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WO2019099377A1 - Système et procédé de conception et de placement automatiques de supports dans un environnement de fabrication additive - Google Patents

Système et procédé de conception et de placement automatiques de supports dans un environnement de fabrication additive Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2019099377A1
WO2019099377A1 PCT/US2018/060741 US2018060741W WO2019099377A1 WO 2019099377 A1 WO2019099377 A1 WO 2019099377A1 US 2018060741 W US2018060741 W US 2018060741W WO 2019099377 A1 WO2019099377 A1 WO 2019099377A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
node
support
build
computing device
determining
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/US2018/060741
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English (en)
Inventor
Christian Rossmann
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Materialise NV
Materialise USA LLC
Original Assignee
Materialise NV
Materialise USA LLC
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Materialise NV, Materialise USA LLC filed Critical Materialise NV
Publication of WO2019099377A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019099377A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F30/00—Computer-aided design [CAD]
    • G06F30/20—Design optimisation, verification or simulation
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
    • B22F10/00—Additive manufacturing of workpieces or articles from metallic powder
    • B22F10/20—Direct sintering or melting
    • B22F10/28—Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
    • B22F10/00—Additive manufacturing of workpieces or articles from metallic powder
    • B22F10/40—Structures for supporting workpieces or articles during manufacture and removed afterwards
    • B22F10/47—Structures for supporting workpieces or articles during manufacture and removed afterwards characterised by structural features
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
    • B22F10/00—Additive manufacturing of workpieces or articles from metallic powder
    • B22F10/80—Data acquisition or data processing
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
    • B22F12/00—Apparatus or devices specially adapted for additive manufacturing; Auxiliary means for additive manufacturing; Combinations of additive manufacturing apparatus or devices with other processing apparatus or devices
    • B22F12/10—Auxiliary heating means
    • B22F12/13—Auxiliary heating means to preheat the material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
    • B29C64/30—Auxiliary operations or equipment
    • B29C64/386—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
    • B29C64/393—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
    • B29C64/40—Structures for supporting 3D objects during manufacture and intended to be sacrificed after completion thereof
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B33—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
    • B33Y—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
    • B33Y50/00—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
    • B33Y50/02—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2111/00—Details relating to CAD techniques
    • G06F2111/10—Numerical modelling
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P10/00—Technologies related to metal processing
    • Y02P10/25—Process efficiency

Definitions

  • This application relates to additive manufacturing. More particularly, this application relates to a system and method for automatically designing and placing supports in the design of an object to be built using additive manufacturing.
  • additive manufacturing In the field of additive manufacturing, three dimensional solid objects are formed from a digital model. Because the manufactured objects are three dimensional, additive manufacturing is commonly referred to as three dimensional ("3D") printing. Some techniques for additive manufacturing include selective laser sintering ("LS”) manufacturing and metal sintering. These techniques direct a laser beam to a specified location in order to polymerize or solidify layers of building materials which are used to create the desired three dimensional (“3D") object. The 3D object is built on a layer-by-layer basis by solidifying the layers of the building material.
  • LS selective laser sintering
  • metal sintering These techniques direct a laser beam to a specified location in order to polymerize or solidify layers of building materials which are used to create the desired three dimensional (“3D") object.
  • the 3D object is built on a layer-by-layer basis by solidifying the layers of the building material.
  • Supports may be used to support the object being manufactured during the manufacturing process. These supports may directly contact the object and may prevent stresses and strains from deforming or distorting the object, act as a heat sink, and/or provide vertical support (e.g., against gravity) to keep the object in a particular position.
  • vertical support e.g., against gravity
  • a computer-implemented method for automatically designing and placing supports in the design of an object to be built using additive manufacturing includes simulating, by a computing device, a build of a plurality of layers of the object, the plurality of layers comprising a plurality of nodes corresponding to different locations in the plurality of layers.
  • the method further includes for each of the plurality of nodes, determining, by the computing device, at least one displacement vector value corresponding to a difference between a simulated position of the node based on the simulating the build and a designed position of the node based on the design of the object.
