Ultrasonically enabled supportless 3D printing (Sonobeamer)

超声波无支撑 3D 打印 (Sonobeamer)

• 批准号: EP/W025175/1
• 负责人: Steven Neale
• 金额: $ 129.35万
• 依托单位: University of Glasgow
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FW025175%2F1
• 关键词: Ultrasonically; enabled; supportless; 3D; printing

In this proposal we outline how we will develop a system capable of 3D printing without physical support structures by ultrasonically supporting the desired print whilst it is being printed. This will facilitate the creation of complex geometries that previously were not possible whilst at the same time, for the majority of prints, by removing the need for infill as well as removing physical supports, it will increase the speed and reduce the energy and amount of material needed for each print. Removing the need for physical support could also reduce the solid waste created by this printing method to as low as zero plastic waste. To achieve this, we will develop a novel ultrasound transducer array, the SonoBeamer, which we will then integrate into demonstration 3D printing setups. The SonoBeamer array will consist of tiles (circa 50x50mm) with each tile comprising up to 208x208 transducer elements. Each tile will itself consist of lines of transducers, or staves, which will then be assembled into the 2D tile. We will design custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chips which will be bonded onto a flexible circuit board attached to each stave. The AISC chips will give precise electrical pulse trains, both in amplitude and phase allowing optimised control over the phased array of ultrasound transducers whilst minimising the power used and the heat generated. Before developing the SonoBeamer arrays we will test the design parameters by using a smaller array (12 elements) of available off the shelf ultrasound transducers and use this to establish the optimum geometry, size of array and size of each pixel, for the Sonobeamer. We are targeting applying the SonoBeamer tiles to stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing and so the first small array will be used to demonstrate the method of holding a 3D printed object in resin whist it is being printed. Once we have then developed the SonoBeamer tiles we will then create two test systems which we will use to demonstrate their capabilities and learn their abilities and limitations so that we can further develop them with a second generation of SonoBeamer devices. The first test system will be based on a bespoke optical system and will have SonoBeamer tiles on four sides of the printer's resin tank. This will allow optimal control over the pressure distributions in the resin tank providing fine control over the structure as it is being printed. We will use this system to develop algorithms and software to drive the Sonobeamer tiles to achieve the control we want in the complex environment created by the printed structures being created. Using this system, we will demonstrate orientational control over the print as it is formed allowing us to go beyond printing layer by layer as in traditional additive manufacture. We will also demonstrate the novel control the system offers by printing of one freely moving object completely within another printed object e.g. a set of nested hollow spheres. In our second test system we will integrate a set of SonoBeamer tiles into a commercial SLA printer's resin tank. As we will not be able to place SonoBeamer tiles around four sides of this tank this will produce a reduced functionality, with less orientational control, however it will allow the ultrasonic support of the print so that the need for infill and physical supports will be reduced. This will give us a quick pathway to increasing the speed and reducing the energy and waste of commercial systems. We will install one of these prototype systems into the manufacturing facility of our industrial partners Step3D who will test it for us in a commercial setting and feedback to us the advantages and disadvantages they, and their customers, find with the system.

在此提案中，我们概述了如何开发一种无需物理支撑结构即可进行 3D 打印的系统，方法是在打印时以超声波方式支撑所需的打印件。这将有助于创建以前不可能的复杂几何形状，同时，对于大多数印刷品来说，通过消除填充以及去除物理支撑的需要，它将提高速度并减少每次印刷所需的能量和材料量。消除对物理支撑的需求还可以将这种打印方法产生的固体废物减少到零塑料废物。为了实现这一目标，我们将开发一种新型超声换能器阵列 SonoBeamer，然后将其集成到演示 3D 打印设置中。 SonoBeamer 阵列将由块（约 50x50mm）组成，每个块包含多达 208x208 个换能器元件。每个图块本身都由多行传感器或板条组成，然后将其组装成 2D 图块。我们将设计定制的专用集成电路 (ASIC) 芯片，并将其粘合到连接到每个板条的柔性电路板上。 AISC 芯片将提供精确的电脉冲序列，无论是幅度还是相位，都可以优化对超声换能器相控阵的控制，同时最大限度地减少使用的功率和产生的热量。在开发 SonoBeamer 阵列之前，我们将使用现有的现有超声换能器的较小阵列（12 个元件）来测试设计参数，并使用它来为 Sonobeamer 建立最佳几何形状、阵列尺寸和每个像素的尺寸。我们的目标是将 SonoBeamer 块应用于立体光刻 (SLA) 3D 打印，因此第一个小型阵列将用于演示在打印时将 3D 打印物体固定在树脂中的方法。一旦我们开发了 SonoBeamer 块，我们将创建两个测试系统，我们将用它们来展示它们的功能并了解它们的能力和局限性，以便我们可以使用第二代 SonoBeamer 设备进一步开发它们。第一个测试系统将基于定制光学系统，并将在打印机树脂槽的四个侧面上安装 SonoBeamer 瓷砖。这将允许对树脂槽中的压力分布进行最佳控制，从而在打印时提供对结构的精细控制。我们将使用该系统开发算法和软件来驱动 Sonobeamer 瓷砖，以在由正在创建的打印结构创建的复杂环境中实现我们想要的控制。使用该系统，我们将演示打印形成时的方向控制，使我们能够超越传统增材制造中的逐层打印。我们还将展示该系统通过将一个自由移动的物体完全打印在另一个打印物体内而提供的新颖控制，例如一组嵌套的空心球体。在我们的第二个测试系统中，我们将把一组 SonoBeamer 块集成到商用 SLA 打印机的树脂槽中。由于我们无法将 SonoBeamer 瓷砖放置在该水箱的四个侧面周围，这将导致功能减少，方向控制较少，但是它将允许打印的超声波支持，从而减少对填充和物理支撑的需求。这将为我们提供一条提高商业系统速度并减少能源和浪费的快速途径。我们将把其中一个原型系统安装到我们的工业合作伙伴 Step3D 的制造工厂中，他们将在商业环境中为我们进行测试，并向我们反馈他们及其客户发现该系统的优点和缺点。