Arevo, Inc.

Other

Zachary Aaron August

Hemant Bheda

Leonid Michael Treyger

Erik Oscar Sunden

David Edgar Hauber

Christopher Thomas Lee

An additive manufacturing system is disclosed that comprises two or more lasers for precisely heating a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic feedstock and a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic workpiece in preparation for depositing and tamping the feedstock onto the workpiece. The system employs feedforward, a variety of sensors, and feedback to ensure that the feedstock and workpiece are properly heated.

Heating system for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic feedstock and workpiece

A build plate for 3D printers that facilitates separation of the workpiece from the build plate and yet provides lateral anchoring of the unit cell. The build plate comprises (1) a foundation of a material that the unit cell material will not adhere to or will only weakly adhere to, and (2) a plurality of adhesive islands that provide a lateral anchor for the unit cell. An adhesive island is a hole in the foundation of the build plate that is filled with a plug of material to which the unit cell material will strongly adhere. The number, type, location, and size of the adhesive islands is tailored to provide enough lateral stability where needed, but not more.

Build plate with adhesive islands

A filament guide that guides thermoplastic filament to an object being manufactured. A deposition head comprising the disclosed filament guide provides a filament to the intended deposition point. The filament guide comprises a guide member having a filament groove configured to guide the filament along a path of travel. The groove has an upstream end that is configured to receive the filament from a source and a downstream end that is configured to direct the filament toward the deposition point in the intended direction. A notch at the downstream end of the guide member enables the filament to travel toward the deposition point. The portions of the guide member on either side of the notch act to keep the filament centered laterally. A plate that is transparent to electromagnetic radiation from a heat source covers the groove and permits the electromagnetic radiation to reach the filament while providing added support.

Grooved guide for providing filament

Disclosed embodiments provide automated fiber placement techniques for fabrication of parts made from composite materials. Tape plies are wound around a mandrel while a polymer is dispensed on a tape ply shortly before compaction. A bead monitoring system monitors the size and placement of the bead on the tape ply and feeds back information to various process control systems to maintain an optimal bead size.

Bonding for additively manufactured thermoplastic composite structures

An article of manufacture is disclosed that comprises an infill made from linear segments of filament, such as but not limited to continuous carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic filament. Embodiments of the present invention comprises segments of filament in various geometries that distribute where adjacent segments overlap and are fused and where segments do not overlap. Embodiments of the present invention include quadrilateral (e.g., orthogonal, rectangular, etc.) infill and hexagonal (e.g., regular hexagonal, irregular hexagonal, convex hexagonal, etc.) infill.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Zachary Aaron August