  • the method further includes determining, by the computing device, a first node of the plurality of nodes having a maximum displacement vector value.
  • the method further includes simulating, by the computing device, a second build of the plurality of layers of the object with a support coupled to the first node.
  • the method further includes determining, by the computing device, based on the simulating the second build, at least one force acting on the first node.
  • the method further includes determining a size of the support based on the at least one force acting on the first node.
  • Figure 1 is an example of a system for designing and manufacturing 3D objects.
  • Figure 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of one example of the computer shown in FIG. 1.
  • Figure 3 shows a high level process for manufacturing a 3D object using.
  • Figure 4A is an example of an additive manufacturing apparatus with a recoating mechanism.
  • Figure 4B is another example of an additive manufacturing apparatus with a recoating mechanism.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process for automatically determining a design and placement of supports in a design of an object to be manufactured using additive manufacturing.
  • FIG. 6A illustrates the results of an example simulation of a build of an object.
  • FIG. 6B illustrates an example placement of a support in a design of an object.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a support.
  • Systems and methods disclosed herein include techniques for automatically designing and placing supports in the design of an object to be built using additive manufacturing.
  • Objects formed using additive manufacturing have a tendency to distort from the designed dimensions of the object due to, for example, high stresses and/or strains that occur during the manufacturing of the 3D object.
  • thermal and/or mechanical stresses and/or strains may occur during a selective laser melting (LM) process due to a high temperature of an energy source, such as a laser, used in generating the 3D object.
  • LM selective laser melting
  • high temperature gradients may be present due to the melting of the powders used in the LM process, such as metal alloy powders, and these high gradients may cause thermal stresses and/or strains on the object during manufacturing.
  • internal mechanical stresses and/or strains may be caused due to properties of the particular material being used. These mechanical stresses and/or strains may include, for example, shrinking or expansion of the material used to form the object as the material is scanned by the energy source.
  • High stresses and/or strains on the object may cause certain portions of the object to deform during the build, which may result in a failed or“crashed” build, or an inaccurate and/or defective object.
  • a powder coater in an LM machine may hit a deformed portion of an underlying layer of an object being manufactured if that portion bent or curled upward or sidewards during the processing of any of the layers.
  • a recoater collision may, in turn, disrupt powder deposition for all or a part of the layer, or may cause displacement of subsequent layers, eventually resulting in a partial or complete build failure.
  • a build failure may refer to an incomplete manufacturing process in which an object is not built at all or is not built to completion.
  • Object supports may be used to keep an object or part of an object in place and to prevent deformations of the object during the build process.
  • an“object support” is a structure that forms a connection between, for example, a base plate, an internal object structure (e.g., another portion of the object), or an external object structure (e.g., another object being manufactured during the same build process as the object), and the object being manufactured.
  • Object supports typically may be virtually any shape and size that can be manufactured along with the object. And a given object may be supported during additive manufacturing by a variety of different shapes and sizes of object support based on the object design and the selected additive manufacturing process. For example, U.S.
  • Object supports may improve the accuracy of the resulting object after additive manufacturing by constraining each layer to its designed dimensions. Additionally, object supports may conduct heat away from the object layer and into a support structure and/or base plate in order to reduce thermal stresses and strains caused by the additive manufacturing process.
  • object supports perform a variety of functions during a build, their failure may be detrimental to a successful build.
  • Object support may be subjected to stresses and strains that cause deformation or breakage.
  • the separation of the object support from the object it is intended to support, from the build platform, or both, may lead to build errors including build failures. It is important to optimize support placement.
  • certain embodiments herein provide systems and methods for automatically designing and placing supports in the design of an object to be built using additive manufacturing. Such embodiments beneficially improve the field of additive manufacturing by reducing the risk of build failure of objects by providing systems and methods for adding supports to the design of the object to reduce the risk of build failure using specific techniques that improve the placement of the supports over previous techniques. Further, such techniques may have low computational complexity, and therefore may reduce the number of computing cycles needed to be performed by a computing device to determine support design and placement, thereby improving efficiency and functionality of the computing device itself.
  • Embodiments of the invention may be practiced within a system for designing and manufacturing 3D objects.
