3d Systems, Inc.

Thomas P Chen

Thomas J Vorgitch

Dennis R Smalley

Adam L Cohen

Joseph W Allison

David E Snead

Mark Anthony Lewis

Harry L Tarnoff

Borzo Modrek

Wayne A Vinson

Richard A Harlow

Frank F Little

Paul H Marygold

Robert T Pitlak

Yehoram Uziel

Wolfgang Schwarzinger

Grady O Floyd

Raymond A Bradford

A method of and apparatus for slicing a three-dimensional object representation into a plurality of layer representations is described, wherein the layer representations are subsequently used to form the object layer-by-layer according to the principles of stereolithography. If not already provided in the object representation, a plurality of layer boundary representations are first formed, and then the boolean difference of successive layer boundary representations are computed to derive boundaries of up and down-facing regions, enabling different cure parameters to be specified for these different regions.

Boolean layer comparison slice

A stereolithography system employing a more powerful laser and faster dynamic mirrors to speed up part building without sacrificing accuracy is described, especially large or complex parts. A controllable shutter is placed in the beam path of the laser to selectably block the passage of the beam and prevent unwanted solidification. A suitable servo controlled feedback loop is provided to accurately position the mirrors at the higher velocity. Also described is a means to reduce data flow by distributing tasks in a multiple processor environment, and to improve user interaction by the use of a spreadsheet model. These also improve the speed of part building, especially for large or complex parts.

Rapid and accurate production of stereolighographic parts

Growing community of inventors

Saugus, CA, United States of America

Thomas P Chen