Patent Description:
The present invention relates to systems and methods of manufacturing an object using an additive manufacturing process.

Additive manufacturing (sometimes referred to as 3D-printing) has provided industry with the ability to make objects having complex shapes that were not previously possible. Further, additive manufacturing has reduced manufacturing time and cost, thereby enabling new approaches to product development. However, the complexity of the objects made by additive manufacturing and the speed with which such objects can be made presents challenges with respect to producing finished objects that are within desired specifications. Additionally, as the use of additive manufacturing has grown from initially producing prototype parts to more recently producing functional, end-use parts, the requirements for such parts have become more demanding and, in some cases, additional processes beyond merely the printing step are needed to meet those requirements. These can include meeting certain tolerances across the geometrical dimensions of the parts, or certain degrees of surface smoothness, or other factors, as well as ensuring a certain level of consistency of meeting those requirements from one object to another, whether they are made on the same 3D printing machine or different machines. Presently, manufacturing problems are not discovered until many out-of-specification objects are produced. Additionally, as the number of machines making parts, and as the number of parts being made by those machines, grows, it is becoming more difficult and complex to manage the end-to-end process of fabricating the parts. Various approaches have been developed to focus on some of these issues during the printing stage, but less attention has been paid to the end-to-end additive manufacturing process for making a fully-ready part, as well as ways to more efficiently improve such end-to-end process to make better parts. <CIT> discloses a system for use in additively manufacturing a structure. The system may include an additive manufacturing machine, a memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, and a processor. The processor may be configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the additive manufacturing machine to discharge a path of composite material, and to make a determination regarding existence of support located at a side of the path of composite material. The processor may be further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to selectively cause the additive manufacturing machine to compact the path of composite material after discharge with a variable pressure that is based on the determination.

The system according to the claimed invention is disclosed in claim <NUM> and the computer-implemented method according to the claimed invention is disclosed in claim <NUM>.

The method outlined above may be used to manufacture a second manufactured object via the additive manufacturing process according to the modified manufacturing plan.

The method outlined above may further include determining a probability that the manufacturing plan is likely to produce an object having the desired characteristics and comparing the determined probability to a pre-specified minimum probability. If the determined probability is less than the minimum probability, then the manufacturing plan may be modified until the probability equals or exceeds the minimum probability, and then the modified manufacturing plan may be used for building and finishing the object.

The additive manufacturing technology used in the additive manufacturing process may be fused deposition modeling, material jetting, stereo lithography, selective laser sintering, high-speed sintering, direct metal laser sintering, or layered object manufacturing. And, the manufactured object may have plastic, metal, or ceramic material.

Modifying the manufacturing plan may include modifying a portion of the manufacturing plan pertaining to:.

The method may be carried out so as to perform an interim evaluation after manufacturing begins but before manufacturing is complete. Such an interim evaluation may identify aspects of a partially manufactured object that do not comply with an interim digital representation of the desired object. Those portions of the manufacturing plan pertaining to those aspects may be modified in order to address those aspects.

In some embodiments of the invention, at least a portion of the manufacturing information may be generated by a machine tasked with executing a portion of the manufacturing plan.

The system may be configured so that the communication links transmit instructions to a machine tasked with carrying out a portion of the manufacturing plan. As such, the instructions being followed by the machine may be modified. Such machines may include a machine that is tasked with fabricating build material and/or support material. Such a machine may include a machine that is tasked with removing unwanted support material and/or smoothing surface of build material.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and the subsequent description. Briefly, the drawings are:.

<FIG> depicts a system <NUM> that is in keeping with the invention. <FIG> schematically depicts a system <NUM> for facilitating the delivery, execution and modification of a manufacturing plan describing how an object <NUM> is to be manufactured using an additive manufacturing process. Such a plan includes aspects focused on building an object via a 3D printing process, as well as finishing that built object by contacting the built object with a chemical solution that dissolves unwanted support material and/or abrasive material that erodes unwanted support material or smooths surfaces of the build material. For clarity, steps taken to build an object may include depositing material in layers that ultimately are part of the completed object as well as depositing material (e.g. unwanted support material) that is later removed during a finishing operation and is not part of the completed object.

In <FIG> there is a database <NUM> for storing one or more manufacturing plans and four communication links <NUM>, which can be bidirectional communication links. Each communication link <NUM> may permit manufacturing information pertaining to a particular object being manufactured to be transmitted from a manufacturing location <NUM> to the database <NUM>, and may permit a manufacturing plan to be transmitted from the coordinating computer <NUM> to a particular manufacturing location <NUM>.