  • the environment includes a system 100.
  • the system 100 includes one or more computers l02a-l02d, which can be, for example, any workstation, server, or other computing device capable of processing information.
  • each of the computers l02a-l02d can be connected, by any suitable communications technology (e.g., an internet protocol), to a network 105 (e.g., the Internet).
  • the computers l02a-l02d may transmit and receive information (e.g., software, digital representations of 3-D objects, commands or instructions to operate an additive manufacturing device, etc.) between each other via the network 105.
  • information e.g., software, digital representations of 3-D objects, commands or instructions to operate an additive manufacturing device, etc.
  • the system 100 further includes one or more additive manufacturing devices (e.g., 3-D printers) l06a-l06b.
  • additive manufacturing device l06a is directly connected to a computer l02d (and through computer l02d connected to computers 102a- 102c via the network 105) and additive manufacturing device l06b is connected to the computers l02a-l02d via the network 105.
  • an additive manufacturing device 106 may be directly connected to a computer 102, connected to a computer 102 via a network 105, and/or connected to a computer 102 via another computer 102 and the network 105.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of one example of a computer of FIG. 1.
  • the computer l02a includes a processor 210 in data communication with a memory 220, an input device 230, and an output device 240.
  • the processor is further in data communication with an optional network interface card 260.
  • an optional network interface card 260 Although described separately, it is to be appreciated that functional blocks described with respect to the computer l02a need not be separate structural elements.
  • the processor 210 and memory 220 may be embodied in a single chip.
  • the processor 210 can be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any suitable combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.
  • a processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
  • the processor 210 can be coupled, via one or more buses, to read information from or write information to memory 220.
  • the processor may additionally, or in the alternative, contain memory, such as processor registers.
  • the memory 220 can include processor cache, including a multi-level hierarchical cache in which different levels have different capacities and access speeds.
  • the memory 220 can also include random access memory (RAM), other volatile storage devices, or non-volatile storage devices.
  • the storage can include hard drives, optical discs, such as compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs), flash memory, floppy discs, magnetic tape, and Zip drives.
  • the processor 210 also may be coupled to an input device 230 and an output device 240 for, respectively, receiving input from and providing output to a user of the computer l02a.
  • Suitable input devices include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, buttons, keys, switches, a pointing device, a mouse, a joystick, a remote control, an infrared detector, a bar code reader, a scanner, a video camera (possibly coupled with video processing software to, e.g., detect hand gestures or facial gestures), a motion detector, or a microphone (possibly coupled to audio processing software to, e.g., detect voice commands).
  • Suitable output devices include, but are not limited to, visual output devices, including displays and printers, audio output devices, including speakers, headphones, earphones, and alarms, additive manufacturing devices, and haptic output devices.
  • the processor 210 further may be coupled to a network interface card 260.
  • the network interface card 260 prepares data generated by the processor 210 for transmission via a network according to one or more data transmission protocols.
  • the network interface card 260 also decodes data received via a network according to one or more data transmission protocols.
  • the network interface card 260 can include a transmitter, receiver, or both. In other embodiments, the transmitter and receiver can be two separate components.
  • the network interface card 260 can be embodied as a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any suitable combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • FPGA field programmable gate array
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a process 300 for manufacturing a 3-D object or device.
  • a digital representation of the object is designed using a computer, such as the computer l02a.
  • 2-D or 3-D data may be input to the computer l02a for aiding in designing the digital representation of the 3-D object.
  • information is sent from the computer l02a to an additive manufacturing device, such as additive manufacturing device 106, and the device 106 commences the manufacturing process in accordance with the received information.
  • the additive manufacturing device 106 continues manufacturing the 3-D object using suitable materials, such as a polymer or metal powder. Further, at a step 320, the 3-D object is generated.
  • FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary additive manufacturing apparatus 400 for generating a three-dimensional (3-D) object.
  • the additive manufacturing apparatus 400 is a laser sintering device.
  • the laser sintering device 400 may be used to generate one or more 3D objects layer by layer.
