Optical curing system for 3d printing

Abstract

An optical curing system for a large scale 3D printing system may include a light source housing, a light source, a mounting bracket, a light beam focusing subsystem, and a power source. The light source may be coupled to the light source housing. The mounting bracket may secure the light source housing to a rotary system on the 3D printer. The light beam focusing subsystem is attached to the light source housing. The power source may power the light source during its operation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An optical curing system configured for use with a 3D printing system, the optical curing system comprising:
 a mounting bracket coupled to a separate rotary system configured to rotate the mounting bracket around a longitudinal axis of a separate extruder longitudinally disposed through a portion of the mounting bracket; and   multiple light emitting devices coupled to the mounting bracket and configured to rotate with the mounting bracket around the extruder in order to emit light towards 3D-printable material as the 3D-printable material is extruded from the extruder, wherein at least one of the multiple light emitting devices is configured to emit light towards the 3D-printable material along a light path having a directional component that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the extruder.   
     
     
         2 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple light emitting devices are coupled to and contained within a plurality of lighting modules that are in turn coupled to the mounting bracket and configured to rotate with the mounting bracket around the extruder. 
     
     
         3 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one or more light sensors configured to measure an intensity of emitted light reflected from the 3D-printable material extruded from the extruder.   
     
     
         4 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the multiple light emitting devices includes its own housing, light source, parabolic light beam reflector, radiator configured to dissipate heat, and mounting point where the light emitting device is pivotally mounted to the mounting bracket. 
     
     
         5 . The optical curing system of  claim 4 , wherein each of the multiple light emitting devices is pivotally oriented about its mounting point to direct light emitted therefrom to a focal point where the 3D-printable material is extruded from the extruder. 
     
     
         6 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a power source and controller, wherein the power source provides power to the controller and the multiple light emitting devices independently from the 3D printing system.   
     
     
         7 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple light emitting devices are configured to rotate around the extruder 360 degrees and to emit light 360 degrees towards the 3D-printable material as the 3D-printable material is extruded from the extruder. 
     
     
         8 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple light emitting devices are arranged into one or more arrays having rows and columns such that the angle between the longitudinal axis of the extruder and the light path from each of the multiple light emitting devices varies from one row of light emitting devices to another row. 
     
     
         9 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the multiple light emitting devices is configured to emit light towards the 3D-printable material along a light path having a directional component that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the extruder. 
     
     
         10 . The optical curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the angle between the longitudinal axis of the extruder and the light path from each of the multiple light emitting devices varies from one light emitting device to another. 
     
     
         11 . A 3D printing system, comprising:
 a printing head including an extruder having a longitudinal axis and configured to extrude a 3D-printable material;   an optical curing system including a mounting bracket and multiple light emitting devices coupled to the mounting bracket; and   a rotary system configured to rotate the optical curing system around the longitudinal axis of the extruder to direct light from the multiple light emitting devices to the 3D-printable material as the 3D-printable material is extruded from the extruder, wherein at least one of the multiple light emitting devices is configured to emit light towards the 3D-printable material along a light path having a directional component that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the extruder.   
     
     
         12 . The 3D printing system of  claim 11 , wherein the multiple light emitting devices are coupled to and contained within a plurality of lighting modules that are in turn coupled to the mounting bracket and configured to rotate with the mounting bracket around the extruder. 
     
     
         13 . The 3D printing system of  claim 11 , wherein the optical curing system further includes one or more light sensors configured to measure an intensity of emitted light reflected from the 3D-printable material extruded from the extruder. 
     
     
         14 . The 3D printing system of  claim 11 , wherein each of the multiple light emitting devices includes its own housing, light source, parabolic light beam reflector, radiator configured to dissipate heat, and mounting point where the light emitting device is pivotally mounted to the mounting bracket, each of the multiple light emitting devices being pivotally oriented about its mounting point to direct light emitted therefrom to a focal point where the 3D-printable material is extruded from the extruder. 
     
     
         15 . The 3D printing system of  claim 11 , wherein the multiple light emitting devices are configured to rotate around the extruder 360 degrees and to emit light 360 degrees towards the 3D-printable material as the 3D-printable material is extruded from the extruder. 
     
     
         16 . The 3D printing system of  claim 11 , wherein the multiple light emitting devices are arranged into one or more arrays having rows and columns such that the angle between the longitudinal axis of the extruder and the light path from each of the multiple light emitting devices varies from one row of light emitting devices to another row. 
     
     
         17 . The 3D printing system of  claim 11 , wherein the angle between the longitudinal axis of the extruder and the light path from each of the multiple light emitting devices varies from one light emitting device to another. 
     
     
         18 . A method of curing an extruded 3D-printable material, the method comprising:
 emitting light from an optical curing system towards 3D-printable material as the 3D-printable material is extruded from an extruder having a longitudinal axis, the optical curing system having a mounting bracket and multiple light emitting devices coupled to the mounting bracket, wherein at least one of the multiple light emitting devices emits light towards the 3D-printable material along a light path having a directional component that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the extruder;   rotating the optical curing system about the longitudinal axis of the extruder while emitting the light, wherein the extruder is longitudinally disposed through a portion of the mounting bracket and the mounting bracket and multiple light emitting devices rotate together about the longitudinal axis of the extruder; and   forming a cured 3D-printed material by emitting light from the optical curing system to the extruded 3D-printable material.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising the steps of:
 determining a light intensity of the emitted light using one or more light sensors; and   adjusting the power of the multiple light emitting devices based on the determined light intensity to achieve a desired light intensity value.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising the step of:
 focusing the emitted light from the multiple light emitting devices towards a common focal point at the 3D-printable material.