APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

• Main Authors: BUI, Mai-Anh T, FITHIAN, Timothy R, MADELEY, David
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 17.01.2018
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; CASTING; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; POWDER METALLURGY; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; TRANSPORTING; WORKING METALLIC POWDER; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

A component of a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system (100) may be configured to cause a processor (102) to generate instructions (104, 800) that specify how a 3D-printer 106 additively builds an article (120) on a build plate (114) via depositing material (118) from a deposition head (112). The generated instructions specify how a deposition head and/or a build plate of the 3D printer moves relative to each other to build an article on the build plate such that material outputted from the deposition head is deposited in successive layers 120 in a build direction (130). The processor may receive a user selection (906) of a spiral pattern selection (908). For at least portions of each layer (122) of at least a portion of the article, the generated instructions specify that the deposition head continuously deposits material in a spiral pattern (302, 602, 702) between radially outward (310, 610, 710) and radially inward (320, 634, 706) portions of the article.