Each manufacturing location <NUM> is shown having a machine <NUM> for carrying out an additive manufacturing part-making process. Such a machine <NUM> produces an interim object <NUM>, which may then be subjected to a finishing process using a finishing machine <NUM>. Transferring the interim object <NUM> from the build machine <NUM> to the finishing machine <NUM> could be done manually or robotically. Once finished, the manufactured object <NUM> may be removed from the finishing machine <NUM> and is evaluated to determine whether the manufactured object <NUM> has desired characteristics. Such evaluation may be performed manually, by automation, or a combination of both. Information generated by such an evaluation may be transmitted via the communication link <NUM> to the database <NUM>, where the information may be compared by a coordinating computer <NUM> to identify parameters that are not in keeping with the desired characteristics. Those parameters may be used to identify ways to modify the manufacturing plan so that future objects have the desired characteristics, or are at least closer to the desired characteristics. Such modifications may be identified manually, by automation, or a combination of both. While the embodiment of <FIG> shows machines <NUM> and <NUM> to be separate machines, they may combined into a single machine providing both build and finishing functionality. Also, while the embodiment of <FIG> shows a location <NUM> to include both the machines <NUM> and machines <NUM> to be in a single location, machines <NUM> and <NUM> could be in different locations from each other. Additionally, each location <NUM> may include multiple machines <NUM> and machines <NUM> that are used collectively for parallel manufacturing of objects <NUM>.

The database <NUM> may be used to store a digital representation of the desired manufactured object that has the desired characteristics, such as the geometry, dimensions, tolerances and surface roughness of the desired manufactured object. The database <NUM> is used to store a manufacturing plan that has desired steps, which when carried out should produce the desired object via an additive manufacturing process.

The manufacturing information may include information about a particular additively manufactured object (an "AMO") and/or the manufacturing process that will be or was carried out to create the AMO. For example, manufacturing information may include the operating settings (e.g. time, temperature, speed) of the machine <NUM> tasked with building the AMO (such as a 3D printer), a description about the origin and type of the raw materials used to build the AMO, an identification number of the person that monitored and/or controlled the machine <NUM> that built the interim object <NUM> (that ultimately became the AMO), as well as the ambient temperature and humidity of the room where the machine <NUM> resides. Further, the manufacturing information may include any other variables, identifiers, settings, instructions or environmental or other conditions relevant for a particular machine <NUM>.

Manufacturing information may include information about the settings (e.g. temperature, speed, duration, type of detergent or other fluids/chemicals to be used, type of abrasive media to be used) of the machine <NUM> or plurality of machines <NUM> that will be or were used to perform finishing steps, such as steps to remove unwanted support material (the "RUSM Steps") from the unfinished AMO, steps to smooth surfaces (reduce surface roughness) of the unfinished AMO (the "Smoothing Steps"), an identification number of the individual that monitored and/or controlled the RUSM Steps and Smoothing Steps, as well as the ambient temperature and humidity and other relevant conditions where the machines <NUM> for carrying out the RUSM and Smoothing Steps resides. Manufacturing information may include the dimensions, tolerances, surface finish (e.g., smoothness or roughness), and other information corresponding to the AMO itself. The manufacturing information may include any other variables, identifiers, settings, instructions or other environmental or other conditions relevant for a particular machine <NUM>. The manufacturing information may be transmitted via the communication links <NUM> to the coordinating computer <NUM>.

The coordinating computer <NUM> may be programmed to (a) receive the manufacturing information pertaining to an AMO, (b) compare that manufacturing information to the desired characteristics of the desired object, and/or the manufacturing plan, (c) identify parameters that the manufacturing information indicates are not in keeping with the characteristics of the desired object or the manufacturing plan, and/or whether manufacture of the AMO should continue or be aborted. After such parameters are identified, a message describing the parameters may be transmitted, for example to a person responsible for the design and/or manufacturing of the desired object, and that person may then consider how to modify the manufacturing plan. Or, the message may be formulated automatically by the coordinating computer to automatically provide one or more of the machines <NUM>, <NUM> with a modified plan for completing manufacture of the object. For example, when a particular parameter is identified in an interim object <NUM>, the coordinating computer may recognize that particular parameter and respond by selecting a corresponding modification of the manufacturing plan. For instance, if the interim object <NUM> produced by the build-machine <NUM> has a surface roughness that is rougher than normal, upon identifying the excess roughness as a parameter, the coordinating computer <NUM> may increase the time during which the object is subjected to the finishing process of machine <NUM> and/or may increase the temperature of a chemical solution used in the machine <NUM> to smooth the object. It should be noted that the object may be evaluated while the object is being built by the build machine <NUM>, and the resulting manufacturing information may be used by the coordinating computer <NUM> to alter the manufacturing plan being executed by the build machine <NUM>, prepare the finishing machine <NUM> for the particular interim object <NUM> expected to be produced by the build machine <NUM>, or alert a human to an issue that requires human input. An issue requiring human input may result in the human deciding that the object can not be efficiently brought to be in keeping with the desired characteristics, and that manufacturing of that particular object should cease, thereby saving time and money associated with completing the manufacture of that particular object.

