System and method for additive manufacturing
A system for additive manufacturing includes a multi-material vat that includes a plurality of resins. The system also includes a robotic arm that provides at least six degrees of freedom of motion, where the robotic arm moves with the six degrees of freedom to draw resin out of the multi-material vat to form an object. The system further comprises a processor operatively coupled to the robotic arm and configured to control movement of the robotic arm in the six degrees of freedom.
1. A system for additive manufacturing comprising:
a multi-material vat that includes a plurality of resins;
a robotic arm that provides at least six degrees of freedom of motion, wherein the robotic arm moves with the six degrees of freedom to draw resin out of the multi-material vat to form an object;
a processor operatively coupled to the robotic arm and configured to control movement of the robotic arm in the six degrees of freedom; and
wherein the processor is configured to execute a dynamic conformal slicing (DCS) algorithm to form a conformal map of a surface model of the object, wherein the processor uses the DCS algorithm to discretize the surface model into a plurality of slicing layers, and wherein the DCS algorithm minimizes a cross-section area of each slicing layer in the plurality of slicing layers by varying angles of a surface normal.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a motorized stage to which the multi-material vat is mounted, wherein the motorized stage moves the multi-material vat to control which resin from the plurality of resins is used.
3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a solvent bath, wherein the robotic arm is configured to rinse the object in the solvent bath prior to switching from a first resin to a second resin.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the first resin and the second resin are both included in the multi-material vat.
5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an oxygen-permeable membrane at a bottom of the multi-material vat.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the DCS algorithm is configured to identify a centroid of each slicing layer and form a spline of the conformal map by sequentially connecting the centroids of the plurality of slicing layers.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the DCS algorithm is configured to represent each slicing layer by a local frame with respect to a reference frame.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the DCS algorithm is configured to approximate each slicing layer as a shape that is represented by a conformation vector.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the conformation vector comprises (u, v, Θ), where u and v represent dimensions along two principle axes of the shape, and wherein Θ represents in-plane rotation of the two principle axes.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the shape comprises an ellipse.
11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a light engine configured to receive bitmaps corresponding to the plurality of slicing layers on a layer-by-layer basis during manufacture of the object.
12. A method for performing additive manufacturing, the method comprising:
storing, in a memory, a design of an object to be printed;
controlling, by a processor operatively coupled to the memory, a position of a multi-material vat that includes a plurality of resins;
controlling, by the processor, a robotic arm having at least six degrees of freedom of motion such that the robotic arm moves with the six degrees of freedom to draw resin out of the multi-material vat to form the object; and
executing, by the processor, a dynamic conformal slicing (DCS) algorithm to form a conformal map of a surface model of the object;
using the DCS algorithm to discretize the surface model into a plurality of slicing layers; and
minimizing, by the processor, a cross-section area of each slicing layer in the plurality of slicing layers by varying angles of a surface normal.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein controlling the position of the multi- material vat comprises controlling a motorized stage to which the multi-material vat is mounted.
14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising controlling, by the processor, the robotic arm to rinse the object in a solvent bath during fabrication and prior to switching from a first resin to a second resin.
15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising identifying, by the processor, a centroid of each slicing layer in the plurality of slicing layers and forming a spline of a conformal map by sequentially connecting the centroids of the plurality of slicing layers.
16. A system for additive manufacturing comprising:
a multi-material vat that includes a plurality of resins;
a robotic arm that provides at least six degrees of freedom of motion, wherein the robotic arm moves with the six degrees of freedom to draw resin out of the multi-material vat to form an object;
a processor operatively coupled to the robotic arm and configured to control movement of the robotic arm in the six degrees of freedom; and
wherein the processor is configured to execute a dynamic conformal slicing (DCS) algorithm to form a conformal map of a surface model of the object, wherein the processor uses the DCS algorithm to discretize the surface model into a plurality of slicing layers, and wherein the DCS algorithm is configured to approximate each slicing layer as a shape that is represented by a conformation vector.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the conformation vector comprises (u, v, Θ), where u and v represent dimensions along two principle axes of the shape, and wherein Θ represents in-plane rotation of the two principle axes.
18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the shape comprises an ellipse.
19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the DCS algorithm is configured to represent each slicing layer by a local frame with respect to a reference frame.
20. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a light engine configured to receive bitmaps corresponding to the plurality of slicing layers on a layer-by-layer basis during manufacture of the object.