  • the laser sintering device 400 may utilize a powder (e.g., metal, polymer, etc.), such as the powder 414, to build an object a layer at a time as part of a build process.
  • a powder e.g., metal, polymer, etc.
  • a recoating mechanism 415 A e.g., a recoater blade
  • the recoating mechanism 415 A deposits powder for a layer as it moves across the build area, for example in the direction shown, or in the opposite direction if the recoating mechanism 415 A is starting from the other side of the build area, such as for another layer of the build.
  • a computer-controlled C02 laser beam scans the surface and selectively binds together the powder particles of the corresponding cross section of the product.
  • the laser scanning device 412 is an X-Y moveable infrared laser source.
  • the laser source can be moved along an X axis and along a Y axis in order to direct its beam to a specific location of the top most layer of powder.
  • the laser scanning device 412 may comprise a laser scanner which receives a laser beam from a stationary laser source, and deflects it over moveable mirrors to direct the beam to a specified location in the working area of the device.
  • the powder temperature rises above the material (e.g., glass, polymer, metal) transition point after which adjacent particles flow together to create the 3D object.
  • the device 400 may also optionally include a radiation heater (e.g., an infrared lamp) and/or atmosphere control device 416.
  • the radiation heater may be used to preheat the powder between the recoating of a new powder layer and the scanning of that layer. In some embodiments, the radiation heater may be omitted.
  • the atmosphere control device may be used throughout the process to avoid undesired scenarios such as, for example, powder oxidation.
  • a recoating mechanism 415B (e.g., a leveling drum/roller) may be used instead of the recoating mechanism 415A.
  • the powder may be distributed using one or more moveable pistons 418(a) and 418(b) which push powder from a powder container 428(a) and 428(b) into a reservoir 426 which holds the formed object 424.
  • the depth of the reservoir is also controlled by a moveable piston 420, which increases the depth of the reservoir 426 via downward movement as additional powder is moved from the powder containers 428(a) and 428(b) in to the reservoir 426.
  • the recoating mechanism 415B pushes or rolls the powder from the powder container 428(a) and 428(b) into the reservoir 426. Similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 4A, the embodiment in Figure 4B may use the radiation heater alone for preheating the powder between recoating and scanning of a layer.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process 500 for automatically determining a design and placement of supports in a design of an object to be manufactured using additive manufacturing.
  • the process 500 may be performed by a suitable computing device, such as a computer 102.
  • process 500 includes using numerical (e.g., finite element method (FEM)) simulation (e.g., macro layer based tetrahedral or voxel/hex mesh simulation) of building an object on a layer by layer basis to determine potential layer-based deformations of the object that would occur when actually manufacturing the object using additive manufacturing techniques.
  • FEM finite element method
  • the building of layers (e.g., all layers, every other layer, etc.) of the object is simulated, such as using a numerical simulation (e.g., FEM).
  • FEM numerical simulation
  • a digital model/representation of the object e.g., CAD file, STL file, etc.
  • a simulation program e.g., a known simulation program that uses FEM, such as Simufact, Abaqus, Amphyon, etc.
  • the simulation program outputs a simulation of the layers including parameters (e.g., amount of shrinkage, displacement, reaction force, stresses, strains, etc.) for different nodes or regions (e.g., at different X-Y coordinates of an X-Y plane corresponding to a layer) of each layer of the object.
  • parameters e.g., amount of shrinkage, displacement, reaction force, stresses, strains, etc.
  • the simulation program may indicate a displacement vector U xyZ for each node indicating the displacement of that node in space between where the node is supposed to be in the object (e.g., relative to a build platform of the additive manufacturing device) when manufactured (e.g., the design location) and where the node is simulated to be when manufactured (e.g., the simulation location).
  • the displacement vector U xyZ may include a z component (e.g., a component perpendicular to a build platform and parallel with the direction of subsequent layers) and x and y components (e.g., components in a plane parallel to a build platform, in particular the plane of the layer itself).
  • FIG. 6A illustrates the results of an example simulation of the build of an object.
