of nozzles may be aligned parallel to the direction of movement of the receiver device 204. In such a case, the plurality of print heads 202 may be provisioned with a transport device to allow the plurality of print heads 202 to traverse the width of the receiver device 204 to create a predetermined pattern of a plurality of inks, in voxels, on receiver device 204. Whatever the configuration of print heads 202, they may collectively deposit a layer of ink which will be referred to as printed layer 304.

[0056] Receiver device 204 may include a permeable membrane 302, illustrated in Fig. 3, at least partially permeable to low viscosity liquids, for example liquids with viscosity less than about 2 cP, 4 cP, 6 cP, 8 cP, 10 cP, or 12 cP. As may be seen in Fig. 4, permeable membrane 302 may include a metal, metal alloy, or other material that further includes an array of penetrating apertures 402 that may communicate between two major surfaces of the permeable membrane 302. For convenience in the following description, the surface of membrane 302 upon which ink is deposited will be referred to as the “top,” and the opposite surface will be referred to as the “bottom,” but it will be understood that receiver device 204 and permeable membrane 302 may be oriented in any convenient direction. Penetrating apertures 402 are illustrated as cylinders in Fig. 4 but may have another regular or irregular shape.

[0057] In other implementations, permeable membrane 302 may also include a woven or nonwoven fibrous material which may exhibit a porous characteristic to liquids with lower viscosities but a nonporous characteristic to higher viscosity liquids and particles. For example, in one implementation, liquids with viscosities of less than about 12 cP may pass through membrane 302 while liquids with higher viscosities do not substantially pass through the membrane. It will be understood that another threshold value for liquid viscosity may be used as described above. Receiver device 204 may also include a support frame 502 as shown in Fig. 5, which may provide mechanical support to permeable membrane 302. Support frame 502 may include a metal such as an iron alloy or a copper alloy. Support frame 502 may also include a polymeric material or a composite of a polymeric material and a fibrous material, such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, or an organic fiber. Support frame 502 may include a composite of polymeric materials and a metal or metal alloy. In some implementations, support frame 502 may exhibit a continuous sheet like structure which may be provided with apertures in which permeable membrane 302 may be installed. In other implementations, support frame 502 may be a discrete window frame like structure which surround permeable membrane 302. In any of these implementations, support frame 502 may be a separate structure or it may be affixed to permeable membrane 302.

[0058] Receiver device 204 may be configured to move permeable membrane 302 away from print heads 202 after a printed layer 304 has been deposited thereon, for example through the action of printer drive motor 256. Printed layer 304 may be moved to a solvent extraction device 206, where a pressure differential may be used to dry printed layer 304. By moving printed layer 304 away from print heads 202 before drying, the 3D printer may print another printed layer in parallel with the drying process. [0059] Solvent extraction device 206 may include a vacuum chamber 310, which may include a vacuum tight enclosure and a liquid-permeable support 312. In some implementations, solvent extraction device 206 may also be provided with a connection to a vacuum source (not shown). In some implementations, for example as shown below in Fig. 6-Fig. 8, instead of or in addition to applying a vacuum to the bottom of printed layer 304, a solvent extraction system may apply a pressure differential by applying a positive pressure to a top surface of printed layer 304.

[0060] Immediately after printed layer 304 has been deposited on permeable membrane 302, it may include a substantial amount of low viscosity liquid, for example as much as 90% by volume. After printed layer 304 (on permeable membrane 302) has been positioned in contact with vacuum liquid extraction device 206, vacuum chamber 310 may be evacuated by an attached vacuum source to create a pressure differential across printed layer 304. The pressure differential across printed layer 304 may cause a substantial amount (for example as much as 90%) of the low viscosity liquid in the layer to be forced through permeable support 312 and into vacuum chamber 310, thereby transforming printed layer 304 into a dried layer for subsequent processing as described below.

[0061] With reference to Fig. 6-Fig. 8, in certain implementations of the present teachings, liquid extraction may be augmented by a pressure device 602, 700, 800 positioned opposite liquid extraction device 206 at the top of printed layer 304, opposite permeable membrane 302.

Pressure chamber assisted fluid extraction

[0062] Fig. 6 illustrates fluid pressure device 602 to apply a fluid pressure to the surface of printed layer 304 opposite permeable membrane 302 to enhance the extraction of low viscosity liquid from printed layer 304. Fluid pressure device 602 may include a pressure chamber wall 604 and compliant seal 606 to contain an elevated pressure within pressure chamber 608 relative to ambient pressure. After printed layer 304 on permeable membrane 302 has been positioned in contact with vacuum liquid extraction device 206 with a seal created by compliant seal 606, the pressure within pressure chamber 608 may be elevated above ambient in coordination with the pressure in vacuum chamber 310 being reduced below ambient, thus increasing the total force to remove low viscosity liquids from printed layer 304. The fluid used to apply pressure to printed layer 304 in fluid pressure device 602, may include a gas such as air, nitrogen, argon, oxygen, steam, or gaseous compounds or combination of gasses. In some implementations, the fluid used to apply pressure to printed layer 304 in fluid pressure device 602, may include a liquid rather than a gas. Whether it is liquid, gaseous, or a mixture, the fluid used to apply pressure to printed layer 304 in the fluid pressure device 602 may also facilitate modification of the constituents of printed layer 304 in order to adjust the final properties of the printed materials, for example by reacting with materials at the surface or below the surface of printed layer 304.

Pressure plate assisted fluid extraction

[0063] In another implementation of the present application, a pressure plate device 700, illustrated in Fig. 7, may be employed to enhance the removal of low viscosity liquid from printed layer 304. When printed layer 304 is positioned in contact with vacuum liquid extraction device 206, pressing device 702 may be applied with a pressure against printed layer 304 in coordination with evacuating vacuum chamber 310 to enhance the force applied to extract low viscosity liquid from printed layer 304.

Pressure cuff assisted fluid extraction

[0064] In another implementation of the present application, a pressure cuff device 800, illustrated in Fig. 8, may be employed to enhance the removal of low viscosity liquid from printed layer 304. Pressure cuff device 800 may include an inflatable pressure cuff 802 and a cuff mounting 804. When printed layer 304 is positioned adjacent to vacuum liquid extraction device 206 (opposite receiver device 204), pressure cuff 802 may be inflated to exert a pressure against printed layer 304 in coordination with evacuating vacuum chamber 310 to enhance the force applied to extract low viscosity liquid from printed layer 304.

Conditioning device

[0065] Returning to Fig. 2, after liquid has been partially or completely removed from printed layer 304 by the actions of vacuum liquid extraction device 206, receiver device 204 may be caused to transport printed layer 304 on permeable membrane 302 in a direction of travel (driven by printer drive motor 256) to an optional conditioning device 208. The exact steps for conditioning a specific material may vary depending on the physical and chemical properties of the powder component of the ink and the target properties of the material after any post printing step. In some implementations, conditioning may include a compaction step, for example to increase the density of the printed layer to 30% to 70% of theoretical density. In some implementations, compaction may include a settling step such as a vibratory action applied to the layer to cause particles to settle and pack together. In another implementation, compaction may include pressing particles together with a force normal to the layer surface.

[0066] Conditioning device 208 may include a compaction device, such as illustrated calender rolls, or alternatively another means of applying pressure such as a pressure cuff device (not shown). Conditioning device 208 is configured to increase the compacted density of the materials of dried printed layer 304, for example to at least 30% of theoretical density. Conditioning device 208 may also include apparatus to enhance or enable other processes to be carried out by later stages of the printing system, such as applying a coating to enhance the effectiveness of curing device 210 described below. Conditioning device 208 may also perform a surface conditioning action on dried printed layer 304 to enhance the transfer of dried printed layer 304 to a stack of previously transferred layers 218, as described below in connection with Fig. 9-Fig. 12, or to enhance adhesion of successive layers. Conditioning device 208 may further include a heater device, which may in some implementations act to evaporate a remaining portion of liquid vehicle from the printed layer.

[0067] Conditioning may also include an action to improve the properties of printed layer 304 such as robustness or uniformity or the ability of printed layer 304 to adhere to build plate 214 or to the top of the stack of previously transferred layers 218. Conditioning may also include a step of reducing a packing density of particles of printed layer 304. Such actions may include heating or cooling printed layer 304. In a further implementation, the nature of conditioning device 208 may be selected to suit a conditioning requirement of printed layer 304. For example, conditioning device 208 may apply a radiation such a RF radiation, X-ray radiation, or ultraviolet radiation to effect a change in a property of a binder phase of unconditioned printed layer 304, thereby controlling the physical properties of the printed layer 304. Printed layer 304 may be further conditioned by changing the electrostatic state of printed layer 304 to improve the ability to transfer printed layer 304 receiving device 204 to build plate 214, or to the top of the stack of previously transferred layers 218. Such an electrostatic exposure may cause the adhesion of printed layer 304 to be modified such that when printed layer 304 is brought into contact with build plate 214, or to the top of the stack of previously transferred layers 218, the adhesion of printed layer 304 to receiving device 204 is lower than the adhesion of printed layer 304 to build plate 214, or to the top of the stack of previously transferred layers 218. Thus the transfer of printed layer 304 to build plate 214, or to the top of the stack of previously transferred layers 218 may be facilitated.

Curing device

[0068] As shown in Fig. 2, an optional curing device 210 may be provided. Curing device 210 may be positioned downstream from the conditioning device 208 and/or downstream from solvent extraction device 206 along the direction of travel. Curing device 210 may be configured to solidify binding material in the ink, thereby fixing the ink into a functionally robust solid pattern. Curing device 210 may include a source of radiant energy that may interact with the binding material to cause it to become solid. In some implementations, the radiant energy can be IR radiation, UV radiation, electron beam, or other known radiation types. Alternatively or in addition, curing device 210 may include a heat source. It should be understood that the curing device 210 does not need to be limited to the disclosed radiation types, as this list is presented for exemplary implementations and not intended to be exhaustive.

Additional fluid-removal device

[0069] As shown in Fig. 2, an optional fluid removal device 212 may be provided. Fluid removal device 212 may include a heating device or other fluid removal device such as the vacuum chamber described above in connection with Fig. 6 to completely or partially remove any remaining low viscosity liquid from the dried printed layer.

[0070] Downstream of fluid removal device 212 in the illustration of Fig. 2, a transfer device 216 may be provided. Transfer device 216 serve to transfer dried printed layer 304 from receiver device 204 directly to a build plate 214 or to the top of a stack of previously transferred dried printed layers 218, as further discussed below in connection with Fig. 9-Fig. 12. Roller transfer device

[0071] In one implementation of the transfer device 216 as shown in Fig. 9, the transfer device 216 includes a roller 902 and a carrier 904 to support and move roller 902 vertically. In some implementations, the carrier may be a two-axis carrier 904 to move roller 904 vertically and horizontally relative to receiver device 204. Vertical movement of the two-axis carrier 904 may deflect receiver device 204 and cause printed object 304 to make pressure contact with build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. A horizontal movement of two-axis carrier 904 may then cause a progressively moving line contact moving in a predetermined direction from a one end of printed layer 304 to another end of printed layer 304. The moving line contact across printed layer 304 can transfer printed layer 304 to build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218.

Articulating transfer device

[0072] In another implementation, as shown in Fig. 10, the transfer device 216 may be provided with a shaped pressing device 1002 and an articulating device 1004. Transfer device 216 can also be provided with a two-axis carrier 1006 which may provide horizontal and vertical movement of shaped pressing device 1002. Under the control of print station control unit (described below), the vertical and horizontal movement of shaped pressing device 1002 may cause receiver device 204 to be deflected vertically and for printed layer 304 to come into contact, with a pressure, to build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. Coordinating further vertical and horizontal movement of two-axis carrier 1006 with articulating device 1004 can cause the entire shaped surface of shaped pressing device 1002 to progressively come into line contact, with pressure, to receiver device 204. The progressive line contact to receiver device 204 may cause deflection of receiver device 204 to cause progressive line contact between printed layer 304 and with build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. The progressive line contact between printed layer 304 and build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218 being sufficient to transfer printed layer 304 to build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218.

