COVER FOR A THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTER BUILD SURFACE

Abstract

A cover for a print bed for a three-dimensional object, and methods of manufacturing the same, are disclosed. The cover may include a polycarbonate substrate having a selectively textured upper surface and a double coated adhesive layer provided to adhere the polycarbonate substrate to a print bed.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional object printer, comprising: an extruder nozzle; a print bed comprising a flat upper surface; a double coated adhesive layer adhered to the print bed upper surface; and a sheet of polycarbonate substrate having a lower surface and an upper surface, wherein said upper surface is flat and level to the extruder nozzle, and said lower surface is adhered to an upper surface of the double coated adhesive layer.

2. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a Velvet texture.

3. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 2, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has an R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 25 microns.

4. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 3, wherein the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a lower non-Velvet and non-matte textured surface.

5. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 3, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has an R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 5 microns.

6. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 5, wherein the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a lower non-Velvet and non-matte textured surface.

7. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has an R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 25 microns.

8. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 7, wherein the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a lower non-Velvet and non-matte textured surface.

9. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 7, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has an R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 5 microns.

10. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 9, wherein the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a lower non-Velvet and non-matte textured surface.

11. The three-dimensional object printer of claim 1, wherein the double coated adhesive layer comprises: a PET carrier film having an upper surface and a lower surface; a first adhesive sub layer having an upper and lower surface, said first adhesive sub layer provided between the PET carrier film upper surface and the polycarbonate substrate lower surface; and a second adhesive sub layer having an upper and lower surface, said second adhesive sub layer provided between the PET carrier film lower surface and the print bed upper surface.

12. A print bed cover for a print bed of a three-dimensional object printer, comprising: a sheet of polycarbonate substrate having a flat lower surface and a flat upper surface; a double coated adhesive layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein said upper surface is adhered to the lower surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate; and a PET liner adhered to the double coated adhesive layer lower surface; wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a Velvet texture.

13. The print bed cover of claim 12, wherein the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a lower non-Velvet and non-matte textured surface.

14. The print bed cover of claim 13, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has an R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 25 microns.

15. The print bed cover of claim 13, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has an R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 5 microns.

16. The print bed cover of claim 12, wherein the double coated adhesive layer comprises: a PET carrier film having an upper surface and a lower surface; a first adhesive sub layer having an upper and lower surface, said first adhesive sub layer provided between the PET carrier film upper surface and the polycarbonate substrate lower surface; and a second adhesive sub layer having an upper and lower surface, said second adhesive sub layer provided on the PET carrier film lower surface.

17. The print bed cover of claim 16, wherein the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has a lower non-Velvet and non-matte textured surface.

18. The print bed cover of claim 17, wherein the upper surface of the sheet of polycarbonate substrate has an R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 25 microns.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to assist the understanding of this invention, reference will now be made to the appended drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like elements. The drawings are exemplary only, and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a pictorial illustration of a cover having a composition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention after being applied to a print bed.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a side view of a cover having a composition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention after being applied to a print bed.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a detailed a cross-sectional exploded view of a cover having a composition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0019] In order to assist the understanding of this invention, reference will now be made to the appended drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like elements. The drawings are exemplary only, and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0020] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a 3-D printer having a print bed 10 with which an extruder 20 cooperates, may be provided with a cover 30. The print bed 10 may be heated, for example, if the printer is an FDM style 3-D printer. The cover 30 may be generally planar and sized to cover the working area of the print bed 10.

[0021] With reference to FIG. 3, the cover 30 may be manufactured by starting with a single surfaced velvet or matte textured polycarbonate substrate 38 which is generally supplied in sheets or rolls. Preferably, the polycarbonate substrate 38 may be in the range of 5 to 10 millimeters in thickness. The thickness of the polycarbonate substrate 38 may be selected such that the substrate is mildly flexible, yet sufficiently rigid to work with. The velvet or matte textured surface of the polycarbonate substrate 38 preferably may have a R.sub.z3 roughness of less than 5 microns up to 25 microns based on the ISO 4288 standard. It is appreciated, however, that the velvet or matte textured surface of the polycarbonate substrate 38 could have a roughness outside of the foregoing range without departing from the intended scope of the present invention.

[0022] The polycarbonate substrate 38 may be cut down to workable sized press production sheets which are sized appropriately for a print bed 10. Next, in an optional step, the polycarbonate substrate 38 may be sub-surface (reverse side) printed with two-dimensional (2-D) graphics to provide the substrate with customized colors, design layouts, and/or product markings. This optional 2-D printing may be offered when the polycarbonate substrate 38 is clear or at least semi-transparent. Alternatively, the polycarbonate substrate 38 may be supplied in a solid color, such as black, in which case 2-D printing may be omitted.

[0023] Next, a double coated adhesive layer 32 may be provided on the lower surface of the polycarbonate substrate 38, i.e., the surface which is not velvet or matte textured. In cases where the cover 30 is intended to be used for FDM style 3-D printing, which requires the use of a heated print bed 10, a heat tolerant or resistant silicone double coated adhesive is preferably used. For example, a heat tolerant double coated adhesive layer 32 may include (1) a PET carrier film 35 having upper and lower surfaces, (2) a first adhesive sub layer 36 having upper and lower surfaces and provided between the PET carrier film 35 upper surface and the polycarbonate substrate 38 lower surface, (3) a second adhesive sub layer 34 having upper and lower surfaces and provided on the PET carrier film 35 lower surface, and (4) a PET protective liner 33 provided on the second adhesive sub layer 34 lower surface. Alternatively, when the cover 30 is not intended to be used with a heated print bed 10, a double coated adhesive that is comparable in tack and removability can be substituted.

[0024] The double coated adhesive layer 32 may be supplied on a roll and laminated to the polycarbonate substrate 38 by adhering the first adhesive sub layer 36 to the lower (non-velvet or non-matte) surface of the polycarbonate substrate. After the lamination step, which results in the PET protective liner 33 being distill from the polycarbonate substrate 38, the PET protective liner may be removed to enable a user to adhere the second adhesive sub layer 34 of the cover 30 to the print bed 10. Thus, the PET protective liner 33 protects the integrity of the second adhesive sub layer 34 until the cover 30 is applied to the print bed. The final step in manufacture of the cover 30 may be to die cut the production press sheet (now consisting of the printed or non-printed polycarbonate substrate 38 and double coated adhesive layer 32.

[0025] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. For example, the particular architecture depicted above are merely exemplary of one implementation of the present invention. The functional elements and method steps described above are provided as illustrative examples of one technique for implementing the invention; one skilled in the art will recognize that many other implementations are possible without departing from the present invention as recited in the claims. In addition, the present invention may be implemented as a method, process, user interface, computer program product, system, apparatus, or any combination thereof. Accordingly, the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention. It is intended that the present invention cover all such modifications and variations of the invention, provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.