  • the wire frame 605 is indicative of the designed object as it is supposed to be (i.e., undeformed model), and the simulation output 610 is indicative of the simulated object including any displacement determined based on the simulation. As shown, the wire frame 605 differs from the simulation output 610.
  • the displacement vector U xyZ for each node may be indicative of the displacement of each node after all layers of the object have been simulated as built.
  • the displacement of one or more of the nodes in the first layer may change due to the build of the second layer. Accordingly, an updated displacement vector U xyZ _2 may be calculated and output for each node in the first layer in addition to each node in the second layer. Accordingly, for nodes of a given layer n, displacement vectors are calculated and output for each of the layer n up to a last layer m of the object.
  • a node with a maximum displacement as referred to herein may in some embodiments refer to a node with a highest magnitude displacement vector among the displacement vectors of nodes after all layers of the object have been simulated as built, or in some embodiments may refer to a node with a highest magnitude displacement vector among each set of displacement vectors of nodes for each different number of layers having been simulated as built.
  • a support is placed at the node with the maximum displacement (e.g., the highest magnitude displacement vector), as discussed, in the design of the object.
  • FIG. 6B illustrates the placement of a support 615 on wire frame 605.
  • the support placement itself in the simulation is represented by a displacement boundary condition at the node on the design of the object at the support location.
  • the displacement boundary condition may be a constraint on the node that during simulation the node cannot or is restrained from being moved (e.g., in each of the x, y, and z directions corresponding to the x, y, and z components discussed) and therefore cannot be displaced.
  • Supports may be placed at nodes and may extend from the node to a projection point, which may be located on the build platform or on a portion of an object. Supports may extend vertically in a perpendicular angle from the xy plane of the node to the projection point, or may extend at an angle that is not perpendicular. In some embodiments, the support cannot extend from the node to the build platform, for example because the object comprises a portion positioned in between a direct line from the node to the build platform. Accordingly, the support may be extended from the node to a projection point on the object, or the support may be branched or bent in order to traverse the portion of the object.
  • the building of layers e.g., all layers, every other layer, etc.
  • the simulation accordingly outputs a reaction force for the node, indicating force in each of the x (e.g., referred to as F x ), y (e.g., referred to as F y ), and z directions (e.g., referred to as F z ) that is being placed on the node (e.g., due to stresses and such being simulated in the build) due to it being constrained from moving.
  • a design of the support placed at the node is determined based on the reaction forces (F x , F y , F z ) at the node.
  • the support may be designed such that the reaction forces do not produce stresses (S) on the support that are above a threshold.
  • the threshold is a materials yield stress (S y ) (e.g., the maximum stress level the material the support is built out of can tolerate, such as without bending or deforming, as known in the art).
  • the threshold is a materials yield stress multiplied by a safety factor (K) (e.g., S y *K).
  • the style of support used is a cone and determining a design of the support includes determining a size of the cone.
  • the height of the cone may be set by the distance between the portion of the object the support couples to and a build platform, with the support running substantially perpendicular to the build platform up to the portion of the object.
  • the diameters (e.g., top diameter and bottom diameter) of the cone may be varied.
  • a truncated cone may be used (e.g., resembling a cone with the tip cut off).
  • a truncated cone includes a circle at the base with a first diameter, and a circle at the top with a second diameter, with the first diameter typically being larger than the second diameter.
  • a cone is described as a support, other similar (e.g., equivalent) shapes (e.g., polygons similar in shape to a cone but with one or more straight edges) or suitable shapes may be used and the size of the shape determined similar to the techniques discussed herein.
  • supports may comprise a cross-section having an elongated geometrical shape.
  • the cross-section may comprise a shape in which a first side is longer than a second side, or in which a first bisecting line in a first direction is longer than a second bisecting line in a second direction.
  • the cross-section may be shaped as an ellipse.
  • Exemplary supports may be cylinder supports having an ellipsoidal cross-section, or cone supports in which at least one cross-section of the cone has an ellipsoidal shape.
  • a support with a ellipsoidal cross section may be configured to provide support in the xy-direction, with major axis aligned to withstand the reaction force, so that it may provide structural rigidity and avoid excessive deformation in the same direction.