Pressing device

[0073] In another implementation, transfer device 216 may include a pressing device 1100, as shown in Fig. 11. Pressing device 1100 can be provided with single-axis carrier 1102 to provide vertical movement of pressing device 1100. The vertical movement of pressing device 1100 may cause receiver device 204 to be deflected vertically and for printed layer 304 to come into contact, with a pressure, to build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. Shape modifier device

[0074] In another implementation, as shown in Fig. 12, transfer device 216 may be provided with a pressing device 1202 and a shape modifier device 1204. Transfer device 216 can also be provided with a single-axis carrier 1206 which may provide vertical movement of pressing device 1202. The vertical movement of pressing device 1202 may cause receiver device 204 to be deflected vertically and for printed layer 304 to come into contact, with a pressure, to build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. Shape modifier 1204 may include a preformed shaped structure which may include an elastic material that may be flattened by mechanical pressure applied normal to the shaped surface. As single axis carrier 1206 brings printed object into contact with build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218, shape modifier 1204 can progressively flatten and thus progressively bring printed object 304 into contact with build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. The progressively moving contact between build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218 may assure a uniform attachment between printed object 304 and build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218.

Adhesion modifier device

[0075] Any of the above-described transfer devices 216 shown in Fig. 9-Fig. 12 may further include an adhesion modifier device. The adhesion modifier device may adjust the adhesion strength of printed layer 304 to receiver device 204 to facilitate the release of printed layer 304 to build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. The adhesion modifier device may further modify the adhesion of printed layer 304 to the surface of build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218 such that the adhesive strength between a printed layer 304 and receiver device 204 is less than the adhesive strength between a printed layer 304 and build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 218. Adhesion modifier device may act upon the interface between receiver device 204 and printed layer 304 by applying a stimulus to receiver device 204 or printed layer 304, or both. The application of the stimulus can facilitate a reduction in adhesion of printed layer 304 to receiver device 204. The stimulus causing an adjustment of adhesion from adhesion modifier may be, but is not limited to a thermal stimulus, an electrical stimulus, a radiation stimulus, a magnetic stimulus, a mechanical stimulus or a particle beam stimulus.

Assembly apparatus

[0076] An assembly apparatus 262, portions of which are illustrated in Fig. 2, may include an X-Y positioner device 230 and a build station 260. As used herein, an “assembly apparatus” includes any system capable of receiving printed objects from a plurality of transfer modules in such a way as to assemble printed layers and printed parts according to a predetermined design. Build station 260 may include a build plate 214. A Z axis positioner device 264 may be provided which may adjust the vertical position of build plate 214 to maintain the level of the top of previously transferred printed layers 218 at a predetermined vertical position to facilitate proper transfer of a printed layer 304 to build plate 214 or the top of a stack of previously transferred layers 218.

[0077] Build plate 214 may include an adhesion reducing device (not shown) to facilitate removal of the completed stack of printed objects from the build plate 214 in step 118. The adhesion reducing device may be activated to reduce the adhesion of the stack of previously transferred layers 218 by an applied stimulus. The stimulus which may cause adhesion reducing device to release the stack of previously transferred layers 218, may be a thermal stimulus, a radiant stimulus, a magnetic stimulus a chemical stimulus an electrical stimulus or a mechanical stimulus.

Alignment system

[0078] With reference to Fig. 9-Fig. 12, build plate 214 may further include an alignment sensor 906. Printed layer 304 may include one or more alignment fiducials 908 which may interact with one or more alignment sensors 906 to precisely align the printed object 304 with the build plate 214 or with the top of a stack of previously transferred printed objects. Alignment sensor 906 may interact with alignment fiducial 908 in the UV spectrum, in the visual spectrum, in the IR spectrum, magnetically, or mechanically. In some implementations, in conjunction with computer system 1400, alignment sensors 906 may detect the position of alignment fiducials 908 to within .01 mm of actual position and cause build plate 214 to be positioned within .01 mm of a predetermined position relative to alignment fiducials 908.

Assembly apparatus positioner

[0079] As shown in Fig. 2, an assembly apparatus may include an X-Y positioner device 230 and a build station 260. Build station 260 may also include a Z positioner device and build plate 214 In some implementations, build station 260 may interact with build plate 214 and X-Y positioner device 230 to cause build plate 214, at the command of computer system 1400, to be positioned to within .01 mm of a predetermined position relative to transfer device 216 of any one of the plurality of transfer devices comprising a multi-material multi-module printer system. [0080] X-Y positioner device 230 may include a computer-controlled X-Y movement system. The movement system may be but is not limited to an orthogonally connected pair of linear actuators or a planar X-Y linear motor. Build station 260 may be in communication with the X-Y movement system such that build station 260 may be moved to any point within the limits of the X-Y positioner device 230. The X-Y movement system may be scaled such that assembly station 260 may be moved to, and accurately positioned to accept a printed layer transferred from transfer apparatus 216 of any of the plurality of transfer devices associated with the printer system. The X-Y positioner device 230 may further be scaled to allow assembly station 260 to move to an unload position, clear of all printer modules associated with the printer. The clearance from associated modules may be provided in the X-Y plane or by separation orthogonal to the X-Y plane. Build station 260 can further be provided with a rotational movement system to provide rotational alignment of build plate 214 with transfer device 216.

[0081] In another implementation, precise location of build plate 214 may be provided by a hexapod that can provide movement along the X, Y and Z axis as well as rotation about at least one axis.

[0082] Once all printed layers have been transferred to the assembly apparatus, in some implementations, the 3D printer may apply heat, radiation, pressure, or other appropriate methods to cause the stacked layers to adhere to one another to form the printed part. For example, heat may be applied at the final stage (or before the final stage) to sinter adjacent layers to one another. In other implementations, the stacked layers may adhere to one another to form the finished part without such post-processing treatment, or the part may be sintered into its final form after being removed from the assembly apparatus. Multi-method 3D Printer System

[0083] Fig. 13 illustrates one implementation of a multi-method 3D printer system 1300. Fig. 13 shows four printer modules 1302, 1304, 1306 and four transfer apparatus associated with an assembly apparatus. As used herein, a “printer module” includes a patterning and deposition system capable of creating a printed object on a receiver device. The four printer modules may all implement different patterning and deposition techniques. A jetted material printer module 1302 such as an inkjet printer module may include the components discussed above, for example in Fig. 2. Printer module 1304 is represented as an electrophotographic 3D printer, and printer modules 1306 are represented as jetted material printers. Multi-method printer system 1300 may include printer modules based on 3D printing technology other than those illustrated, such as laminated object manufacturing or selective laser melting, fused deposition modeling, or other suitable 3D printing methods.

[0084] Fig. 13 illustrates a printer system with four printer modules/transfer apparatus aligned at right angles to adjacent modules, with their proximal ends toward the center of the X- Y positioner device 230. It is understood that this configuration is not limited to four printer modules A and could include two printer modules, three printer modules, or more than four printer modules. It is further understood that a printed part removal area may be provided by horizontal separation at any open space on X-Y positioner device 230 or may be provided by vertical separation of assembly station 260 from printer modules A and transfer modules B. It is further understood that alignment of adjacent modules may be parallel rather than orthogonal. Other potential configurations will be clear to those skilled in the art.

[0085] As shown in Fig. 13, the multi-material multi-method 3D printer 1300 includes a plurality of printer modules with associated transfer apparatus integrated by an assembly apparatus. Each printer module may be capable of adjustment of operating parameters such as print thickness, binder concentration, binder type, and material type. While adjustment of operating parameters may significantly affect properties of the final printed object, each printer module typically creates printed objects based on one specific method. A non-exhaustive list of examples of potential methods includes jetted binder printing, electrophotographic printing, offset printing, and jetted material printing. The method to create a given printed object may be chosen based on the capabilities of the separate methods such as practical thickness range, minimum feature size, precision, and print rate. While most printing methods may be compatible with one or more material, the basic materials may require specific preparation for use with specific methods.

[0086] In practice, a multi-material, multi-method 3D printer may be configured with one printer module for each combination of printer method and materials required in a final manufactured part. In one implementation, at least one of the plurality of printer modules making up a multi-method 3D printer system may be quickly and easily replaced with another module, as required for a specific final part. In another implementation, a multi-method 3D printer may be integrated into one combined unit capable of using different methods to print different layers of any given part. [0087] As explained above, implementations of the present disclosure are directed to 3D printer systems include a plurality of printer modules that may each be associated with one of a plurality of transfer devices, all of which may be coordinated with an assembly apparatus. A central computer system may coordinate the operation of all the components of the 3D printer system, as shown below in Fig. 14. The plurality of printer modules may include printer modules employing at least two different deposition and patterning techniques, and each one of the plurality of printer module may be configured to create printed objects either of one material or of multiple materials. Each printer module may create printed objects with a different material, some printer module may use the same material, or all of the printer modules of a 3D multimethod printer system may use the same material. Printer modules, with associated transfer devices, may be configured to be easily joined with or removed from assembly apparatus, allowing for easy custom configuration of the printer to match the build requirements.

[0088] When a multi-method 3D printer as shown in Fig. 13 is used, jetted material 3D printing module 1302 may have a build plate 214 where successive inkjet printed layers may be stacked as described above, or, alternatively, a central build plate may be used for stacking layers from multiple printing modules. Jetted material module 1302 may coordinate with other printer modules 1304, 1306 to assemble a printed part including portions made of stacked inkjet printed layers and other portions made by other methods, such as jetted binder portions produced by printer modules 1306.

[0089] In one implementation, an inkjet 3D printing module 1302 may include a receiver device including a substrate, an inkjet print head configured to deposit an ink including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle onto the substrate to form a printed layer, a removal system configured to use a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer to form a dried layer, and a transfer system configured to transfer the dried layer to a build station.

Material types

[0090] The material types for printing may be broadly classified in two basic categories: robust materials and fugitive materials.

[0091] Robust materials are those that survive a post printing processing step to become the non-compressible voxels of the final printed part. The robust materials may survive a post processing step identical in composition and structure to the material as it was when printed. [0092] Examples of such materials include ceramics such as alumina that start as AhCh powder and survive a post printing sintering process as a high density mass of AI2O3, or a metal such as stainless steel alloy powder which survives a post printing sintering process as a solid mass with the same alloy content as it started with.

[0093] A robust material may also start as precursors of the final material. A post printing process may cause the precursors of a robust material to react to create a new chemical compound or to change the phase or to change crystal types of the precursors. An example of such a material is aluminum powder that may be converted to alumina during a post printing heat treatment in a controlled oxidizing atmosphere, or powdered glasses used in ceramming processes, where the glass is converted to a crystal during a sintering process.

[0094] A fugitive material is one that can occupy voxels within a printed part that are designed to be occupied by a gas or a vacuum immediately after a post processing step. A fugitive material may include a solid or semi-solid material during the printing process, and during the process of assembling printed layers into a printed part. During a post processing step, a fugitive material is converted into a format that can easily escape from a printed part such as a gas or a liquid. The result of including a contiguous mass of voxels of fugitive material within a volume of robust material is a cavity of a predetermined configuration, after a post processing step. The cavity may be in communication with the outside of the printed part via a predesigned passage or may be completely sealed. A sealed cavity may be occupied by a predetermined gas or a vacuum. Examples of fugitive materials include organic materials such as polyethylene or polyethylene oxide, which decompose into CO2 and water at temperatures below 450°C, or carbon powders, which can be oxidized to CO2 at substantially higher temperatures by controlling the heat treat atmosphere. As the fugitive materials are converted to gas, the gases may escape the structure prior to the robust materials sintering into a dense mass.

Pattern generation

[0095] As described above, inkjet 3D printing module 1302 is configured to create structures of one or more materials in complex three-dimensional patterns wherein the structure is built up in layers, each layer including one or more materials. The pattern of each material in each layer may be generated in a manner similar to pattern generation for each layer of a conventional 3D printer Specifically, the patterns for each layer may be derived from a slice of the whole structure through the use of CAD software like SolidWorks. Unlike conventional 3D printers, the computer system 1400 may separate the pattern included in design fde 1406, input into computer system 1400 via input device 1404, of each layer into more than one material.

[0096] Computer system 1400 for controlling the 3D inkjet printer of Fig. 2 is illustrated in Fig. 14. Central processing unit (CPU) 1402 communicates with input device 1404, which may be supplied with a design fde 1406. In some implementations, a user may create design fde 1406 using CAD software or the like, either on computer system 1400 or on another computer. In other implementations, a user may receive a design fde from a fde repository, such as Thingiverse, Pinshape, or other file-sharing sites, or from a commercial vendor of 3D designs. CPU 1402 may store design fde 1406 or intermediate calculations for control of the print station control units 1408 in memory 1410, and may communicate with the user via output device 1412.