With such parameters in hand, the manufacturing plan, the machines <NUM>, <NUM> used to manufacture, the materials used in the machines <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or the ambient conditions can be modified so that a next attempt to produce the desired object is more likely to produce an AMO that more closely matches the desired object and/or so that the manufacturing plan for an AMO that is about to be manufactured or is currently being manufactured is modified before manufacturing of that AMO is started or completed, respectively. As such, the coordinating computer <NUM> provides a logistics aspect that facilitates efficient execution of the manufacturing plan (for example, the expected time that an object is likely to be ready to transfer from the build machine <NUM> to the finishing machine <NUM>), and modification of that plan even while an object is being manufactured. The coordinating computer <NUM> may be further programmed to modify those portions of the manufacturing plan that correspond to the parameters. Once the manufacturing plan is modified, instructions may be transmitted via the communication link <NUM> to the appropriate machine <NUM>, <NUM> or to an individual in order to carry out the modified plan.

Additive manufacturing technologies to which the invention may be applied include, among others, fused deposition modeling, material jetting, stereo lithography, selective laser sintering, high-speed sintering, direct metal laser sintering, and layered object manufacturing. For clarity, the manufactured object <NUM> may be plastic, metal, ceramic and/or any other material or combinations of materials (e.g., composites) used in additive manufacturing.

RUSM and Smoothing Steps to which the invention may be applied include, among others, those that use liquids, which may be applied to the AMO in a bath, vat, chamber or from high pressure spray nozzles. Also, the invention may be used with RUSM and Smoothing Steps that rely on abrasive solids or combinations of liquids and abrasive solids to remove unwanted support material and/or smooth surfaces of build material.

It will now be recognized that at least some of the manufacturing information may be generated by a machine <NUM>, <NUM> that is tasked with executing a portion of the manufacturing plan, or may be generated by sensors located on or near such machines. Some manufacturing information may be provided by the makers of the machines <NUM>, <NUM> as part of the machines' specifications, operating instructions or otherwise, and may be available within stored memory of such machines, and in either case may be communicated via links <NUM>. Some manufacturing information, for example an employee identification number, may be provided to the communication links <NUM> via machines <NUM>, <NUM> for building or cleaning an AMO, or may be provided via a computer located nearby.

It should be noted that a system that is in keeping with the invention may distribute at least some of the coordinating computer's <NUM> functionality to locally situated computers and databases (or other storage memory). For example, such a computer may be situated locally at one or more of the locations <NUM> to facilitate gathering of manufacturing information, and making changes to a manufacturing plan being executed at that location <NUM>. Such locally situated computers may be stand-alone computers or may be integrated into one or more, or all, of the machines <NUM>, <NUM>. In this manner, for example, a manufacturing plan for a particular finishing machine <NUM> may be modified based on manufacturing information corresponding to an object being produced by a manufacturing machine <NUM> at that same location <NUM>. The modified plan may be stored on the local computer, in the local database or other storage memory, and transmitted to other local machines <NUM>, <NUM>. In this manner, such a locally situated computer facilitates a manufacturing process being carried out within local machine <NUM>, between one local machine <NUM> and another local machine <NUM>, between one local machine <NUM> and another local machine <NUM>, or between one local machine <NUM> and another local machine <NUM>. And, such a locally situated computer may communicate with a centrally located coordinating computer, or other locally situated computers in order to communicate modified plans that may benefit other locations <NUM>.

A modified manufacturing plan may be created in response to manufacturing information received from a location <NUM> (including one or more machines <NUM>, <NUM> at a location <NUM>), or such a modified plan may arise from some other reason not related to manufacturing information. That is to say, a modified plan need not arise in order to correct a problem identified from manufacturing information. Further, a modified plan may be transmitted and implemented while a manufacturing process is being carried out. As such, a particular plan for a particular manufacturing operation may be modified while that manufacturing operation is being carried out. Consequently, for example, if a printing operation or finishing operation has begun, the plan for such a printing operation or finishing operation may be modified while such a printing operation or finishing operation is in process. As one example, during a printing operation it may be determined that the surface roughness of the object being fabricated is already rougher than had been anticipated based on the manufacturing plan. The manufacturing plan may be modified to specify a finer build material layer thickness to achieve a less rough surface, and that modified plan could be executed for the remainder of the object being printed.

