Non-orthogonal additive manufacturing and the treatment of parts manufactured thereof

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a 3D printer including a receiving surface for accepting the accumulation of material layers, and a gantry having a shaft and carriage that is translated along the shaft, and an extruder assembly that is articulated to rotate a printing plane, wherein the extruder assembly is attached to the carriage and the articulated extruder assembly is manipulated to rotate the printing plane away from parallel with the receiving surface.

1 . A 3D printer comprising:
 a receiving surface for accepting the accumulation of material layers; and   a gantry; and   an extruder assembly that is articulated to rotate a printing plane;   wherein the extruder assembly is operably attached to the gantry (e.g., via a carriage), and the articulated extruder assembly is manipulated to rotate the printing plane away from parallel with the receiving surface.   
     
     
         2 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface is movable. 
     
     
         3 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface include a flat belt. 
     
     
         4 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface comprises a plurality of pulleys. 
     
     
         5 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface is articulated to rotate away from parallel with a horizontal plane. 
     
     
         6 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the extruder assembly is articulated to rotate about one or more axes. 
     
     
         7 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the extruder assembly is articulated to rotate and form a first angle with the receiving surface. 
     
     
         8 . The 3D printer of  claim 7 , wherein the first angle is between 0 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         9 . The 3D printer of  claim 7 , wherein the first angle is between 45 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         10 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the extruder assembly comprises a nozzle and the nozzle is articulated to rotate about one or more axes. 
     
     
         11 . The 3D printer of  claim 10 , wherein the nozzle is articulated to rotate and form a second angle with the receiving surface. 
     
     
         12 . The 3D printer of  claim 11 , wherein the second angle is between 0 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         13 . The 3D printer of  claim 11 , wherein the second angle is between 45 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         14 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the gantry offers a print volume with a first width and first height through which a part that exceeds the print volume is printed by gradually moving the part away from the print area. 
     
     
         15 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein a printing plane angle relative to the horizontal bed is changed to increase material throughput for a given part geometry and layer cooling rate requirement. 
     
     
         16 . The 3D printer of  claim 14 , wherein the extension of the part volume beyond printer volume drives the parallel post-processing of the part by means of a separate working volume into which the part enters and machining operations are executed. 
     
     
         17 . The 3D printer of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving surface is a rigid member with a curved surface comprising:
 an angled bar with an internal radius; and   a length spanning the width of the 3D printer's build volume in a first direction;   wherein the cross-section of the rigid member is consistent along the first direction to increase the surface contact with material deposited by said 3D printer.   
     
     
         18 . A method of printing a 3D part using a 3D printer, comprising:
 providing a gantry of the 3D printer;   providing an extruder assembly of the 3D printer, wherein the extruder assembly is operably attached to the gantry (e.g., via a carriage), and wherein the extruder assembly is configured to print a material in a printing plane and the printing plane forms a first angle with a horizontal plane;   rotating the extruder assembly so that the printing plane forms a second angle with the horizontal plane; and   depositing a layer of the material on a receiving surface.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the first angle and second angle are different. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the first angle is between 0 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the second angle is between 0 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         22 . A 3D printer comprising:
 a receiving surface for accepting the accumulation of material layers; and   a gantry; and   an extruder assembly having a nozzle that is articulated to rotate a printing plane;   wherein the extruder assembly is operably attached to the gantry (e.g., via a carriage), and the articulated nozzle is manipulated to rotate the printing plane away from parallel with the receiving surface.   
     
     
         23 . The 3D printer of  claim 22 , wherein the receiving surface is movable. 
     
     
         24 . The 3D printer of  claim 22 , wherein the receiving surface is articulated to rotate away from parallel with a horizontal plane. 
     
     
         25 . The 3D printer of  claim 22 , wherein the nozzle is articulated to rotate about one or more axes. 
     
     
         26 . The 3D printer of  claim 22 , wherein the gantry offers a print volume with a certain width and height through which a part that exceeds the print volume is printed by gradually moving the part away from the print volume. 
     
     
         27 . A method of printing a 3D part using a 3D printer, comprising:
 providing a gantry of the 3D printer;   providing an extruder assembly of the 3D printer wherein the extruder assembly is operably attached to the gantry (e.g., via a carriage), wherein the extruder assembly comprises a nozzle and the nozzle is configured to print a material in a printing plane and the printing plane forms a first angle with a horizontal plane;   rotating the nozzle so that the printing plane forms a second angle with the horizontal plane; and   depositing a material layer on a receiving surface.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the first angle and second angle are different. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the first angle is between 0 and 90 degrees. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the second angle is between 0 and 90 degrees.