[0097] CPU 1402 may communicate through interface bus 1414 with a plurality of print station control units 1408 to control dispensing of ink from inkjet print heads 202 as discussed above and other functions of the print station control units 1408. As shown in Fig. 15, print station control units 1408 may communicate via a device controller 1502 with receiver device 204, inkjet print heads 202, pressure device 602, conditioning device 208, curing device 210, solvent extraction device 212, alignment sensor 906, transfer device 216, and assembly apparatus 262 (which may include X-Y positioner 230 and build station 260), controlling each of these devices in order to deposit ink as specified by design file 1406 as interpreted by CPU 1402. CPU 1402 may receive state information and sensor information, and may send control signals, to any of these devices using control signaling systems that are known in the art, in order to facilitate printing as described herein.

[0098] Fig. 16 is a block diagram 1600 illustrating an example software architecture 1602, various portions of which may be used in conjunction with various hardware architectures herein described, which may implement any of the above-described features. Fig. 16 is a nonlimiting example of a software architecture and it will be appreciated that many other architectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionality described herein. The software architecture 1602 may execute on hardware such as the central processing unit 1402 that may include, among other things, document storage, processors, memory, and input/output (I/O) components. A representative hardware layer 1604 is illustrated and can represent, for example, the devices described herein. The representative hardware layer 1604 includes a processing unit 1606 and associated executable instructions 1608 The executable instructions 1608 represent executable instructions of the software architecture 1602, including implementation of the methods, modules and so forth described herein. The hardware layer 1604 also includes a memory/storage 1610, which also includes the executable instructions 1608 and accompanying data. The hardware layer 1604 may also include other hardware modules 1612. Instructions 1608 held by processing unit 1608 may be portions of instructions 1608 held by the memory/storage 1610.

[0099] The example software architecture 1602 may be conceptualized as layers, each providing various functionality. For example, the software architecture 1602 may include layers and components such as an operating system (OS) 1614, libraries 1616, frameworks 1618, applications 1620, and a presentation layer 1644. Operationally, the applications 1620 and/or other components within the layers may invoke API calls 1624 to other layers and receive corresponding results 1626. The layers illustrated are representative in nature and other software architectures may include additional or different layers. For example, some mobile or special purpose operating systems may not provide the frameworks/middl eware 1618.

[0100] The OS 1614 may manage hardware resources and provide common services. The OS 1614 may include, for example, a kernel 1628, services 1630, and drivers 1632. The kernel 1628 may act as an abstraction layer between the hardware layer 1604 and other software layers. For example, the kernel 1628 may be responsible for memory management, processor management (for example, scheduling), component management, networking, security settings, and so on. The services 1630 may provide other common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1632 may be responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware layer 1604. For instance, the drivers 1632 may include display drivers, camera drivers, memory/storage drivers, peripheral device drivers (for example, via Universal Serial Bus (USB)), network and/or wireless communication drivers, audio drivers, and so forth depending on the hardware and/or software configuration.

[0101] The libraries 1616 may provide a common infrastructure that may be used by the applications 1620 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries 1616 typically provide functionality for use by other software modules to perform tasks, rather than rather than interacting directly with the OS 1614. The libraries 1616 may include system libraries 1634 (for example, C standard library) that may provide functions such as memory allocation, string manipulation, fde operations. In addition, the libraries 1616 may include API libraries 1636 such as media libraries (for example, supporting presentation and manipulation of image, sound, and/or video data formats), graphics libraries (for example, an OpenGL library for rendering 2D and 3D graphics on a display), database libraries (for example, SQLite or other relational database functions), and web libraries (for example, WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality). The libraries 1616 may also include a wide variety of other libraries 1638 to provide many functions for applications 1620 and other software modules.

[0102] The frameworks 1618 (also sometimes referred to as middleware) provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may be used by the applications 1620 and/or other software modules. For example, the frameworks 1618 may provide various graphic user interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management, or high-level location services. The frameworks 1618 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIs for applications 1620 and/or other software modules.

[0103] The applications 1620 include built-in applications 1640 and/or third-party applications 1642. Examples of built-in applications 1640 may include, but are not limited to, a contacts application, a browser application, a location application, a media application, a messaging application, and/or a game application. Third-party applications 1642 may include any applications developed by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform. The applications 1620 may use functions available via OS 1614, libraries 1616, frameworks 1618, and presentation layer 1644 to create user interfaces to interact with users.

[0104] Some software architectures use virtual machines, as illustrated by a virtual machine 1648. The virtual machine 1648 provides an execution environment where applications/modules can execute as if they were executing on a hardware machine. The virtual machine 1648 may be hosted by a host OS (for example, OS 1614) or hypervisor, and may have a virtual machine monitor 1646 which manages operation of the virtual machine 1648 and interoperation with the host operating system. A software architecture, which may be different from software architecture 1602 outside of the virtual machine, executes within the virtual machine 1648 such as an OS 1650, libraries 1652, frameworks 1654, applications 1656, and/or a presentation layer 1658.

[0105] Fig. 17 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example machine 1700 configured to read instructions from a machine-readable medium (for example, a machine- readable storage medium) and perform any of the features described herein. The example machine 1700 is in a form of a computer system, within which instructions 1716 (for example, in the form of software components) for causing the machine 1700 to perform any of the features described herein may be executed. As such, the instructions 1716 may be used to implement modules or components described herein. The instructions 1716 cause unprogrammed and/or unconfigured machine 1700 to operate as a particular machine configured to carry out the described features. The machine 1700 may be configured to operate as a standalone device or may be coupled (for example, networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 1700 may operate in the capacity of a server machine or a client machine in a serverclient network environment, or as a node in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. Machine 1700 may be embodied as, for example, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a gaming and/or entertainment system, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (for example, a smart watch), and an Internet of Things (loT) device. Further, although only a single machine 1700 is illustrated, the term “machine” includes a collection of machines that individually or jointly execute the instructions 1716.

[0106] The machine 1700 may include processors 1710, memory 1730, and I/O components 1750, which may be communicatively coupled via, for example, a bus 1702. The bus 1702 may include multiple buses coupling various elements of machine 1700 via various bus technologies and protocols. In an example, the processors 1710 (including, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, or a suitable combination thereof) may include one or more processors 1712a to 1712n that may execute the instructions 1716 and process data. In some examples, one or more processors 1710 may execute instructions provided or identified by one or more other processors 1710. The term “processor” includes a multi-core processor including cores that may execute instructions contemporaneously. Although Fig. 17 shows multiple processors, the machine 1700 may include a single processor with a single core, a single processor with multiple cores (for example, a multi-core processor), multiple processors each with a single core, multiple processors each with multiple cores, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the machine 1700 may include multiple processors distributed among multiple machines.

[0107] The memory/storage 1730 may include a main memory 1732, a static memory 1734, or other memory, and a storage unit 1736, both accessible to the processors 1710 such as via the bus 1702. The storage unit 1736 and memory 1732, 1734 store instructions 1716 embodying any one or more of the functions described herein. The memory/storage 1730 may also store temporary, intermediate, and/or long-term data for processors 1710. The instructions 1716 may also reside, completely or partially, within the memory 1732, 1734, within the storage unit 1736, within at least one of the processors 1710 (for example, within a command buffer or cache memory), within memory at least one of I/O components 1750, or any suitable combination thereof, during execution thereof. Accordingly, the memory 1732, 1734, the storage unit 1736, memory in processors 1710, and memory in I/O components 1750 are examples of machine-readable media.

[0108] As used herein, “machine-readable medium” refers to a device able to temporarily or permanently store instructions and data that cause machine 1700 to operate in a specific fashion. The term “machine-readable medium,” as used herein, does not encompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals per se (such as on a carrier wave propagating through a medium); the term “machine-readable medium” may therefore be considered tangible and non- transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory, tangible machine-readable medium may include, but are not limited to, nonvolatile memory (such as flash memory or read-only memory (ROM)), volatile memory (such as a static random-access memory (RAM) or a dynamic RAM), buffer memory, cache memory, optical storage media, magnetic storage media and devices, network-accessible or cloud storage, other types of storage, and/or any suitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” applies to a single medium, or combination of multiple media, used to store instructions (for example, instructions 1716) for execution by a machine 1700 such that the instructions, when executed by one or more processors 1710 of the machine 1700, cause the machine 1700 to perform and one or more of the features described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium” may refer to a single storage device, as well as “cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiple storage apparatus or devices.

[0109] The I/O components 1750 may include a wide variety of hardware components adapted to receive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information, exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/O components 1750 included in a particular machine will depend on the type and/or function of the machine. For example, mobile devices such as mobile phones may include a touch input device, whereas a headless server or ToT device may not include such a touch input device. The particular examples of I/O components illustrated in Fig. 17 are in no way limiting, and other types of components may be included in machine 1700. The grouping of VO components 1750 are merely for simplifying this discussion, and the grouping is in no way limiting. In various examples, the I/O components 1750 may include user output components 1752 and user input components 1754. User output components 1752 may include, for example, display components for displaying information (for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a projector), acoustic components (for example, speakers), haptic components (for example, a vibratory motor or force-feedback device), and/or other signal generators. User input components 1754 may include, for example, alphanumeric input components (for example, a keyboard or a touch screen), pointing components (for example, a mouse device, a touchpad, or another pointing instrument), and/or tactile input components (for example, a physical button or a touch screen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures) configured for receiving various user inputs, such as user commands and/or selections.

[0110] In some examples, the VO components 1750 may include biometric components 1756, motion components 1758, environmental components 1760, and/or position components 1762, among a wide array of other possible sensor components. The biometric components 1756 may include, for example, components to detect body expressions (for example, facial expressions, vocal expressions, hand or body gestures, or eye tracking), measure biosignals (for example, heart rate or brain waves), and identify a person (for example, via voice-, retina-, and/or facial-based identification). The motion components may include, for example, acceleration and/or rotation sensors for various components of the 3D printer. The environmental components may include, for example, light sensors (for example, photodiodes, photoresistors, or phototransistors), acoustic sensors (for example, piezoelectric sensors or acoustic wave sensors), or temperature sensors (for example, thermocouples or thermistors), which may sense environmental conditions for various locations in the 3D printer. The position components 1762 may include, for example, location sensors (for example, a Global Position System (GPS) receiver), altitude sensors (for example, an air pressure sensor from which altitude may be derived), and/or orientation sensors (for example, magnetometers).

[0111] The I/O components 1750 may include communication components 1764, implementing a wide variety of technologies operable to couple the machine 1304 to network(s) 1770 and/or device(s) 1780 via respective communicative couplings 1772 and 1782. The communication components 1764 may include one or more network interface components or other suitable devices to interface with the network(s) 1770. The communication components 1764 may include, for example, components adapted to provide wired communication, wireless communication, cellular communication, Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth communication, Wi-Fi, and/or communication via other modalities. The device(s) 1780 may include other machines or various peripheral devices (for example, coupled via USB).

[0112] In some examples, the communication components 1764 may detect identifiers or include components adapted to detect identifiers. For example, the communication components 1764 may include Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag readers, NFC detectors, optical sensors (for example, one- or multi-dimensional bar codes, or other optical codes), and/or acoustic detectors (for example, microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In some examples, location information may be determined based on information from the communication components 1762, such as, but not limited to, geo-location via Internet Protocol (IP) address, location via Wi-Fi, cellular, NFC, Bluetooth, or other wireless station identification and/or signal triangulation.

[0113] As discussed above, binder jetting 3D printing possesses higher deposition rate but low resolution, whereas inkjet printing possesses higher resolution but lower deposition rate. Figs. 18 and 19 provide an alternative implementation of a 3D printing apparatus and a methodology to address the trade-offs between binder jetting 3D printing and inkjet printing. In particular, the disclosed apparatus and methodology shown in Figs. 18 and 19 include a combination of jetted liquid material printing and binder jetting, enabling printing of fine powders at high deposition rate with a high packing density. As noted above, the combination of high deposition rate and high packing density cannot typically be achieved by either binder jetting printing since the fine powder has a poor flowability, or inkjet printing as its deposition rate is low. The ability to achieve high packing density with fine powders in accordance with the implementation of Figs. 18 and 19 allows for a finer resolution to be realized compared with utilizing conventional binder jetting printing techniques.

[0114] More specifically, existing binder j etting 3D printing technologies are based on deposition of a dry powder layer on a powder bed or a substrate followed by jetting a liquid binder onto the deposited powder layer to define the printed pattern. Typically, the powder used in the binder jetting 3D printing includes relatively large particles, e g. 20 pm or larger particle size. While a large particle size powder can possess better printability, printing with such a powder produces relatively thick layers and rough surfaces, which limits the printing resolution. Printing with large particle size powders may also create large voids which prevent full densification during sintering processes. Printing resolution and sintering may be improved using fine powder including smaller particles. However, fine powder including smaller particles (e.g. smaller than 5 pm) has poor printability in dry form due to increased inter-particle forces, rendering binder jetting printing impossible when powder particle size approaches 1 pm or smaller (nano-size).