  • Supports may be block supports or grids.
  • a single support may have regions of local thickening or thinning along its z-axis.
  • Supports may be added among existing supports, for example, if a uniform mesh support network is already in place, but additional reinforcement is required in least one region of the object.
  • a plurality of supports may be added to an object, wherein the plurality of supports comprises a mix of different types of supports. For example, a cone support may be placed at a first node, and a cylinder support with an ellipsoidal cross section may be placed a second node.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a support 700 placed at the node.
  • the support 700 has a height (h), which as discussed may be set based on the distance between the node and the build platform (or another portion of the object) (e.g., in a direction toward the build platform and substantially perpendicular to the build platform).
  • FIG. 7 further illustrates the reaction forces (F x , F y , F z ) acting on the node at the top 705 of the support 700 where the support couples to the node.
  • Two types of stresses may occur in the support 700.
  • One type of stress is due to tensile forces in an axial direction from reaction force F z .
  • the second type of stress is due to bending forces (F t ,) acting perpendicular to the support 700’s axial direction.
  • the forces F t therefore may be due to reaction forces F x and F y and may be calculated as:
  • the nominal stresses (S n ) in the axial direction may be calculated as:
  • A is the minimum cross section of the support 700 (e.g., the portion of the support 700 coupled to the node).
  • the support 700 may be initially modeled as a cylinder with a radius (r), and therefore A can be calculated as:
  • the bending stresses (S t ,) can be calculated based on the bending moment (M b ) which may be calculated as:
  • S b may be calculated as:
  • W b is the moment of inertia of the portion of the support 700 coupled to the node.
  • the total stress S on the support can be calculated as:
  • support 700 may be designed so S is lower than a threshold (e.g., S y *K). Further, in certain embodiments, an additional criteria may be imposed on support 700 (e.g., for supports below a threshold height). For example, in certain embodiments, the shear stress (S sh ) should also be lower than the threshold.
  • the shear stress S sh may be calculated as:
  • support 700 should be designed such that:
  • the radius (r) or diameter (d) of the portion of the support 700 coupled to the node may be iteratively determined (e.g., by starting at 0 and increasing by a step function until the criteria are met) or may be analytically determining by solving based on the set of equations discussed.
  • the diameter of the top 705 of the support 700 is set to d or a function of d.
  • the diameter of the top is set to the max between d and a minimum value (e.g., .7 length (e.g., in, mm, m, etc.)).
  • the diameter of the bottom 710 of the support 700 where the support couples to the build platform (or another portion of the object) is set to a function of d (e.g., d*(l/(the minimum value (e.g., .7))).
  • the diameter of the bottom 710 is set to the max between the function of d and a minimum value (e.g., 1.0 length (e.g., in, mm, m, etc.)).
  • a correction factor may be used as part of the simulation performed in 506.
  • (a) may be used as a correction factor for scaling forces, such as F b and/or F z .
  • F may be scaled to F b *a
  • F z may be scaled to F z *a
  • l hm may be the actual layer height of the additive manufacturing device to be used to build the object, and therefore a may be calculated as:
  • the designed support is included in the design of the object.
  • the building of layers (e.g., all layers, every other layer, etc.) of the object is simulated again, but this time with the designed support included at the determined location coupled to the node.
  • a threshold e.g., a tolerance for the object
  • an additional support may be placed in the design of the object based on process 500.
  • the process 500 accordingly may be designed to iteratively add additional supports until the criteria at 514 is met.
  • the design of previous supports added may change in subsequent iterations. For example, 508 may be performed for all supports placed in the design of the object even if previously performed, as the addition of more supports may change the design of the previous supports due to changes in forces.
  • Support failure which comprises breakage of the junction between the support and the object, may occur when forces on the support are too large.
  • a support may be too small to bear the weight of the object or portion of the object it supports.
  • objects show vertical displacement (e.g. in the z-direction)
  • a support structure placed underneath the comer may be subject to reaction forces that are larger than the reaction forces exerted on another support structure placed underneath a region of the object not showing vertical displacement or curling.
