HYBRID MANUFACTURE OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL COMPONENTS

Abstract

A method (100) for manufacturing a three-dimensional object (1), said method comprising the following steps: a three-dimensional mold (2) defining an interior space (21) is provided (110); a filling material (3) comprising at least one liquid or past-like monomer is introduced (120) into the interior space (21); the monomer is polymerized (130) to produce a polymer, the temperature (3a) of the filling material (3) and/or the temperature (2a) of an outer surface of the three-dimensional mold (2) being monitored (140); and on the basis of the results (2a, 3a) of this monitoring operation, the quality (1a) of the object (1) is assessed (150) and/or at least one measure (4) is taken (160) in order to direct the temperature (2a, 3a) in a desired direction.

Claims

1. A method (100) for manufacturing a three-dimensional object (1), comprising the steps of: a three-dimensional mold (2) defining an interior space (21) is provided (110); a filling material (3) comprising at least one liquid or paste-like monomer is introduced (120) into the interior space (21); the monomer is polymerized (130) into a polymer, a temperature (3a) of the filling material (3) and/or a temperature (2a) of an outer surface of the three-dimensional mold (2) being monitored (140); and on the basis of the results (2a, 3a) of the monitoring, a quality (1a) of the object (1) is assessed (150) and/or at least one measure (4) is taken (160) in order to direct the temperature (2a, 3a) in a desired direction.

2. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein a structure manufactured by 3D printing is provided (111) as the three-dimensional mold (2).

3. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein monitoring the temperature includes measuring the temperature (2a, 3a) at a plurality of locations (141) and determining (142) a temperature (2a#, 3a#) at at least one further location in the filling material (3) and/or in the three-dimensional mold (2) using the measured temperatures (2a, 3a).

4. The method (100) according to claim 3, wherein at least one location on the outer surface of the three-dimensional mold (2) at which a local temperature maximum or minimum is to be expected based on a geometry of the mold is selected as a location (2a) for the temperature measurement (141a).

5. The method (100) according to claim 3, wherein the temperature (2a#, 3a#) is determined at the at least one further location in the filling material (3) using a parameterized model (142a), the parameters of which are trained based on measurements of the temperature at locations within the filling material (3).

6. The method (100) of claim 3, wherein locations where a measurement of temperature is intended are marked and/or prepared (112) when the three-dimensional mold (2) is provided.

7. The method (100) according to claim 3, wherein accesses for introducing temperature sensors are kept open (113) at specified locations in the interior space (21) of the mold (2) when providing the three-dimensional mold (2).

8. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein the assessing of the quality (1a) of the object (1) includes determining an extent to which the temperature (3a) of the filling material (3) has extended throughout a region provided for polymerization (151); an extent to which the temperature (2a) of the three-dimensional mold (2) has locally exceeded a specified maximum local value or fallen below a specified minimum value (152); a temperature-time profile under which the object (1) has cooled (153); an extent to which the temperature of the filling material (3) and/or of the three-dimensional mold (2) deviates from a prediction determined on a basis of a model (154).

9. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein the measure (4) for directing the temperature (2a, 3a) comprises changing a temperature of a furnace in which the monomer is polymerized and/or a residence time of the object (1) in the furnace (161); and/or changing (162) a temperature at which the monomer is introduced into the interior space (21) of the three-dimensional mold; and/or locally heating or cooling (163) the object (1).

10. A computer program including machine-readable instructions which, when executed on one or more computers, cause the computer or computers, and/or a manufacturing system controlled by the computer or computers, to carry out the method (100) according to claim 1.

11. A machine-readable readable data storage medium and/or download product having the computer program according to claim 10.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Further measures improving the invention are described in more detail below on the basis of the figures, together with the description of the preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention.

[0032] The figures show:

[0033] FIG. 1 an exemplary embodiment of method 100, and

[0034] FIG. 2 a sectional view of a three-dimensional object 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the method 100 for manufacturing a three-dimensional object 1.

