Systems and methods for fabricating three-dimensional objects
Systems and methods for fabricating three-dimensional objects. The system includes an optical imaging system providing a light source; a photosensitive medium adapted to change states upon exposure to a portion of the light source from the optical imaging system; a control system for controlling movement of the optical imaging system, wherein the optical imaging system moves continuously above the photosensitive medium. The method includes moving a maskless optical imaging system providing the light beam in a continuous sequence; presenting the light beam on a portion of the photosensitive medium; lowering a plate upon which the photosensitive medium resides; and applying a new layer of the photosensitive medium.
1. A system for fabricating a three-dimensional object, the system comprising:
a photosensitive medium adapted to change states upon exposure to a light source;
an optical imaging system, configured to continuously move above the photosensitive medium, and having the light source and a spatial light modulator;
a control system for controlling movement of the optical imaging system; and
an XY motion stage with sub-micron position resolution, configured to move the optical imaging system.
2. The system of claim 1 , the optical imaging system comprising a plurality of light sources and comprising a plurality of spatial light.
3. The system of claim 1 , the photosensitive medium selected from the group consisting of: a photopolymer, a polymer-ceramic matrix, a polymer-ceramic precursor matrix, and mixtures thereof.
4. The system of claim 1 , the spatial light modulator comprising a digital micromirror device.
5. The system of claim 1 , the spatial light modulator selected from the group consisting of: a liquid crystal display, a grating light valve, and a digital mirror device.
6. The system of claim 1 , the spatial light modulator comprising a digital mirror device having a plurality of pixels, each pixel configured to reflect light from the light source to the projection lens in a first state and away from the projection lens in a second state.
7. The system of claim 1 , the light source comprising an ultraviolet light source.
8. The system of claim 7 , the ultraviolet light source selected from the group consisting of: a mercury vapor lamp, xenon lamp, violet laser diode, diode pumped solid state laser, frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser, and XeF excimer laser.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical imaging system further comprises a projection lens having a reduction ratio between about 1 and about 50.
10. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of spatial light modulators.
11. A method, comprising:
continuously moving the optical imaging system of claim 1 over a first surface of a photosensitive medium; and
projecting, with the optical imaging system, an image of a cross-section of a three-dimensional object onto a portion of the first surface of the photosensitive medium while the optical imaging system is moving.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical imaging system comprises a pulsed light source, wherein the optical imaging system receives a plurality of images corresponding to portions of the cross section, and wherein the optical imaging system projects a single image from the plurality of images with each pulse of the pulsed light source on to the first surface of the photosensitive medium.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of sweeping a layer of the photosensitive medium across the first surface of the photosensitive medium to produce a second surface of the photosensitive medium.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of projecting an image of a cross section comprises projecting a screened grayscale image.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the screened grayscale image is produced using a halftone process.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the screened grayscale image is produced using a stochastic screening process.