  • stresses, strains, and forces such as reaction forces may be measured at each of the supports which have been placed, in order to determine if the supports may be re-configured.
  • the process may incorporate parameters for support placement.
  • supports may be configured so that they are easily removed from the object after the build.
  • the quantity of material used to build the supports may be limited, as supports may be discarded after the build.
  • supports may be placed at a distance from the edge of the object in order to facilitate removal. When supports are at or near to the edge of the object, there may be a risk of damaging the object or removing pieces of the object when the supports are removed.
  • Supports may be spaced apart from one another, for example, offset by at least 0.5 mm. This avoids placement of support that overlap with one another and/or supports positioned so closely together that they form a solid or near-solid structure instead of distinct support structures.
  • support size may be set, for example, if a cross-sectional area of a support exceeds a threshold, then it may be divided into a plurality of supports each having small cross-sectional areas.
  • a user may set the parameters for supports by manually setting one or more of a maximum distance of a support from the edge of the object, a minimum space between supports, and a maximum cross- sectional area of a support.
  • a computing device may optimize and select the parameters for an object. The computing device may provide a recommended support structure, or may provide a user with an opportunity to choose between several possible support configurations.
  • the embodiments herein provide automated processes for improving the build of objects using additive manufacturing by automatic design and placement of supports.
  • FIG. 7 Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for the use of a computer control system.
  • a skilled artisan will readily appreciate that these embodiments may be implemented using numerous different types of computing devices, including both general purpose and/or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use in connection with the embodiments set forth above may include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
  • These devices may include stored instructions, which, when executed by a microprocessor in the computing device, cause the computer device to perform specified actions to carry out the instructions.
  • instructions refer to computer-implemented steps for processing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented in software, firmware or hardware and include any type of programmed step undertaken by components of the system.
  • a microprocessor may be any conventional general purpose single- or multi-chip microprocessor such as a Pentium® processor, a Pentium® Pro processor, a 8051 processor, a MIPS® processor, a Power PC® processor, or an Alpha® processor.
  • the microprocessor may be any conventional special purpose microprocessor such as a digital signal processor or a graphics processor.
  • the microprocessor typically has conventional address lines, conventional data lines, and one or more conventional control lines.
  • aspects and embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein may be implemented as a method, apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof.
  • article of manufacture refers to code or logic implemented in hardware or non-transitory computer readable media such as optical storage devices, and volatile or non-volatile memory devices or transitory computer readable media such as signals, carrier waves, etc.
  • Such hardware may include, but is not limited to, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), microprocessors, or other similar processing devices.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système et un procédé pour concevoir et placer automatiquement des supports dans la conception d'un objet à construire à l'aide de la fabrication additive.
PCT/US2018/060741 2017-11-14 2018-11-13 Système et procédé de conception et de placement automatiques de supports dans un environnement de fabrication additive Ceased WO2019099377A1 (fr)

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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20160107234A1 (en) * 2013-04-26 2016-04-21 Materialise N.V. Hybrid support systems and methods of generating a hybrid support system using three dimensional printing
US20160107393A1 (en) * 2013-04-26 2016-04-21 ubimake GmbH Optimization of a production process
US20160136896A1 (en) * 2014-11-17 2016-05-19 Formlabs, Inc. Systems and methods of simulating intermediate forms for additive fabrication

Patent Citations (3)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20160107234A1 (en) * 2013-04-26 2016-04-21 Materialise N.V. Hybrid support systems and methods of generating a hybrid support system using three dimensional printing
US20160107393A1 (en) * 2013-04-26 2016-04-21 ubimake GmbH Optimization of a production process
US20160136896A1 (en) * 2014-11-17 2016-05-19 Formlabs, Inc. Systems and methods of simulating intermediate forms for additive fabrication

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Title
KUO YU-HSIN ET AL: "Support structure design in additive manufacturing based on topology optimization", STRUCTURAL AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY OPTIMIZATION, vol. 57, no. 1, July 2017 (2017-07-01), pages 183 - 195, XP036388389, ISSN: 1615-147X, [retrieved on 20170701], DOI: 10.1007/S00158-017-1743-Z *

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