[0036] In step 110, a three-dimensional mold 2 defining an interior space 21 is provided. According to block 111, a structure manufactured by 3D printing may be provided as a three-dimensional mold 2.

[0037] In step 120, a filling material 3 comprising at least one liquid or paste-like monomer is introduced into the interior space 21.

[0038] In step 130 the monomer is polymerized to a polymer. Meanwhile, in step 140, the temperature 3a of the filling material 3 and/or the temperature 2a of an outer surface of the three-dimensional mold 2 is monitored.

[0039] Based on the results 2a, 3a of this monitoring, in step 150 the quality 1a of the object 1 is assessed. Alternatively or in combination, at least one measure 4 can be taken in step 160 to direct the temperature 2a, 3a in a desired direction.

[0040] According to block 141, monitoring the temperature may include measuring temperature 2a, 3a at a plurality of locations. According to block 142, the temperature 2a#, 3a# at at least one further location in the filling material 3 and/or in the three-dimensional mold 2 may then be determined using these temperatures 2a, 3a. For this purpose, in particular for example according to block 112, locations where a measurement of the temperature is intended are marked and/or prepared at the time the three-dimensional mold 2 is provided.

[0041] In particular, according to block 141a, for example, at least one location on the outer surface of the three-dimensional mold 2 where a local temperature maximum or minimum is to be expected due to the geometry of the mold is selected as the location 2a for the temperature measurement.

[0042] In particular, according to block 142a for example, the temperature (2a#, 3a#) at the at least one further location in the filling material 3 may be determined using a parameterized model, the parameters of which are trained based on measurements of the temperature at locations within the filling material 3. To facilitate these measurements for the training of the model, in particular in accordance with block 113, for example, in providing the three-dimensional mold 2, accesses for introducing temperature sensors at specified locations inside the interior space 21 of the mold 2 may be kept open.

[0043] Evaluating the quality 1a of the object 1 can, for example, include determining [0044] the extent to which the temperature 3a of the filling material 3 has extended throughout the region provided for polymerization (block 151); [0045] the extent to which the temperature 2a of the three-dimensional mold 2 has exceeded a specified maximum value locally (or has fallen below a minimum value) (block 152); [0046] the temperature-time profile under which the object 1 has cooled (block 153); [0047] the extent to which the temperature of the filling material 3 and/or the three-dimensional mold 2 deviates from a prediction determined on the basis of a model (block 154).

[0048] Measure 4 for directing the temperature 2a, 3a may in particular comprise, for example, [0049] changing the temperature of a furnace in which the monomer is polymerized and/or a residence time of the object 1 in the furnace (block 161); and/or [0050] changing the temperature at which the monomer is introduced into the interior space 21 of the three-dimensional mold (block 162); and/or [0051] locally heating or cooling the object 1 (block 163).

[0052] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary snapshot of the performing of the method 100 during filling of filling material 3 into a three-dimensional mold 2. The three-dimensional mold 2 is shown in a cross-sectional drawing and has an inlet 22 for the filling material 3 as well as three risers 23a-23c through which air can escape from the mold 2 so that it does not resist the filling of the filling material 3. Twelve measurement points a-l are marked on the outside of the three-dimensional mold 2. At these measurement points a-l, according to block 142 of the method 100, the temperature 2a of the outer surface of the mold 2 is measured. Using a previously trained model, according to block 142 of the method 100, the temperature 3a# can be calculated at any location within the filling material 3 in the mold 2 from the temperatures measured at locations a-l, in this case the temperature at points m and n. The directly measured temperatures 2a at the outer surface of the mold 2 as well as the calculated temperatures 3a# at other locations within the filling material 3 can then [0053] be used, in step 150 of the method 100, to evaluate the quality 1a of the object 1 made up of the mold 2 and the filling material 3, and/or [0054] in step 160 of method 100 to determine an action 4 by which to direct the temperature 2a at the outer surface of the mold 2 and/or the temperature 3a in the filling material 3 in a desired direction.