[0115] Inkjet printing, on the other hand, using a liquid ink that includes both the powder and a binder, is capable of printing nano-sized particles, allowing for a thinner printed layer and a finer printing resolution than that achieved by binder j etting printing. One of the main drawbacks of inkjet printing is that the deposition rate in terms of printed solid volume per hour (e.g. liter per hour) is very low - for example, two orders of magnitude lower than the deposition rate of binder jetting printing. The inkjet printing arrangements described herein, for example with regard to Figs. 1-17, provide improvement over prior inkjet printing arrangements.

[0116] As discussed above with regard to Figs. 1-17, an inkjet 3D printing system is presented wherein the 3D printing system includes a liquid removal system which replaces the conventional slow evaporation system, thus significantly accelerating the drying process. Also, the liquid removal system is separated from the inkjet printing station and is configured to operate in parallel with the inkjet printing station, thus further improving the printing throughput. One possible problem with the inkjet 3D printing system including the liquid removal system is that binder in the liquid may be removed excessively. In the above-discussed implementations regarding Figs. 1-17, the printed pattern is formed by direct patterning printing The inkjet 3D printing system is most efficient for printing only nano-sized particles (smaller than 1 pm) and the volume deposition rate is expected to be lower than that of binder jetting printing. The low deposition rate is a consequence of patterning printing and the use of low viscosity ink which limits the volumetric loading of the printed solid to 20% or less in the presence of binder. The alternative 3D printing apparatus and methodology shown in Figs. 18 and 19 and described below enables printing of fine powders (smaller than 5 pm) while maintaining the high deposition rate, for example, tens of liters per hour, associated with binder jetting technology and the fine resolution associated with inkjet technology.

[0117] The alternative implementation shown in Figs. 18 and 19 provides a 3D printing apparatus and a methodology to address the various limitations described above, and particularly the trade-offs between binder jetting 3D printing, which possesses higher deposition rate but low resolution, and inkjet printing, which possesses higher resolution but lower deposition rate. The disclosed apparatus and methodology include a combination of jetted liquid material printing, without binder material, and subsequent binder jetting. This enables printing of particulate material (e.g. fine powders) at high volume deposition rate (e.g. tens of liters per hour) with a high packing density, which cannot typically be achieved by either binder jetting printing, since the fine powder has a poor flowability, or inkjet printing, since its deposition rate is low. The ability to achieve high packing density with fine powders allows for a finer resolution to be realized than can be achieved utilizing conventional binder jetting printing techniques.

[0118] Referring to Fig. 18, like numbered elements to those in Fig. 2 perform the same or similar functions as described above with regard to Fig. 2. However, Fig. 18 includes two elements 1802 and 1809 which differ from the implementation shown in Fig. 2 and provide for a substantially different operation from that of the apparatus shown Fig. 2, as will be discussed below with regard to Fig. 19.

[0119] Specifically, the elements identified by the numeral 1802 in Fig. 18 are liquid deposition devices, for example coating or print heads or liquid dispersion print heads, which are configured to deposit a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material (e.g., powder) in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but being devoid of a binder material, onto the carrier 204 to form a non-pattemed coated layer (simply called non-pattemed layer) on the carrier 204. In a manner similar to that discussed above with regard to Fig. 2, the liquid extraction device 206 may then be evacuated to cause low viscosity constituents of the liquid dispersion, particularly the solvent in the liquid vehicle making up the non-patterned layer, to be partially or completely removed from the non-patterned layer, thereby drying the layer. Following this drying operation by the liquid extraction device 206, and optional further densification and/or drying by the conditioning device 208, element 1809 is a liquid binder printer configured to deposit a liquid binder onto the dried non-patterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer. It is noted that, although a plurality of liquid dispersion print heads 1802 are shown, a single liquid dispersion print head can be used if preferred. Similarly, a plurality of liquid binder printers 1809 can be utilized, if desired, for example, to deposit different binder materials in sequence on the non-pattemed layer.

[0120] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, as shown in Fig. 19, the deposition of a fine powder (smaller than 5 pm) includes process steps of formulating the powder into a printing ink, slurry or dispersion, collectively termed “liquid dispersion,” that is devoid of binder material (Step 1902) and depositing the liquid dispersion onto a substrate by a high-speed coating method to form a deposited layer, i.e. a non-patterned layer using the liquid deposition device 1802 (Step 1904). Next at least a portion of the solvent in the non-patterned layer comprising the liquid dispersion, is removed to form a dried non-patterned layer using the solvent extraction device 206 (Step 1906). During removal of solvent, the non-patterned layer is densified (Step 1906), and, optionally further densification can be provided to the dried nonpatterned layer by the conditioning device 208 comprising a compaction system (Step 1908). After the densification of the non-patterned layer, a liquid binder is deposited to form the printed pattern using a liquid binder printer 1809 (Step 1910).

[0121] In some implementations of the present disclosure, the liquid dispersion is formulated using techniques known in the art, with only the particles dispersed in a solvent assisted with a dispersant, thus increasing the loading of printed solid and facilitating solvent removal. The absence of binder in the liquid dispersion can help increase the volumetric loading of the printed solid from 20% in a typical inkjet ink to 40% or greater. The presence of dispersant improves the rheological properties of the liquid dispersion and aids in enabling a uniform distribution of the particles. The absence of binder in the liquid dispersion also provides flexibility for the selection of a solvent which is more environmentally friendly and has a lower boiling point facilitating drying. For example, the selected solvents may have a boiling point in a range 35°C to 110°C. The solvent used in an inkjet ink typically has a high boiling point (e.g. in a range of 120°C to 300°C) to prevent nozzle drying and clogging, and therefore is difficult to dry after printing. As such, by not including binder material in the liquid dispersion dispensed from the liquid dispersion print heads 1802, a wider range of solvents, including environmentally friendly solvents, can be utilized.

[0122] In some implementations, the liquid dispersion dispensed from the liquid deposition device 1802 can be formulated with a powder including mono-sized particles or, alternatively, multiple-sized particles. The multiple-sized particles may be mono-distributed, bimodal-distributed or multi-modal distributed. In one implementation, a series of liquid dispersions may be formulated with powders including particles of different sizes and distributions for achieving optimal results. For example, a liquid dispersion dispensed from the liquid deposition device 1802 including large particles may help in achieving high volume deposition rate of a first coated layer on the carrier 204. A second liquid dispersion can then be dispensed from the liquid deposition device 1802 including smaller particles to be coated as a second coated layer over the first coated layer formed with the liquid dispersion including large particles. Advantageously, with this implementation, the smaller particles from the second liquid dispersion fill in gaps or cavities formed between the large particles from the first liquid dispersion, thus increasing the particle packing density which leads to higher density in the final printed object after post-printing process(es), e.g. sintering.

[0123] In some implementations, the liquid dispersion is deposited by high speed coating techniques from the liquid deposition devices 1802 including but not limited to aerosol spraying coating, ultrasonic spray coating, blade coating, curtain coating, slot die coating, etc. These dispensing or depositing or coating techniques are known to cover a significant area and deliver a significant volume of the printed solid (e.g. powder) in the coated layer dispensed by the liquid dispersion deposition device 1802 in a relatively short time.

[0124] Post liquid deposition from the liquid deposition device 1802, a liquid extraction device 206 is operated to remove solvent from the deposited or coated layer. As described above with regard to Figs. 1-17, the liquid extraction device 206 may be configured to remove the solvent by using one or more techniques of a pressure differential, a pressure plate, a pressure cuff, a vacuum, and employing a semi-permeable membrane. Alternatively, heat may be applied by the liquid extraction device 206 to extract the solvent via evaporation when solvent of low boiling point or fast drying is used in the liquid dispersion. After the solvent has been removed from the non-patterned layer, the packing density of the printed solid (e.g. deposited or coated particles) increases significantly.

[0125] In alternative implementations, post solvent removal by the liquid extraction device 206, optionally a compaction mechanism (e.g., conditioning device 208) is operated to further increase the packing density of the printed layer. As described in 63/299,838, calendering rollers can be employed to compact the printed powder layer achieving higher packing density. Tn some implementations, the solvent in the liquid dispersion is deliberately only partially removed and the remaining solvent in the printed layer serves as a lubricant or wetting agent facilitating the compaction.

[0126] After the solvent removal and optional compaction processes described above, a liquid binder is deposited by the liquid binder printer 1809 using inkjet printing known in the art to form a printed pattern on the dried non-pattemed layer at the output of the conditioning device 208. The process continues with solidifying the liquid binder with a curing device (Step 1 12 in Fig. 19), and transferring the printed pattern to a build station or a build platform for stack assembly (Step 1914 in Fig. 19), as described above with regard to Figs. 1-17, and the above process steps shown in Fig. 19 are then repeated to build a multi-layer printed product.

[0127] In summary, the various features described above with regard to Figs. 18 and 19 to formulate the liquid dispersion of fine powder with a high solid loading and fast drying solvent, without the need of binder and other additives, print the liquid dispersion at a high volume deposition rate, and precisely form the printed pattern by binder jetting, makes the above-described method a desirable manufacturing method providing for a fast, high throughput and yet accurate printing process.

[0128] Turning to another aspect of the present disclosure, it is noted that material jetting is an inkjet printing process whereby printheads, e.g., inkjet printheads, are used to deposit a liquid material onto a build platform in a layer-upon-layer fashion. Material jetting typically uses a UV light, to solidify the material after printing. The methods of material deposition may vary from printer to printer, and may involve either a continuous or drop-on-demand jetting approach. In some systems the printing ink or jetted material is preheated for better viscosity. In others, preheating is not required beforehand, the printhead begins to move above the build platform, depositing the first layer of material where required. The deposited material may then be exposed to UV light to cure or solidify the layer of the deposited material in a process known as photopolymerization. Once the first layer has solidified, the process of depositing another layer is repeated until the part is finished.

[0129] The jetted material typically includes a liquid vehicle comprising binding agents as well as solvents and possibly additives. The binding agents serve the purpose of holding the jetted material together. The liquid vehicle may be used with a powder to form the jetted material. The binding agents may be partially removed to increase the density of the powder and to improve the quality of the printed material before the jetted material is exposed to heat during, e.g., sintering. There is a balance of selectively removing enough of the binder from the jetted material to allow fast sintering at high heat, but not so much that the fragile parts may lose their dimensional accuracy or fall apart during the process.

[0130] Continuous material jetting typically allows for high-speed 3D printing. However, the existence of the solvent in the jetted material, which is added to lower the viscosity of the jetted material and stabilize the dispersion of particles in the ink, may dilute the powder and cause the 3D printing process to become slow. Accordingly, the solvent is removed after the material jetting to reduce dilution of the powder and increase the packing density of the jetted material. Removal of the solvent is typically performed in one of two (2) ways: thermal removal or vacuum removal or a combination of both. Thermal removal reduces the speed of the overall printing process, because of the time needed to evaporate the solvent without curing the binder that is present in the jetted material. Vacuum removal is typically faster than thermal removal. However, during vacuum removal, in addition to the solvent, the powder, the binder and any additives that may be present in the jetted material may also be removed. As a result, the quality of the printed material may deteriorate.

[0131] Hence, in addition to the features discussed above with regard to FIGS. 1-19, it is noted that a need remains for a system and method for efficient removal of a solvent from a printed material layer and for restoring the properties of the printed material layer after extraction of the solvent and other liquids in the printed material.

[0132] In this regard, in accordance with another general aspect of the present disclosure, the instant disclosure describes a jetted material printing system that includes a carrier substrate configured to travel along a longitudinal direction; one or more printheads, each of the one or more printheads being configured to deposit an amount of material onto the carrier substrate to form a printed layer; a liquid removal device located at a first position from the one or more printheads in the longitudinal direction, the liquid removal device being configured to remove a liquid from the printed layer formed onto the carrier substrate; and a binder conditioning device located at a second position downstream from the liquid removal device in the longitudinal direction, the binder conditioning device being configured to inject a binder material into the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the liquid removal. [0133] The above general aspect may include one or more of the following features. For example, the material jetted from at least one of the one or more printheads includes at least one of: a powder; a binder; a solvent; and one or more additives. In another example, the binder material deposited onto the carrier substrate compensates for an amount of the binder that has been removed by the liquid removal device. In yet another example, wherein the binder conditioning device is configured to add an amount of the binder material to the material FIG. 20 deposited onto the carrier substrate in order to restore one or more properties of the deposited material.

