METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Data di pubblicazione

30-09-2016

Codice

ME.16.011.A

Data di priorità

04-08-2016

Titolare

Politecnico di Milano

Dipartimento

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Autori

Francesco Rosa; Serena Graziosi

Descrizione

Among the various research directions undertaken to overcome the “stair-step” effect, one of the most promising is the shift from a planar slicing strategy to a curved one, so that the material can be added directly on the final surface. However, the available approaches generate the curved layers as offset of a reference one (usually the external one); as a result all the layers have the same shape. Furthermore, most of these strategies work only if the building platform itself is shaped accordingly (i.e. curved). The slicing procedure described in this patent aims at, not only overcoming these limitations, but also providing additional benefits. In fact, it is based on the defininition of a family of parametric surfaces whose geometry can be modified on purpose, in order to get the desired technical and aesthetic characteristics for the object.

Campo di applicazione

Software for 3D printing

Vantaggi

Among the numerous benefits, it is worth underlying the following ones. First, the method allows generating the surfaces of the curved layers in an adaptive and parametric way, guaranteeing a smooth transition from one boundary surface to the other. Benefits are, thus, fourfold: improvement of the objects surface finishing; decrease of the number of post-processing (i.e. finishing) activities; increased layers cohesion; generation of layers having non-constant thickness. Second, the method allows a local control of the geometry of each layer; this aspect, for example, guarantees the possibility to locally control the orientation deposition and, thus, the material properties. Third, since planar slicing techniques are a special case of the method, it is possible, when slicing an object, to apply a combination of different strategies in order to optimize time and cost of the printing process. Fourth, the method can also be used to design and slice supports and lattice structures whose orientation can be modified to fulfill specific project objectives. Finally, the method works for any kind of geometry, e.g., when holes or discontinuities are present, and also when the area to be printed is decomposed into two or more disjointed regions.

Contatto

licensing.tto@polimi.it