Apparatus and method for forming three-dimensional objects using linear solidification

摘要

An apparatus and method for making a three-dimensional object from a solidifiable material using a linear solidification device is shown and described. In certain examples, the linear solidification device includes a laser diode that projects light onto a scanning device, such as a rotating polygonal mirror or a linear scanning micromirror, which then deflects the light onto a photohardenable resin. As a result, the linear solidification device scans a line of solidification energy in a direction that is substantially orthogonal to the direction of travel of the laser diode. In other examples, the linear solidification device is a laser device array or light emitting diode array that extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of travel of the array.

主权项

1. An apparatus for forming a three-dimensional object from a solidifiable material, comprising:
a selectively activatable and deactivatable solidification energy source; a linear scanning device that scans solidification energy received from the solidification energy source onto the solidifiable material along a scanning axis at a scan rate that varies with position along the scanning axis; a host computer comprising a processor and a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein when executed by the processor the instructions perform the step of converting three-dimensional object data into a plurality of uncorrected data strings and correcting the data strings based on the variation of the scan rate with position along the scanning axis, thereby yielding a plurality of corrected data strings, wherein the solidification energy source is in optical communication with the linear scanning device, the linear scanning device scans solidification energy received from the solidification energy source in a plurality of linear patterns along a source of the solidifiable material while the linear scanning device moves in a first direction, and each linear pattern has a length along a second direction and is defined by one of the corrected data strings in the plurality of corrected data strings.