[0134] As an additional example, the jetted material printing system includes one or more sensors to determine at least one of a quantity and a location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the material deposited. In a further example, the liquid removal device is located offset from the carrier substrate, and the binder conditioning device is located offset from the carrier substrate. In a different example, the liquid removal device comprises a semi-permeable membrane.

[0135] For another example, the jetted material printing system includes a recycling system for recycling the removed liquid. In a further example, the liquid removal device and the one or more printheads are located on opposite sides of the carrier substrate. In yet another example, the first position includes a position being offset from the carrier substrate, a position downstream from the printheads, or a position substantially beneath at least one of the printheads.

[0136] In another general aspect, the instant disclosure describes a method of jetted material printing including jetting a material from one or more printheads onto a carrier substrate to form a printed layer, the material including at least one of a powder, a solvent, a binder, and one or more additives; removing at least the solvent from the printed layer via a liquid removal device; and conditioning the printed layer by dispensing an amount of conditioning binder on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the solvent removal via a binder conditioning device. For example, the material may comprise a solvent and at least one of a powder, a binder and one or more additives.

[0137] The above method of jetted material printing may include one or more of the following features. In an example, depositing the material from the one or more printheads includes depositing a different material from each of the one or more printheads. In another example, the method of jetted material printing may also include using one or more sensors to determine at least one of a quantity and a location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the printed layer to its state prior to liquid removal.

[0138] In a further example, the method of jetted material printing also includes determining that transferring the binder conditioned printed layer can be transferred in its entirety without breaking; and upon determining that the binder conditioned printed layer can be transferred in its entirety without breaking, transferring the binder conditioned printed layer. In an additional example, the method includes determining that the binder conditioned printed layer cannot be transferred in its entirety without breaking, and upon determining that the binder conditioned printed layer cannot be transferred in its entirety without breaking, disposing of the binder conditioned printed layer.

[0139] For another example, dispensing the amount of conditioning binder includes depositing one or more layers of the conditioning binder or replenishing the binder in the printed layer. In another example, the method of jetted material printing also includes recycling the removed liquid. In a further example, depositing the amount of conditioning binder includes depositing a conditioning binder that is different from the binder in at least one of the one or more printheads. In yet another example, depositing the material from the one or more printheads comprises depositing the material from one or more inkjet printheads. In one other example, the one or more printheads jet the amount of material substantially in parallel with the liquid removal device removing liquid from a previously deposited material on the carrier substrate.

[0140] In accordance with further aspects of the above discussion, inkjet ink may be low in viscosity, e.g., no more than about 100 centipoise, which results in a low loading of insoluble materials such as metals, ceramics or polymers (persistent and fugitive materials), suspended in a low viscosity liquid. Typically, the volumetric loading of insoluble materials in inkjet ink is 20% or less. Binders may make up 5% to 20% of the total volume of the ink, leaving 60% to 75% or more as solvent or other components of the liquid vehicle, which may have to be removed in order to achieve a practical density of materials prior to curing, or green density, of at least 40% by volume of the active materials. The liquid vehicle comprises at least one or more of a binder or binding agent, a solvent and additives. Inkjet printers can be used with inks that are comprised of materials that may be polymerized to a solid mass after deposition. This may be useful for making parts that are comprised largely of organic materials. While it may be possible to formulate virtually 100% polymerizable material that may be jetted, inks or jetted material that include a solid material, e.g., inorganic materials like a ceramic powder, commonly may not exceed about 20% by volume of the solid material. Therefore, if inkjet printers are to be practical for high-speed 3D printing, it would be advantageous to provide a mechanism for removing the majority of the solvent in the liquid vehicle deposited during the printing cycle more rapidly than can be accomplished by evaporation alone.

[0141] Removing solvent during material jetting presents a technical problem because removal of the solvent using a pressure differential or vacuum may cause other components of the jetted material such as, binders, powder and/or additives, to also be removed. Removal of binders, powder and/or additives may be deleterious to the quality of the jetted material layer or printed layer.

[0142] To address these technical problems and more, in an example, this description provides a technical solution for removing the solvent by applying a pressure differential, or vacuum, that does not adversely affect the quality of the jetted material layer or printed layer. Specifically, various implementations include adding a binder deposition device, or binder deposition step, that follows a solvent removal process so as to replenish other components of the jetted material such as, the binder that may have been removed together with the solvent.

[0143] Various implementations include printing a material layer via, e.g., jetting, on a carrier substrate from a printhead such as an inkjet printhead. The printed layer, which may include the powder or material to be printed, a binder, a solvent and possibly one or more additives, is referred to herein as ink, or jetted material. Printing of the jetted material may be followed by liquid solvent extraction such as, a solvent extraction based on applying a pressuredifferential, or a vacuum, to the printed layer. Such solvent extraction may be referred to herein as vacuum-based solvent extraction. The liquid solvent extraction may remove most or all of the liquid present in the printed layer. The printed layer may include one type of material, or multiple types of material when there are multiple printheads jetting the material to be printed on the same carrier substrate. For example, the number of different types of materials being deposited may depend on the number of printheads used to jet the material on the same carrier substrate in order to form the printed layer.

[0144] In various implementations, the vacuum-based solvent extraction that follows the deposition of the printed layer may result in a printed layer that has less solvent, but also less binder. For example, removing liquids such as, the solvent, from the printed layer may be accomplished by depositing the printed layer on a semi-permeable membrane that includes a plurality of apertures. As discussed above, removal of the solvent using vacuum extraction may cause the loss of some jetted material, such as the binder, that may be needed to preserve the properties of the printed layer or layers, for example, mechanical properties. Accordingly, after liquids are removed from the printed layer via, e.g., vacuum removal, a binder conditioning device may be used to deposit or dispense an amount of binder on top of the printed layer in order to replenish the printed layer with binder so as to preserve the quality and integrity of the printed layer. In some implementations, a conditioning binder jet, or binder conditioning device may thus be added to the continuous material jetting system, the conditioning binder jet being configured to add an amount of binder to the printed layer in order to restore one or more properties of the printed layer. These properties include, but are not limited to, properties which enable a printed layer to be securely bonded across its surface to another printed layer, for example density, powder loading, binder-loading and/or additive loading. The conditioning binder jet may also be chosen so as to facilitate stacking of layers. Accordingly, it becomes possible to use vacuum-based solvent extraction from a printed layer while maintaining a desired level of binder in the deposited material.

[0145] FIG. 20 illustrates a schematic representation of a 3D printing apparatus 2000, according to various implementations. In the 3D printing apparatus 100, deposition of a printed or patterned layer starts by depositing inkjet inks (inkjet material) appropriate with each of one or more inkjet printheads 2002 onto a carrier 2004 (also referred to herein as receiver device 2004 or receiver 2004), which is depicted in FIG. 20 as a continuous belt. In other implementations, carrier 2004 may take other forms, such as individual carrier plates or an extended length of carrier material that may be cycled through the printer one time before being reconditioned or disposed of.

[0146] Each one of the plurality of inkjet printheads 2002 may be configured to deposit ink in a predetermined pattern of a printed layer according to, e.g., instructions received from a print station controller, as further described below in connection with FIGS. 24 and 25. Each of the plurality of inkjet material printheads 2002 may be supplied with inkjet ink containing a same or different material, each material conforming to a desired physical specification. The plurality of printheads 2002 may all be of the same type, or each of the plurality of printheads 2002 may be of a type that is different from one or more of the other printheads 2002. Printheads 2002 may be configured to print directly on the carrier 2004 in order to create a printed layer thereon, or onto a substrate or permeable membrane placed on the carrier 2004, as further discussed below.

[0147] In various implementations, each one of printheads 2002 deposits a predetermined quantity of inkjet ink onto the carrier 2004 in a desired pattern of voxels, as directed by a print station controller described below in connection with FIG. 25. Each of the voxel patterns of each one of the plurality of printheads 2002 may be separated from the voxel patterns from any other printheads 2002, or may partially or completely overlap the voxel pattern of any other one, or all of, the rest of the printheads 2002. The result may be a printed layer of a desired pattern of a plurality of ink types on the carrier 2004. It will be understood that a pattern of ink may not cover 100% of carrier 2004, depending on the part to be printed and any subsequent processing of the layer.

[0148] In various implementations, the portion of the carrier 2004 that is under the printheads 2002 may move the printed layer in a direction of travel, illustrated in FIG. 20 as being from right to left, using printer drive motor 2056 such that the printed layer may be juxtaposed with liquid extraction device 2006. This may be achieved by provisioning the carrier 2004 with the printer drive motor 2056 such that, under control of a print station control unit, the carrier 2004 may move in a direction of travel. The liquid extraction device 2006 may then operate to cause low viscosity constituents of ink making up the printed layer to be removed from the printed layer, thereby drying or partially drying the printed layer.

[0149] In various implementations, the liquid extraction device 2006 may comprise a vacuum. In some implementations, the liquid extraction device 2006 may comprise a porous membrane placed on the carrier 2004, which is mostly permeable to the solvent to be removed. For example, the substrate may be configured such that the pore size, surface chemistry and other parameters regulate the liquid that passes through the pores, and ensure that the solid particles which make up the printed layer remain on the carrier 2004. The porous membrane may comprise a plurality of apertures of a uniform pore size or variable pore sizes.

[0150] In various implementations, the carrier 2004 may further move the printed layer in the direction of travel such that the printed layer may be juxtaposed with binder conditioning device 2008. For example, the binder conditioning device 2008 is configured to add an amount of binder to compensate for any amount that has been removed by the liquid extraction device 2006. Before or after conditioning the printed layer by the binder conditioning device, the carrier 2004 may also move the printed layer to a fixing device 2010 to cure or solidify the layer.

[0151] In various implementations, after the printed layer has been dried and conditioned and/or cured as discussed above, the carrier 2004 may move the printed layer to build plate 2014, where transfer device 2016 may be used to transfer the printed layer to build plate 2014. As used herein, a “transfer device” includes any apparatus for moving the printed layer to an assembly apparatus. The first printed layer may be transferred directly to build plate 2014, while subsequent printed layers may be placed atop the first printed layer to create a stack of printed layers 2018.

[0152] In an implementation, the plurality of printheads 2002 may be positioned such that the nozzles of each one of the plurality of printheads 2002 form one or more substantially straight lines, and that the straight lines of the nozzles in all of the plurality of printheads 2002 are juxtaposed parallel to each other. The plurality of printheads 2002 may be aligned such that the parallel rows of nozzles are aligned perpendicularly to the direction of travel of the carrier 2004, and that the nozzles may extend up to substantially the full width of the carrier 2004. The plurality of printheads 2002 may be provisioned with a transport device to allow the plurality of printheads 2002 to traverse a length of carrier 2004 to create a predetermined pattern of voxels on carrier 2004.

[0153] In various implementations, the plurality of printheads 2002 may be fixed across the width of carrier 2004, and the carrier 2004 may be configured to move in a direction of travel such that the plurality of printheads 2002 may deposit a predetermined pattern of ink, in voxels, on a length of carrier 2004. In other examples, the parallel rows of nozzles may be aligned parallel to the direction of movement of the carrier 2004. In such a case, the plurality of printheads 2002 may be provisioned with a transport device (not shown) to allow the plurality of printheads 2002 to traverse the width of the carrier 2004 to create a predetermined pattern of a plurality of inks, in voxels, on the carrier 2004. Whatever the configuration of printheads 2002, they may collectively deposit a layer of ink which is referred to herein as the printed layer.

[0154] In various implementations, the carrier 2004 may move the printed layer to a liquid extraction device 2006, where a pressure differential may be used to remove solvents or unwanted liquids from the printed layer. By moving the printed layer away from printheads 2002 before removing the liquids, the 3D printer may print another printed layer via the printheads 2002 in parallel with the liquid removal process of the previously printed layer. For example, the liquid extraction device 2006 may include a vacuum chamber, which may include a vacuum tight enclosure. In some implementations, the liquid extraction device 2006 may also be provided with a connection to a vacuum source (not shown). In some implementations, instead of, or in addition to, applying a vacuum to the bottom of the printed layer, a solvent extraction system may apply a pressure differential by applying a positive pressure to a top surface of the printed layer.

[0155] In various implementations, after the printed layer has been deposited, it may include a substantial amount of low viscosity liquid, for example as much as 90% by volume. After the printed layer has been positioned in contact with the liquid extraction device 2006, solvent may be evacuated by an attached vacuum source to create a pressure differential across the printed layer. The pressure differential across the printed layer may cause a substantial amount (for example as much as 90%) of the low viscosity liquid in the layer to be forced into the vacuum chamber, thereby transforming the printed layer into a dried layer or partially dried layer.

