Techniques for Speeding Up Printing of 3D Objects

Combined matrix optical lens for UV 3D printers that improves uniformity and efficiency of UV light exposure for high precision 3D printing. The lens design reduces the number of LED units needed to illuminate the LCD screen by using double-sided optics. It also allows customization of lens size based on application requirements to optimize cost and performance.

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Additive manufacturing system and method for rapid and accurate 3D printing using droplet deposition and electric field control. The system uses electric fields to deposit charged droplets from a printing platform onto a build platform using a layer-by-layer method. An electric field is formed between the nozzle and the build platform to control droplet trajectory. A flattening unit compacts each layer before curing. The electric field control allows high-viscosity materials to be dispensed at rapid speeds with improved accuracy and quality compared to traditional 3D printing.

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A custom flow additive for metal 3D printing powders that improves their flowability and spreadability without negatively affecting the mechanical properties of printed parts. The additive is made by freezing and lyophilizing a nanoparticle dispersion to form low-density, porous agglomerates that readily break apart into individual nanoparticles when mixed with the metal powder. The nanoparticles stick to the metal particle surfaces and reduce cohesion forces, improving flow while avoiding deleterious grain boundary inclusions that occur with conventional flow additives.

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Single component compositions for 3D printing solid objects with high impact strength. It contains norbornene and dicyclopentadiene-based monomers, an oxygen-sensitive ruthenium catalyst, and a photolytically activated photoinitiator. The composition is stable at ambient conditions but rapidly polymerizes when exposed to light, producing 3D-printed objects with high impact strength.

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A 3D printing material for dental applications that allows the fast production of accurate dental models. The material contains specific monomers and initiators that reduce polymerization shrinkage and deformation after printing. The key components are monofunctional acrylate monomers with an electronegativity difference of less than 1.0 between adjacent atoms and initiators with absorption bands of 350-450nm. The material may also include low-shrinkage polyfunctional methacrylates, non-dendritic polymers, fillers, and colorants

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3D printing method that enables freeform fabrication of complex polymeric structures without the need for elevated temperatures or supports. The method involves printing a liquid build material containing a polymer dissolved in a solvent into air. A nebulized coagulation agent is sprayed near the printed material to solidify it partially. This allows the printing of complex geometries without support. The printed parts are then fully solidified by soaking in a post-printing coagulation solution and drying. The solvent can be reclaimed for reuse.

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An apparatus for cooling an LCD panel in a 3D printer to improve print quality. The cooling is achieved by installing a sealed case between the light source and LCD panel, with a cooling module that cools the air inside the case. This prevents the LCD panel from overheating and blackening during printing, which can degrade image quality.

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Improving metal 3D printing by using a thixotropic material that can flow over time when shaken, agitated, sheared, or otherwise stressed, even if the temperature is not increased. This allows independent control of temperature and heat transfer between layers during printing. The metal material used is a thixotropic magnesium alloy that can be 3D printed with a fused deposition printer. A chamber is used to control temperature and gas to prevent oxidation.

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A metal 3D printer that quickly forms metal support structures that can be easily removed after printing. The printer ejects melted metal drops to form objects. To create supports, it forms a line of spaced pillars, and then a single pass ejects a continuous metal line over the pillars. This avoids excessive heat buildup. The pillars can be easily separated from the continuous line later. This enables rapid support formation with adequate strength compared to building walls and joining pillars incrementally.

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Automatically optimizing the support removal process for 3D printed parts by using historical and real-time data from the support removal machine to make decisions about which agitation methods to activate and adjust.

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A method to improve the performance of metal 3D printing by mitigating particle sticking and caking issues that can cause defects. The method involves preheating stainless steel particles before printing to create a thin oxidation barrier on the particle surface. This barrier prevents adhesive interactions between the particles that cause sticking and caking.

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Optimizing control parameters for rapid DLP 3D printing by combining continuous and layered printing to improve efficiency and adaptability to models of any size. The method involves simulating resin flow, curing, and printing behavior to determine optimal parameters like lift height, platform speed, and max fill distance. These parameters are determined using fluid dynamics and curing laws to balance speed and model adaptation.

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Additive manufacturing system that reduces the cost and time required to 3D print components by rotating the build platform in two different speeds. The platform has a central shaft that can rotate independently from the platform. By rotating the platform and shaft at different speeds, the platform slides up and down along the shaft. This allows continuous vertical movement of the platform while rotating, enabling simultaneous recoating and consolidating of the powder bed.

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3D printing method for high-resolution rapid manufacturing of strong, customizable 3D parts. The method uses a combination of digital printing and contact printing. The first material layers are digitally printed. Then a transfer body coated with a second material is used to contact print further layers. This allows using high viscosity materials for strength.

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High strength aluminum alloy suitable for additive manufacturing that can be 3D printed into complex parts. The aluminum alloy composition contains 2-15% manganese and 0.3-2% scandium, with balance being aluminum. This alloy provides tensile strengths greater than 400 MPa, which is high for aluminum, making it suitable for load-bearing structural components that require high strength. The alloy can be rapidly solidified using AM processes like selective laser melting (SLM) or electron beam melting (EBM) to retain the high strength. The alloy can also be used for other rapid solidification methods like laser cladding or thermal spray.

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An improved 3D printer system that uses a heated auger screw to deliver powder material to the build platform. The auger screw is heated to pre-heat the powder as it is moved from the storage unit to the build platform. This improves the performance of the 3D printer by allowing the powder to be pre-heated before printing, preventing cooling and solidification issues that can occur when cold powder is exposed to the high temperature energy source that fuses the printed layers.

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Optimizing placement of 3D models in a limited space to improve printing efficiency. The placement method involves reducing the dimensions of the 3D models to 2D plane graphics, then determining the minimum bounding rectangle of one model's plane graphics and inserting other model's graphics into it, iterating to find the optimal placement positions. This allows fitting more models into the space compared to manual placement.

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Improved additive manufacturing system that uses 2D energy patterning to print objects and for in-situ heat treatment. The system has multiple optical-mechanical assemblies with adjustable optics to direct energy beams into separate build chambers with fixed height platforms. The energy beams are shaped and patterned to selectively melt layers of powder. The system allows concurrent printing in multiple chambers, easy material changes, and scalable production. Rejection of unused light is recycled to increase efficiency. An enclosure with gas management allows printing of large parts and use of diverse powders.

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Facilitating 3D printing by optimizing printer head movements to reduce unproductive travel time. This is done using a self-adjusting printer base with movable blocks. The system analyzes the object to be printed and identifies contact points with the base. It then determines a configuration for the movable blocks to position those contact points centrally. This allows printing of those areas to stay localized rather than moving around the print area. The blocks can adjust during printing to optimize head movement.

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Speeding up additive manufacturing using 3D printing techniques. The method involves changing the cooling rate of the deposited polymer material to deposit each layer faster. This is done by modifying the polymer properties, such as thermal conductivity, or the printing environment, to facilitate faster cooling between layers.

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