Such an ability to modify manufacturing operations "on the fly" may also be used to accommodate excess capacity or a lack of capacity in other areas, and thus create a more efficient manufacturing operation. <FIG> depicts a method that modifies a manufacturing plan in order to utilize excess capacity or alleviate a lack of capacity. For example, if a delivery truck is ready to be loaded, but there are not enough finished products to fill the truck, a message may be sent and received <NUM> by the coordinating computer <NUM>, the manufacturing plan may be modified <NUM>, and the modified manufacturing plan may be sent to and implemented <NUM> at one or more of the locations <NUM> to speed up the manufacturing process, such as by increasing the speed at which objects are printed by machines <NUM> and/or finished by machines <NUM>. Or, if a particular finishing machine <NUM> has too many objects waiting to be finished, a message may be sent and received <NUM> by the coordinating computer <NUM>, the manufacturing plan may be modified <NUM>, and the modified manufacturing plan may be sent to and implemented <NUM> at one or more of the locations <NUM> to slow down one or more printing machines <NUM>, at least until that finishing machine <NUM> has alleviated the backlog. Similarly, if a finishing machine <NUM> has become available sooner than expected, a manufacturing machine <NUM> can be instructed to speed up a current fabrication of an object <NUM> (e.g., by increasing the speed of the printhead or increasing build material layer thickness) to take advantage of the available finishing machine <NUM>. The invention may be embodied as a method of manufacturing an object via additive manufacturing. <FIG> depicts one such method that is a computer-implemented method of manufacturing an object having desired characteristics via an additive manufacturing process. A digital representation of a desired object and a manufacturing plan are provided <NUM> to a coordinating computer. When the manufacturing plan is carried out, the desired object should be produced meeting the requirements and specifications for the part, but this is not always the case. Hence there needs to be a method for determining which desired characteristics are not being achieved, and for gathering and then communicating information in a way that can be used to modify the manufacturing plan.

In one such method, an AMO is manufactured <NUM> via the additive manufacturing process according to the manufacturing plan, and then that AMO is evaluated <NUM> to obtain information that is compared <NUM> to the digital representation in order to determine whether the AMO has the desired characteristics. To the extent that the AMO does not have the desired characteristics, those parameters of the AMO that are not in keeping with the desired characteristics are identified <NUM>, and used to modify <NUM> the manufacturing plan. Using the modified manufacturing plan, a next AMO can be manufactured <NUM> to have the desired characteristics, or to be closer to those desired characteristics than the prior AMO.

Modifying <NUM> the manufacturing plan may include modifying a portion of the manufacturing plan pertaining to one or more of the following: the type of build material, the type of support material, the parameters for depositing or forming the build material, the parameters for depositing or forming the support material, a speed at which layers or other portions of the object are formed, a temperature of material being used to form the object, an orientation of the object being manufactured, settings of one or more machines used to fabricate the object. And according to the invention it includes one or more of the following: the method of removal of unwanted support material, the method of smoothing surfaces, and the settings and parameters for such removal and smoothing (such as liquid and abrasive materials, temperature, time, pressure, level of agitation).

<FIG> illustrates steps of a method in which an interim object is evaluated <NUM>, and the manufacturing plan is modified <NUM> based on information obtained from that interim evaluation. In this method, the manufacturing plan may be modified <NUM> and the modifications may be applied (a) to one or more of the remaining manufacturing steps in order to complete manufacturing <NUM> of the interim object, as well as (b) to the manufacture <NUM> a subsequent object. In this manner, modifications of the manufacturing plan arising from a particular object can be swiftly applied to the manufacturing plan of a subsequent object, and this may be done for subsequent objects for which manufacturing has already begun.

<FIG> is a variation of the method depicted in <FIG> in which an interim object is evaluated <NUM> after building <NUM> (i.e. printing operations) occurs but before finishing <NUM>. The information generated by that evaluation <NUM> may be used to modify <NUM> the manufacturing plan corresponding to finishing operations for that particular interim object as well as the manufacturing plan for a subsequent object. Then, that evaluated interim object is moved to a finishing machine and finished <NUM> according to the modified manufacturing plan, and the subsequent object is built <NUM> according to the modified manufacturing plan. That subsequent object may already be in the building operations <NUM> when the interim object is evaluated <NUM>.