[0156] In various implementations, an assembly apparatus 2062 may include a build station 2060 comprising an X-Y-Z positioner device 2064. As used herein, the term “assembly apparatus” may refer to any system capable of receiving printed layers 2018 from a plurality of transfer devices 2016 in such a way as to assemble printed layers and finished parts according to a predetermined design. The build station 2060 may include a build plate 2014. The X-Y-Z positioner device 2064 may be able to adjust the vertical position of the build plate 2014 to maintain the top of the previously transferred printed layers 2018 at a predetermined vertical position to facilitate proper transfer of a printed layer to the build plate 2014 or the top of a stack of previously transferred printed layers 2018.

[0157] In one implementation, the binder conditioning device 2008 may be located downstream from the liquid extraction device 2006 along the direction of travel of the carrier 2004. The binder conditioning device 2008 may be configured to inject more binder in the printed material deposited on the carrier substrate 2004, to account for any binder that may have been removed/reduced by the fluid removal device. In this manner, the 3D printing system can maintain the quality of the printed layer. [0158] FIG. 21 A depicts a jetted material printing system. The 3D printing apparatus 2100 includes a binder conditioning device. The 3D printing apparatus 2100 includes a plurality of printheads 2110A, 2110B and 21 IOC, a liquid removal device 2140, and a binder conditioning device 2150. In some implementations, operation of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 21 IOC, the liquid removal device 2140, and the binder conditioning device 2150 may be controlled by controller 2160, the operation and configuration of which are further discussed in connection with FIG. 25 below. In the 3D printing apparatus 2100, the plurality of printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C jet an amount of material 2115 onto a carrier substrate 2120, the jetted material 2115 coming from an ink or a slurry included in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C. For example, each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C, which may be inkjet printheads, may contain a slurry that includes any combination of a powder, a solvent, a binder and one or more additives, and may be configured to jet the material 2115 from that slurry onto the carrier substrate 2120. The slurries contained in the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C may be different from each other. Accordingly, the amounts, concentrations and nature of the powders, solvents, binders and additives included in the slurry in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C may be different for each printhead. Optionally, the amounts, concentrations and nature of the powders, solvents, binders and additives included in the slurry in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C may be the same.

[0159] When a plurality of printheads, such as printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C, simultaneously or contemporaneously jet a material 2115 onto the carrier substrate 2120 disposed on a moving platform 2130, the resulting layer of deposited j etted material 2115 may be a combination of the materials included in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C. With reference to FIG. 20, the system 2100 in FIG. 21 A corresponds to the combination of elements 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008. Specifically, the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C may correspond to the inkjet printheads 2002, the carrier substrate 2120 may correspond to the carrier 2004, the liquid removal device 2140 may correspond to the liquid extraction device 2006, and the binder conditioning device 2150 may correspond to the binder conditioning device 2008.

[0160] In various implementations, the moving platform 2130 which holds the carrier substrate 2120 is configured to travel along a longitudinal direction of travel 2155 thereof, and as the carrier substrate 2120 travels away from the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C on the moving platform 2130, the carrier substrate 2120 may come to a liquid removal device 2140. The liquid removal device 2140 may be located at a first position, wherein in one example the first position is offset from the carrier substrate, in another example, the first position is downstream from the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C, and in a further example, the first position is substantially beneath at least one of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C. In some implementations, the liquid removal device 2140 may be located under the carrier substrate 2120, or on an opposite side of the carrier substrate 2120 from the printheads 2101A, 2110B and 2110C. The liquid removal device 2140 may be configured to remove liquids such as, e.g., a solvent, from the jetted material 2115 deposited on the carrier substrate 2120. The liquid removal device 2140 may be configured to remove the liquids by using, e.g., a pressure differential or vacuum. For example, the liquid removal device 2140 may include a vacuum generator and may be configured to remove the solvent from the material 2115 that has been jetted onto the carrier substrate 2120 via a sucking action generated by the pressure differential or via a vacuum generated by the liquid removal device 2140.

[0161] In some cases, removing solvent form the jetted material 2115 via pressure differential or vacuum may cause any one or more of the other components of the jetted material 2115 such as, any combination of the solvent, the binders and the additives, to also be removed from the j etted material 2115. Accordingly, in various implementations, the j etted material 2115 is moved by the moving platform 2130 to a binder conditioning device 2150 located downstream from the liquid removal device 2140. The binder conditioning device 2150 may be configured to inject more binder in the jetted material 2115 deposited on the carrier substrate 2120, and as a result replenish any binder that may have been removed/reduced by the liquid removal device and thus to maintain the quality of the printed material 2115. The binder conditioning device 2150 may be located at a second position offset from the carrier substrate and downstream from the liquid removal device along a direction of travel 2155 thereof, and may inject the same binders as were initially present in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C. The binder conditioning device 2150 may be located over or above the carrier substrate 2120, or on an opposite side of the carrier substrate 2120, i.e. the opposite side of the jetted material 2115 from the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C. The binder conditioning device 2150 may also inject one or more combination of binders that are different from the binders that were initially present in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C. The binder conditioning device 2150 may inject the binder or binders using printheads, e.g., similar to the printheads 21 10A, 21 10B or 21 IOC. Accordingly, any binder that may have been removed from the jetted material 2115 by the vacuum or pressure differential during operation of the liquid removal device 2140 may be replenished partially or completely. For example, additional binder is added until reaching to the same level of binder loading of the jetted material 2115 as the level prior to the liquid removal. As a result, the jetted material 2115 may regain a desired or acceptable binder loading and restore overall quality that may have been adversely affected during operation of the vacuumbased liquid removal device 2140.

[0162] FIG. 21B depicts a binder conditioning device 2150, according to various implementations. In FIG. 21B, the binder conditioning device 2150 includes a body 2152 and a nozzle 2154. The body 2152 is connected to a reservoir 2170 via a conduit 2165. The reservoir 2170 may be replenishable and may be configured to store a binder to be provided to the body 2152. During operation of the binder conditioning device 2150, the binder may flow from the reservoir 2170 to the body 2152 via the conduit 2165, and the nozzle 2154 may discharge the binder 2180, in the form of a spray, onto the jetted material 2115. Accordingly, any binder that may have been initially removed by the liquid removal device 2140 may be replenished by the binder conditioning device 2150.

[0163] In various implementations, the binder 2180 may be discharged on the jetted material 2115 one layer at a time. For example, a single layer of binder 2180 may be discharged on the jetted material 2115, and the deposition of the single layer of binder 2180 may constitute sufficient conditioning of the jetted material 2115. The layer of binder 2180 may have the same thickness as that of a single layer of the jetted material 2115. Alternatively, several layers of binder 2180 may be discharged on the jetted material 2115 to constitute sufficient binder conditioning of the jetted material.

[0164] The quantity and/or location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the printed layer (e.g. the jetted material 2115) by the binder conditioning device 2150 may be determined by a sensor 2145 located between the liquid removal device 2140 and the binder conditioning device 2150 (e.g., see FIG. 21A) based on whether the printed layer has a sufficient amount of binder so that the printed layer can be adequately transferred to the build plate in a manner that enables a printed part to be assembled. If desired, another sensor 2145’ can be located to re-check the quantity of the binder in the printed layer, i.e. the conditioned printed layer, following the conditioning binder having been applied by the binder conditioning device 2150.

[0165] For example, determining whether the conditioned printed layer post the binder conditioning, can be adequately transferred may comprise determining if all the materials forming the printed layer have bonded together, and the printed layer can be transferred as a whole and in its entirety without breaking. This may comprise determining the structural integrity and mechanical strength of the layer, for example by stress testing, hardness testing, adhesion testing, or other methods known to those skilled in the art. Any printed layer that has been subjected to the same quantity and/or location of conditioning binder by binder conditioning device 108, but cannot be adequately transferred by the transfer device 116, is disposed of. The quantity and/or location of conditioning binder is then modified. Once transfer is confirmed to be adequate, any printed layer that has been subjected to the same quantity and/or location of conditioning binder by binder conditioning device 108 can continue to be transferred by transfer device 116. In some implementations, the location may comprise a location in the x, y and/or z dimension.

[0166] In various implementations, determining the quantity and/or location of liquid to be removed, or the quantity and/or location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the printed layer to its state prior to liquid removal may comprise using one or more sensors. Various types of sensors including optical, gravimetric, capacitive, resistive, piezoresistive, electrochemical, micro-electro-mechanical-system and field-effect-transistor sensors may be used.

[0167] For example, sensor(s) such as described in US Patent Application Number 18/074,341, “Wetting Sensor, Method and System for Sensing an Amount of a Wetting Agent”, filed December 2, 2022, can be used as the sensors 2145 and 2145’ in FIG. 21 A to determine the amount of liquid which has been removed and/or the amount of conditioning binder to be added to compensate for any amount that has been removed by the liquid extraction device 2006. These sensors can enable automated in-line monitors to detect quality issues related to wetting, drying and deposit! on/rem oval of wetting agents such as steam, liquid binders and inkjet materials in real time, thus minimizing production of defective printed layers. For example, in one implementation, a wetting agent absorbing material (or sensing material) can be used to absorb a wetting agent forming a wetting agent absorbing material/wetting agent mixture, which interacts with sensing electrodes of a sensor and generates an electrical sensing signal that is proportional to the concentration of the wetting agent absorbed in the wetting agent absorbing material. It is noted that the sensors 2045 and 2145’ can be located to detect the amount of a binder in the actual layer being processed, or, alternatively, to detect the amount of the binder in a test sample layer (for example in a reservoir located adjacent to the actual layer being processed) that is being subjected to the same processing steps as the actual layer being processed, as also described in US Patent Application Number 18/074,341.

[0168] In implementations for sensing the amount binder remaining in the layer following liquid extraction by the liquid extraction device 2140, and, correspondingly to determine how much conditioning binder needs to be added by the binder conditioning device 2150, the incorporation of one or more wetting sensors 2145/2145’ may be utilized to detect liquid binder at various depths and locations of a printed layer, thus providing real-time monitoring of binder deposition process and quality. As illustrated in FIG. 22, the wetting sensors described herein can begin a control operation by first determining wetness of a material being monitored, for example, a powder/wetting agent mixture, e.g., the printed layer or jetted material layer 2115. In this case, the “Initiate Process” step prior to the control operation, i.e. the binder conditioning operation, could actually be a step of material jetting which would, itself, inject an ink (liquid material or jetted material) to create a powder/wetting agent mixture (with the liquid binder material being the wetting agent). If the one or more wetting sensors determines that the degree of wetness of the powder/liquid binder mixture falls within a predetermined acceptable range, then it is determined that the binder conditioning process is complete. The powder/binder mixture being monitored can continue to the next step of processing such as further drying and/or curing.

[0169] FIG. 23 illustrates a method of conditioning a printed material by adding binder material to a jetted material, according to various implementations. In FIG. 23, the method 2300 starts at S2310, by depositing or jetting material from one or more printheads onto a carrier substrate, the jetted or deposited material including at least a powder, a solvent, a binder and one or more additives. With reference to FIGS. 21 A and 2 IB, the material 2115 is j etted from the printheads 2110A, 2110B and/or 2110C onto a carrier substrate 2120, and the carrier substrate 2120 is on the moving platform 2130. Depositing or jetting the material from the printheads may include jetting an ink or a slurry including a combination of a powder, a binder, and a solvent from each of the printheads The slurry in any of the printheads may also include one or more additives. In some implementations, jetting the material from the slurry included in the printheads includes jetting the slurry from one or more inkjet printheads such as, e.g., inkjet printheads 2110A, 2110B and 21 IOC illustrated in FIG. 21 A.

[0170] In various implementations, at S2320, the method 2300 may proceed to remove at least the solvent from the jetted material. Removing the solvent from the jetted material may include applying a pressure differential or vacuum to the jetted material on the carrier substrate. With reference to FIGS. 21 A and 21B, removing the solvent may be performed via the liquid removal device 2140 which is configured to apply a pressure differential or vacuum onto the carrier substrate 2120, when the carrier substrate 2120 on which the jetted material 2115 is deposited is moved from the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C to the liquid removal device 2140 via the moving platform 2130.

