SYSTEM FOR HIGH SPEED, HIGH QUALITY THREE DIMENSIONAL PRINTING

• Main Authors: BREDT, JAMES, F, SACHS, EMMANUEL, M, BRANCAZIO, DAVID, FAN, TAILIN, CURODEAU, ALAIN, CIMA, MICHAEL
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 02.08.2000
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; CASTING; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; LINING MACHINES; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; POWDER METALLURGY; PRINTING; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; STAMPS; TRANSPORTING; TYPEWRITERS; WORKING METALLIC POWDER; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

A system for producing three dimensional components by bonding together successive layers of a porous material with droplets of a binder material. A binder printhead has an array of nozzles which controllably supply jets of binder material droplets to the layers of porous material. The printhead is scanned in a raster scan fashion over each layer of porous material along a first scan axis in one direction to provide first fast scanning paths of droplets. The printhead is then moved laterally of such one direction and is then moved along the fast scan axis in the opposite direction to provide second fast scanning paths of droplets which are interlaced with the first scanning paths. The supply of the droplets to the porous material can be controlled so as to control the overlapping thereof to produce various desired surface and interior characteristics of the components.