The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 05, 2023
Filed:
Oct. 17, 2022
National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, Llc, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Adam W. Cook, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Mathias C. Celina, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Carl Erik Linde, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Leah N. Appelhans, Tijeras, NM (US);
Devin J. Roach, Albuquerque, NM (US);
National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Abstract
Direct ink write (DIW) printing of reactive resins presents a unique challenge due to the time-dependent nature of the rheological and chemical properties of the ink. As a result, careful print optimization or process control is important to obtain consistent, high quality prints. The present invention uses a flow-through characterization cell for in situ chemical monitoring of a resin ink during DIW printing. Additionally, in-line extrusion force monitoring can be combined with off-line post inspection using machine vision. By combining in-line spectroscopy and force monitoring, it is possible to follow reaction kinetics (for example, curing of a reactive resin) and viscosity changes during printing, which can be used for a closed-loop process control. Additionally, the capability of machine vision to automatically identify and quantify print artifacts can be incorporated on the printing line to enable real-time, AI-assisted quality control of the printed products. Together, these techniques can form the building blocks of an optimized process control strategy when complex reactive ink must be used to produce printed hardware.