[0171] In one implementation, the method additionally comprises an in-situ recycling system, the recycling system enabling recovery, reconditioning and/or reuse of the removed liquid. In some configurations, the recovered liquid may be fed directly back and used by the printing system. In some implementations, the recovered liquid is collected and stored in a container before being fed back to re-use without any reconditioning. When multiple printing stations or systems are employed, the recovered liquid from each printing station or system is collected mixed and stored in a container, the mixed liquid in the container is fed back for reuse by one or more of the multiple printing stations. In some implementations, the recovered liquid is blended with virgin liquid comprising the jetted material before being fed back to reuse. In some implementations, chemical composition analysis is performed on the recovered liquid to determine if reconditioning or regeneration is required to restore the composition of the liquid. In some implementations, the recovered liquid is regenerated by replenishing the components that are consumed in the printing process.

[0172] In various implementations, at S2330, the method 2300 may further proceed to condition the jetted or deposited material, i.e., the printed layer. Conditioning the jetted material may include adding one or more binder materials or conditioning binders to the jetted material to restore an acceptable amount of binder loading of the printed material, which increases the quality of the printed material. With reference to FIGS. 21A and 21B, conditioning the jetted material 2115 may be accomplished by depositing an amount of the conditioning binder on the jetted material 21 15 via the binder conditioning device 2150. The binder conditioning device 2150 may be configured to add one or more conditioning binders on the jetted material or printed layer 2115 formed on the carrier substrate 2120, when the carrier substrate 2120 is transported from the liquid removal device 2140 to the binder conditioning device 2150. In some implementations, adding the one or more conditioning binders during S2330 may include adding a conditioning binder that is similar to the binder present in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C. In other examples, the conditioning binder added by the binder conditioning device 2150 may be different from the binders in each of the printheads 2110A, 2110B and 2110C.

[0173] In various implementations, a computer system 2400 for controlling the 3D inkjet printer illustrated in FIG. 21A is illustrated in FIG. 24. Central processing unit (CPU) 2402 communicates with input device 2404, which may be supplied with a design file 2406. In some implementations, a user may create the design file 2406 using CAD software or the like, either on a computer system 2400 or on another computer. In other implementations, a user may receive a design file from a file repository, such a file-sharing site, or from a commercial vendor of 3D designs. CPU 2402 may store design file 2406 or intermediate calculations for control of the print station control units 2408 in memory 2410, and may communicate with the user via output device 2412. CPU 2402 may communicate through interface bus 2414 with a plurality of print station control units 2408 to control depositing, j etting or dispensing of ink from inkjet printheads 2110A, 2110B and/or 2110C as discussed above and other functions of the print station control units 2408. The CPU 2402 may also communicate with an assembly apparatus 2062 to control the process of assembling the printed layers according to a predetermined design.

[0174] FIG. 25 is a diagram of a print station controller for use with a 3D inkjet printer. As shown in FIG. 25, print station control units 2408 may communicate via a device controller 2502 with receiver device 2004, inkjet printheads 2002, conditioning device 2008, curing device 2010, liquid extraction device 2006, transfer device 2016, and assembly apparatus 2062, controlling each of these devices in order to deposit ink as specified by the design file 2406 as interpreted by CPU 2402. CPU 2402 may receive state information and sensor information, and may send control signals, to any of these devices using control signaling systems that are known in the art, in order to facilitate printing as described herein.

[0175] In the following, further features, characteristics and advantages of the instant application will be described by means of items: [0176] Item 1 : A three-dimensional (3D) printer, including a receiver device including a substrate; an inkjet print head configured to deposit an ink including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle onto the substrate to form a printed layer; a removal system configured to use a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer to form a dried layer; and a transfer system configured to transfer the dried layer to a build station.

[0177] Item 2: The 3D printer of item 1, wherein the substrate is permeable, and the removal system is configured to evacuate a space on a side of the substrate opposite to the printed layer.

[0178] Item 3 : The 3D printer of items 1 or 2, wherein the substrate includes a perforated metal.

[0179] Item 4: The 3D printer of any of items 1-3, wherein the substrate includes a fibrous material.

[0180] Item 5: The 3D printer of any of items 1-4, wherein the removal system is configured to apply a pressure to a surface of the printed layer opposite the substrate.

[0181] Item 6: The 3D printer of any of items 1-5, wherein the removal system includes a pressure chamber.

[0182] Item 7: The 3D printer of any of items 1-6, wherein the removal system includes a pressure cuff.

[0183] Item 8: The 3D printer of any of items 1-7, wherein the removal system includes a pressure plate.

[0184] Item 9: The 3D printer of any of items 1-8, wherein the receiver device is configured to transport the printed layer away from the inkjet print head before removal of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer.

[0185] Item 10: The 3D printer of any of items 1-9, wherein the removal system is configured to remove the liquid vehicle during transport of the printed layer to the build station.

[0186] Item 11 : The 3D printer of any of items 1-10, wherein the transfer system is configured to transfer the dried layer to a stack of printed layers in the build station.

[0187] Item 12: The 3D printer of any of items 1-11, wherein the ink includes a binder liquid, and the printer further comprises a curing system configured to cure the binder liquid to solidify it. [0188] Item 13: The 3D printer of any of items 1 -12, further including a conditioning device configured to condition the printed layer to increase a density of the particulate material in the printed layer.

[0189] Item 14: The 3D printer of any of items 1-13, wherein the conditioning system is configured to mechanically compress the particulate material in the printed layer.

[0190] Item 15: The 3D printer of any of items 1-14, wherein the conditioning system is further configured to apply a surface conditioning material to the dried printed layer.

[0191] Item 16: The 3D printer of any of items 1-15, wherein the build station includes an X-Y controller.

[0192] Item 17: The 3D printer of any of items 1-16, wherein the build station includes a Z-axis controller.

[0193] Item 18: The 3D printer of any of items 1-17, further comprising an additional printing module configured to form a printed layer on the substrate using a method other than inkjet printing.

[0194] Item 19: A method of three-dimensional (3D) printing, including depositing an ink onto a substrate with an inkjet print head to form a printed layer, the ink including a particulate material and a liquid vehicle, transporting the printed layer away from the inkjet print head, using a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer to form a dried printed layer, and transferring the dried printed layer to a build station to form a stack of printed layers.

[0195] Item 20: The method of item 19, wherein using a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer includes evacuating a space adjacent to the substrate opposite a side of the substrate upon which the printed layer has been deposited.

[0196] Item 21 : The method of items 19 or 20, wherein using a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer includes applying pressure to a surface of the layer opposite the surface deposited onto the substrate.

[0197] Item 22: The method of any of items 19-21, wherein the step of transporting the printed layer away from the inkjet print head occurs before the step of using a pressure differential to form the dried printed layer.

[0198] Item 23: The method of any of items 19-22, further including conditioning the printed layer to increase a density of particulate material in the printed layer. [0199] Item 24: The method of any of items 19-23, wherein the ink includes a liquid binder, the method further including curing the binder to transform it into a solid.

[0200] Item 25: An inkjet printer, including a receiver device including a substrate, an inkjet print head configured to deposit an ink including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle onto the substrate to form a printed layer, and a removal system configured to use a pressure differential to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the printed layer.

[0201] Item 26: A three-dimensional (3D) printer, including: a receiver device including a substrate; a liquid deposition device configured to deposit a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto the substrate to form a non-patterned layer on the substrate; a solvent removal device configured to remove at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried non-patterned layer; and a liquid binder print head configured to deposit a liquid binder onto the dried non-patterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

[0202] Item 27: The 3D printer of item 26, wherein the particulate material comprises at least 40% by volume of the liquid dispersion.

[0203] Item 28: The 3D printer of items 26 or 27, wherein the particulate material is comprised of particles that are less than 5 pm in diameter.

[0204] Item 29: The 3D printer of any of items 26-28, wherein the particulate material is comprised of mono-sized particles.

[0205] Item 30. The 3D printer of any of items 26-29, wherein the particulate material is comprised of multiple-sized particles.

[0206] Item 31 : The 3D printer of any of items 26-30, wherein the liquid deposition device is configured to deposit a first liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a first diameter and to deposit a second liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.

[0207] Item 32: The 3D printer of any of items 26-31, wherein the liquid vehicle of the liquid dispersion includes a dispersant comprised of a material configured to improve rheological properties of the liquid dispersion and to enable uniform distribution of the particulate material on the substrate. [0208] Item 33: The 3D printer of any of items 26-32, further including a curing device configured to solidify the liquid binder in the printed pattern after the liquid binder print head has deposited the liquid binder onto the dried non-patterned layer to form the printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

[0209] Item 34: The 3D printer of any of items 26-33, wherein the solvent removal device is configured to densify the non-patterned layer during solvent removal.

[0210] Item 35: The 3D printer of any of items 26-34, further including a conditioning device configured to further densify the dried non-patterned layer following solvent removal.

[0211] Item 36: The 3D printer of any of items 26-35, wherein the solvent removal device is configured to densify the non-patterned layer during solvent removal using a pressure differential applied to a surface of the non-patterned layer opposite the substrate to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the liquid dispersion to form the dried non-patterned layer.

[0212] Item 37: The 3D printer of any of items 26-36, wherein the solvent removal device includes a pressure plate.

[0213] Item 38: The 3D printer of any of items 26-37, wherein the solvent removal device is configured to leave a portion of the solvent in the liquid dispersion as a lubricant in the dried non-patterned layer.

[0214] Item 39: The 3D printer of any of items 26-38, wherein the solvent removal device includes a vacuum chamber and a liquid-permeable support, both the vacuum chamber and the liquid-permeable support being on an opposite side of the substrate from the liquid dispersion print head.

[0215] Item 40: The 3D printer of any of items 26-39, further including a transfer device configured to transfer the printed pattern to a build station.

[0216] Item 41 : The 3D printer of any of items 26-40, wherein the liquid deposition device is configured to deposit the liquid dispersion via a coating technique comprising aerosol spray coating, ultrasonic spray coating, blade coating, curtain coating or slot die coating.

[0217] Item 42: The 3D printer of any one of items 26-41, wherein the liquid deposition device is configured to deposit the particulate material at a volume deposition rate of tens of liters per hour.

[0218] Item 43: The 3D printer of any one of items 26-42, wherein the solvent has a boiling point in the range of 35°C to 110°C. [0219] Item 44: A method of three-dimensional (3D) printing, including: depositing, via a liquid deposition device, a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto a substrate to form a non-pattemed layer on the substrate; transporting the non-pattemed layer away from the liquid deposition device; removing, via a solvent removal device, at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried nonpatterned layer; and depositing, via a liquid binder print head, a liquid binder onto the dried nonpatterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

[0220] Item 45: The method of item 44, wherein the particulate material comprises at least 40% by volume of the liquid dispersion and the particulate material is comprised of particles that are less than 5pm in diameter.

[0221] Item 46: The method of items 44 or 45, wherein the particulate material is comprised of multiple-sized particles and the liquid dispersion print head is configured to deposit a first liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a first diameter and to deposit a second liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.

[0222] Item 47: The method of any of items 44-46, further comprising solidifying the liquid binder in the printed pattern, via a curing device.

[0223] Item 48: The method of any of items 44-47, wherein the solvent removal device is configured to densify the non-pattemed layer during solvent removal using a pressure differential applied by a pressure plate to a surface of the non-patterned layer opposite the substrate to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the liquid dispersion to form the dried non-patterned layer.

[0224] Item 49: The method of any of items 44-48, wherein the depositing is performed via a coating technique comprising aerosol spray coating, ultrasonic spray coating, blade coating, curtain coating or slot die coating.

[0225] Item 50: The method of any of items 44-49, wherein the particulate material comprising the liquid dispersion is deposited at volume deposition rate of tens of liters per hour.

[0226] Item 51 : A jetted material printing system includes a carrier substrate configured to travel along a longitudinal direction, one or more printheads, each of the one or more printheads being configured to deposit an amount of material onto the carrier substrate to form a printed layer, a liquid removal device located at a first position from the one or more printheads in the longitudinal direction, the liquid removal device being configured to remove a liquid from the printed layer formed onto the carrier substrate, and a binder conditioning device located at a second position downstream from the liquid removal device in the longitudinal direction, the binder conditioning device being configured to deposit a binder material on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the liquid removal.

[0227] Item 52: The jetted material printing system of item 51, wherein the material jetted from at least one of the one or more printheads comprises at least one: of a powder; a binder; a solvent; and one or more additives.

[0228] Item 53: The jetted material printing system of item 51 or 52, wherein the printed layer comprises a binder, and wherein the binder material deposited on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate compensates for an amount of the binder that has been removed by the liquid removal device.

[0229] Item 54: The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51-53, wherein the binder conditioning device is configured to add an amount of the binder material to the material deposited onto the carrier substrate in order to replenish one or more properties of the deposited material to preserve quality and integrity of the printed layer.