<FIG> is a method that combines and augments the features depicted in <FIG> and <FIG>. In the method of <FIG>, the manufacturing plan may be evaluated prior to commencing actual manufacturing of an object to evaluate whether following the manufacturing plan is likely to produce an object having the desired characteristics. This evaluation can be performed manually by an operator or by automation such as using computer programming carrying out evaluation algorithms and the like. If it is determined that the probability of fabricating the object is less than a specified minimum probability, then the manufacturing may be modified to better ensure a requisite probability of success. Such modifications may include, among other things, modifications to the geometry, dimensions or desired tolerances or surface smoothness of the parts, as well as changes to the machines, materials, settings and other parameters for building and finishing the object. The specified minimum probability may be the same for all objects or different for different objects, and may vary based on the importance of how closely the object needs to meet the desired characteristics. The method further includes a final step of having the customer, end-user or other receiver of the object evaluate the object for acceptability. If such person determines that the object is not acceptable, then the reasons can be captured and the manufacturing plan can be updated so that the next unit of the object will be more likely to meet the person's expectations or requirements.

Manufacturing <NUM>, <NUM> the AMO may be accomplished via additive manufacturing printing technologies such as fused deposition modeling, material jetting, stereo lithography, selective laser sintering, high-speed sintering, direct metal laser sintering, or layered object manufacturing. Such manufacturing <NUM> may be used to form objects made of plastic, metal, ceramic and/or any other material or combinations of materials (e.g., composites) used in additive manufacturing.

Manufacturing <NUM>, <NUM> of the AMO may be further accomplished via additive manufacturing finishing technologies (for RUSM and Smoothing Steps) such as those that use liquids, abrasive solids or combinations thereof which may be applied to the AMO in a bath, vat, chamber or from high pressure spray nozzles.

The method need not be limited to evaluating <NUM> the AMO at the end of the manufacturing process. For example, as shown in <FIG> at Step <NUM>, an interim object <NUM> that is not fully manufactured may be evaluated before the final manufacturing step is completed. By making such an interim evaluation <NUM>, it may be possible to obtain information corresponding to the partially manufactured interim object <NUM>, compare <NUM> that information to corresponding information associated with an interim digital representation of the object corresponding to that stage of the manufacturing process, and then identify <NUM> parameters of the partially manufactured interim object <NUM> that are not in keeping with that interim digital representation. By doing so, it may be possible to identify differences and then modify the manufacturing process <NUM> for the next step <NUM> in the additive manufacturing process for the AMO at hand, and also so that a subsequent manufactured object meets or is closer to the interim characteristics. For example, after the printing step, it may be determinate that a surface of the AMO is rougher than would have been expected based on the manufacturing plan. The portion of the manufacturing plan for the Smoothing Step could then be modified to address this additional roughness and thus ensure a better outcome for this particular AMO. Such modifications may include, among others, increasing one or more of the time, temperature, concentration of abrasives and level of agitation used in the machine <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A system (<NUM>) for facilitating the delivery, execution and modification of a manufacturing plan describing how an object (<NUM>) is to be manufactured using an additive manufacturing process,
wherein the manufacturing plan includes
aspects focused on building the object (<NUM>) via a 3D printing process including depositing material in layers that ultimately are part of a completed object as well as depositing unwanted support material that is not part of the completed object, and
aspects focused on finishing the object (<NUM>) by contacting the object (<NUM>) with a chemical solution that dissolves the unwanted support material or abrasive material that erodes the unwanted support material or smooths surfaces of material of which the object (<NUM>) is built,
the system (<NUM>) comprising:
a coordinating computer (<NUM>);
a database (<NUM>) for storing one or more manufacturing plans;
a communication link (<NUM>) for transmitting manufacturing information pertaining to a particular object being manufactured from a manufacturing location (<NUM>) to the database (<NUM>) and the manufacturing plan from the coordinating computer (<NUM>) to the manufacturing location (<NUM>), wherein the manufacturing location (<NUM>) comprises a machine (<NUM>) for carrying out an additive manufacturing part-making process to produce an interim object (<NUM>) and a finishing machine (<NUM>) for carrying out the aspects focused on finishing the object (<NUM>);
wherein the coordinating computer (<NUM>) compares information generated by evaluation of desired characteristics of the manufactured object (<NUM>) to identify parameters not in keeping with the desired characteristics in order to identify ways to modify the aspects focused on finishing the object (<NUM>) in the manufacturing plan to create a modified manufacturing plan.