[0230] Item 55: The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51-54, wherein the binder conditioning device is configured to add an amount of the binder material to the material deposited onto the carrier substrate in order to restore one or more properties of the deposited material.

[0231] Item 56: The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51-55, further comprising one or more sensors to determine at least one of a quantity and a location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the material deposited.

[0232] Item 57: The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51-56, wherein the liquid removal device is located offset from the carrier substrate, and the binder conditioning device is located offset from the carrier substrate.

[0233] Item 58: The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51-57, wherein the liquid removal device comprises a semi-permeable membrane.

[0234] Item 59: The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51-58, further comprising a recycling system for recycling the removed liquid. [0235] Item 60: The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51 -59, wherein the liquid removal device and the one or more printheads are located on opposite sides of the carrier substrate.

[0236] Item 61 : The jetted material printing system of any one of items 51-60, wherein the first position includes a position being offset from the carrier substrate, a position downstream from the printheads, or a position substantially beneath at least one of the printheads.

[0237] Item 62: A method of jetted material printing includes depositing a material from one or more printheads onto a carrier substrate to form a printed layer, the material including at least one of a powder, a solvent, a binder, and one or more additives, removing at least the solvent from the printed layer via a liquid removal device, and conditioning the printed layer by depositing an amount of conditioning binder on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the solvent removal via a binder conditioning device.

[0238] Item 63: The method of item 62, wherein depositing the material from the one or more printheads comprises depositing a different material from each of the one or more printheads.

[0239] Item 64: The method of item 62 or 63, further comprising using one or more sensors to determine at least one of a quantity and a location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the printed layer to its state prior to liquid removal.

[0240] Item 65: The method of any one of items 62-64, further comprising: determining that the binder conditioned printed layer has a sufficient amount of binder so that the binder conditioned printed layer can be transferred in its entirety without breaking; and upon determining that the binder conditioned printed layer can be transferred in its entirety without breaking, transferring the binder conditioned printed layer.

[0241] Item 66: The method of any one of items 62-65, further comprising: determining that the binder conditioned printed layer fails to have a sufficient amount of binder so that the binder conditioned printed layer cannot be transferred in its entirety without breaking; and upon determining that transferring the binder conditioned printed layer cannot be transferred in its entirety without breaking, disposing of the binder conditioned printed layer.

[0242] Item 67: The method of any one of items 62-66, wherein depositing the amount of conditioning binder comprises depositing one or more layers of the conditioning binder. [0243] Item 68: The method of any one of items 62-67, wherein depositing the amount of conditioning binder comprises replenishing the binder in the printed layer.

[0244] Item 69: The method of any one of items 62-68, further comprising recycling the removed liquid.

[0245] Item 70: The method of any one of items 62-69, wherein depositing the amount of conditioning binder comprises depositing a conditioning binder that is different from the binder in at least one of the one or more printheads.

[0246] Item 71 : The method of any one of items 62-70, wherein depositing the material from the one or more printheads comprises depositing the material from one or more inkjet printheads.

[0247] Item 72: The method of any one of items 62-71, wherein the one or more printheads deposit the amount of material substantially in parallel with the liquid removal device removing liquid from a previously deposited material on the carrier substrate.

[0248] Item 73 : The method of any one of items 62-72, wherein the printed layer comprises a binder, and wherein the conditioning binder deposited on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate compensates for an amount of binder that has been removed by the liquid removal device.

[0249] Item 74: The method of any one of items 62-73, wherein the binder conditioning device is configured to add an amount of the conditioning binder to the material deposited onto the carrier substrate in order to replenish one or more properties of the deposited material to preserve quality and integrity of the printed layer.

[0250] While various implementations have been described, the description is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting, and it is understood that many more implementations and implementations are possible that are within the scope of the implementations. Although many possible combinations of features are shown in the accompanying figures and discussed in this detailed description, many other combinations of the disclosed features are possible. Any feature of any implementation may be used in combination with or substituted for any other feature or element in any other implementation unless specifically restricted. Therefore, it will be understood that any of the features shown and/or discussed in the present disclosure may be implemented together in any suitable combination. Accordingly, the implementations are not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. Also, various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the attached claims.

[0251] While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all applications, modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the present teachings.

[0252] Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.

[0253] The scope of protection is limited solely by the claims that now follow. That scope is intended and should be interpreted to be as broad as is consistent with the ordinary meaning of the language that is used in the claims when interpreted in light of this specification and the prosecution history that follows and to encompass all structural and functional equivalents. Notwithstanding, none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails to satisfy the requirement of Sections 101, 102, or 103 of the Patent Act, nor should they be interpreted in such a way. Any unintended embracement of such subject matter is hereby disclaimed.

[0254] Except as stated immediately above, nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims.

[0255] It will be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-ex elusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “a” or “an” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

[0256] The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various examples for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed example. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

Claims

WHAT TS CLAIMED TS:

1. A three-dimensional (3D) printer, comprising: a receiver device including a substrate; a liquid deposition device configured to deposit a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto the substrate to form a non-patterned layer on the substrate; a solvent removal device configured to remove at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried non-patterned layer; and a liquid binder print head configured to deposit a liquid binder onto the dried nonpatterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

2. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the particulate material comprises at least 40% by volume of the liquid dispersion.

3. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the particulate material is comprised of particles that are less than 5pm in diameter.

4. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the particulate material is comprised of mono-sized particles.

5. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the particulate material is comprised of multiplesized particles.

6. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the liquid deposition device is configured to deposit a first liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a first diameter and to deposit a second liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.

7. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the liquid vehicle of the liquid dispersion includes a dispersant comprised of a material configured to improve rheological properties of the liquid dispersion and to enable uniform distribution of the particulate material on the substrate.

8. The 3D printer of claim 1 , further comprising a curing device configured to solidify the liquid binder in the printed pattern after the liquid binder print head has deposited the liquid binder onto the dried non-pattemed layer to form the printed pattern on the dried non-pattemed layer.

9. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the solvent removal device is configured to densify the non-pattemed layer during solvent removal.

10. The 3D printer of claim 9, further comprising a conditioning device configured to further densify the dried non-patterned layer following solvent removal.

11. The 3D printer of claim 9 wherein the solvent removal device is configured to densify the non-patterned layer during solvent removal using a pressure differential applied to a surface of the non-pattemed layer opposite the substrate to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the liquid dispersion to form the dried non-pattemed layer.

12. The 3D printer of claim 11 wherein the solvent removal device includes a pressure plate.

13. The 3D printer of claim 9 wherein the solvent removal device is configured to leave a portion of the solvent in the liquid dispersion as a lubricant in the dried non-patterned layer.

14. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the solvent removal device comprises a vacuum chamber and a liquid-permeable support, both the vacuum chamber and the liquid-permeable support being on an opposite side of the substrate from the liquid dispersion print head.

15. The 3D printer of claim 1, further comprising a transfer device configured to transfer the printed pattern to a build station.

16. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the liquid deposition device is configured to deposit the liquid dispersion via a coating technique comprising aerosol spray coating, ultrasonic spray coating, blade coating, curtain coating or slot die coating.

17. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the liquid deposition device is configured to deposit the particulate material at a volume deposition rate of tens of liters per hour.

18. The 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the solvent has a boiling point in the range of 35°C to 110°C.

19. A method of three-dimensional (3D) printing, comprising: depositing, via a liquid deposition device, a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto a substrate to form a non-patterned layer on the substrate; transporting the non-patterned layer away from the liquid deposition device; removing, via a solvent removal device, at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried non-patterned layer; and depositing, via a liquid binder print head, a liquid binder onto the dried non-patterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the particulate material comprises at least 40% by volume of the liquid dispersion and the particulate material is comprised of particles that are less than 5 pm in diameter.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the particulate material is comprised of multiple-sized particles and the liquid dispersion print head is configured to deposit a first liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a first diameter and to deposit a second liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material having particles having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising solidifying the liquid binder in the printed pattern, via a curing device,

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solvent removal device is configured to densify the non-patterned layer during solvent removal using a pressure differential applied by a pressure plate to a surface of the non-patterned layer opposite the substrate to remove a portion of the liquid vehicle from the liquid dispersion to form the dried non-patterned layer.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the depositing is performed via a coating technique comprising aerosol spray coating, ultrasonic spray coating, blade coating, curtain coating or slot die coating.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the particulate material comprising the liquid dispersion is deposited at volume deposition rate of tens of liters per hour.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the solvent has a boiling point in the range of 35°C to 110°C.

27. A jetted material printing system, comprising: a carrier substrate configured to travel along a longitudinal direction; one or more printheads, each of the one or more printheads being configured to deposit an amount of material onto the carrier substrate to form a printed layer; a liquid removal device located at a first position from the one or more printheads in the longitudinal direction, the liquid removal device being configured to remove a liquid from the printed layer formed onto the carrier substrate; and a binder conditioning device located at a second position downstream from the liquid removal device in the longitudinal direction, the binder conditioning device being configured to deposit a binder material on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the liquid removal.

28. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, wherein the material jetted from at least one of the one or more printheads comprises at least one of; a powder; a binder; a solvent; and one or more additives.

29. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, wherein the printed layer comprises a binder, and wherein the binder material deposited on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate compensates for an amount of the binder that has been removed by the liquid removal device.

30. The jetted material printing system of claim 29, wherein the binder conditioning device is configured to add an amount of the binder material to the material deposited onto the carrier substrate in order to replenish one or more properties of the deposited material to preserve quality and integrity of the printed layer.

31. The j etted material printing system of claim 27, wherein the binder conditioning device is configured to add an amount of the binder material to the material deposited onto the carrier substrate in order to restore one or more properties of the deposited material.

32. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, further comprising one or more sensors to determine at least one of a quantity and a location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the material deposited.

33. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, wherein the liquid removal device is located offset from the carrier substrate, and the binder conditioning device is located offset from the carrier substrate.

34. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, wherein the liquid removal device comprises a semi-permeable membrane.

35. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, further comprising a recycling system for recycling the removed liquid.

36. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, wherein the liquid removal device and the one or more printheads are located on opposite sides of the carrier substrate.

37. The jetted material printing system of claim 27, wherein the first position includes a position being offset from the carrier substrate, a position downstream from the printheads, or a position substantially beneath at least one of the printheads.

38. A method of jetted material printing, the method comprising: depositing a material from one or more printheads onto a carrier substrate to form a printed layer, the material including at least one of a powder, a solvent, a binder, and one or more additives; removing at least the solvent from the printed layer via a liquid removal device; and conditioning the printed layer by depositing an amount of conditioning binder on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate after the solvent removal via a binder conditioning device.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein depositing the material from the one or more printheads comprises depositing a different material from each of the one or more printheads.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising using one or more sensors to determine at least one of a quantity and a location of conditioning binder required to restore one or more properties of the printed layer to its state prior to liquid removal.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising: determining that the binder conditioned printed layer has a sufficient amount of binder so that the binder conditioned printed layer can be transferred in its entirety without breaking; and upon determining that the binder conditioned printed layer can be transferred in its entirety without breaking, transferring the binder conditioned printed layer.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising: determining that the binder conditioned printed layer fails to have a sufficient amount of binder so that the binder conditioned printed layer cannot be transferred in its entirety without breaking; and upon determining that transferring the binder conditioned printed layer cannot be transferred in its entirety without breaking, disposing of the binder conditioned printed layer.

43. The method of claim 38, wherein depositing the amount of conditioning binder comprises depositing one or more layers of the conditioning binder.

44. The method of claim 38, wherein depositing the amount of conditioning binder comprises replenishing the binder in the printed layer.

45. The method of claim 38, further comprising recycling the removed liquid.

46. The method of claim 38, wherein depositing the amount of conditioning binder comprises depositing a conditioning binder that is different from the binder in at least one of the one or more printheads.

47. The method of claim 38, wherein depositing the material from the one or more printheads comprises depositing the material from one or more inkjet printheads.

48. The method of claim 38, wherein the one or more printheads deposit the amount of material substantially in parallel with the liquid removal device removing liquid from a previously deposited material on the carrier substrate.

49. The method of claim 38, wherein the printed layer comprises a binder, and wherein the conditioning binder deposited on the printed layer formed on the carrier substrate compensates for an amount of binder that has been removed by the liquid removal device.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the binder conditioning device is configured to add an amount of the conditioning binder to the material deposited onto the carrier substrate in order to replenish one or more properties of the deposited material to preserve quality and integrity of the printed layer.