IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,636,831
Granted Patent B2
US 12,636,831 · App. 18/600,201 · Granted May 26, 2026

Substrates and associated materials for additive manufacturing

Inventors: Peter Dorfinger (Woodside, CA); Michael Christopher Cole (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Align Technology, Inc.
B29C64/245B29C64/124B29C64/223B33Y30/00B29K2995/0026B33Y10/00
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,636,831
App. No.
18/600,201
Granted
May 26, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Substrates and associated materials for additive manufacturing are provided. In some embodiments, a device for manufacturing an object from a curable material includes a substrate configured to support the curable material during an additive manufacturing process. The substrate can be at least partially transparent to a wavelength of energy that cures the curable material. The substrate can include a first layer with a first material configured to inhibit adhesion to the curable material. The substrate can also include a second layer with a second material having one or more of increased mechanical strength or increased heat resistance relative to the first material.

Claims (23)

1 . A device for manufacturing an object from a curable material, the device comprising:

a substrate configured to support the curable material during an additive manufacturing process, wherein the substrate comprises a surface configured to contact the curable material, wherein the substrate is at least partially transparent to a wavelength of energy that cures the curable material, and wherein the substrate comprises:

a first layer forming at least part of the surface of the substrate, the first layer comprising a first material configured to inhibit adhesion to the curable material, and

a second layer coupled to the first layer, wherein the second layer comprises a second material having a higher elastic modulus than the first material.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises a fluorinated polymer.

3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the fluorinated polymer comprises fluorinated ethylene propylene, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, perfluoroalkoxy alkane, polyvinylidene fluoride, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, ethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene, perfluorocycloalkene, perfluoromethylvinyl ether, perfluorosulfonic acid polymer, perfluoropolyether, or a combination thereof.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises a siloxane, a polysiloxane, a silane, or a polysilane.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the second material comprises polydimethylsiloxane, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, cyclic olefin copolymer, polyethylene, polypropylene, styrene methyl methacrylate, styrene acrylonitrile, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or a combination thereof.

6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the second material has a higher glass transition temperature than the first material.

7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the second material has a glass transition temperature of at least 80° C.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first layer is a coating on the second layer.

9 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a carrier film configured to convey the curable material through a printer assembly.

10 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the carrier film comprises a first end, a second end, and a length extending between the first and second ends, and the first and second ends are coupled to each other at a connection region.

11 . The device of claim 10 , further comprising a bridge segment coupling the first end to the second end at the connection region.

12 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the bridge segment comprises one or more of the first material or the second material.

13 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the first end is coupled to the second end without a bridge segment.

14 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first layer is in direct contact with the second layer.

15 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises at least one additional layer between the first layer and the second layer.

16 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the at least one additional layer comprises one or more of an adhesive layer, a barrier layer, or a compatibility layer.

17 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the surface is a first surface, and wherein the substrate comprises a second surface configured to be oriented away from the curable material.

18 . The device of claim 17 , wherein the second layer forms at least part of the second surface.

19 . The device of claim 17 , wherein the substrate comprises at least one additional layer between the second layer and the second surface, and wherein the at least one additional layer comprises one or more of an anti-slip layer or an anti-reflection layer.

20 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the second material has increased heat resistance relative to the first material.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 21, 2024
From: DORFINGER, PETER; COLE, MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER
To: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 066854/0458 →
Continuity (3)
Provisional Application 63496070 · Apr 14, 2023
Provisional Application 63489510 · Mar 10, 2023
Related Publication 20240300174A1 · Sep 12, 2024
References Cited (144)
US 6210162B1 · Chishti et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6309215B1 · Phan et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 6450807B1 · Chishti et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6497574B1 · Miller · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 6749414B1 · Hanson et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6830450B2 · Knopp et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6957118B2 · Kopelman et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 6976627B1 · Culp et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 7092784B1 · Simkins · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 7192273B2 · McSurdy, Jr. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7220124B2 · Taub et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7236842B2 · Kopelman et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7245977B1 · Simkins · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7261533B2 · Wrosz et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 7335024B2 · Wen · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7384266B2 · Wen · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7435084B2 · Liu et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7472789B2 · Wu et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7476100B2 · Kuo · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7481647B2 · Sambu et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7604181B2 · Culp et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7641828B2 · DeSimone et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7648360B2 · Kuo · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7674422B2 · Kuo · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7711447B2 · Lu et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7748199B2 · Sankaran et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7802987B1 · Phan · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7819659B2 · Wen · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7831322B2 · Liu et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7840373B2 · Culp et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7892474B2 · Shkolnik et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 7922490B2 · Wen · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 7957824B2 · Boronvinskih et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8002110B2 · DeGroot et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8019465B2 · Spiridonov et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8030588B2 · Culp et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8087932B2 · Liu · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8636513B2 · Wen · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8765031B2 · Li et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8776391B1 · Kaza et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 9108338B2 · Sirovskiy et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9403238B2 · Culp · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9700385B2 · Webber · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9844424B2 · Wu et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9943386B2 · Webber et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 9943991B2 · Tanugula et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10162264B2 · McLeod et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10267381B2 · Herold · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10336102B2 · Cole · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10495973B2 · Cole · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10537406B2 · Wu et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 10783629B2 · Parpara et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 10888395B2 · Kopelman · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 10993783B2 · Wu et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11045283B2 · Riley et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11103330B2 · Webber et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11189021B2 · Shah et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11273011B2 · Shanjani et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11295444B2 · Cherkas et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11318667B2 · Mojdeh et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11318672B2 · Elsey · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11359041B2 · Ohara et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11370173B2 · Kelly et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11420362B2 · Mojdeh et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11511485B2 · Mojdeh et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11534277B2 · Chavez et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11554000B2 · Webber · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11564777B2 · Kopelman et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11583927B2 · Rogren · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11596502B2 · Webber et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11602413B2 · Chen et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11666415B2 · Wang et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11793606B2 · Cam et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11794412B2 · Dubelman et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11931222B2 · Webber et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 11937991B2 · Webber et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 11945166B2 · Meenakshisundaram et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 12202192B2 · Gmeiner et al. · 2025 [cited by applicant]
US 12319006B2 · Singh et al. · 2025 [cited by applicant]
US 20040243361A1 · Steuben et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20060093982A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060093987A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060093993A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060127850A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060127857A1 · Liu et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060127858A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060127859A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060127860A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060172250A1 · Wen · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060199145A1 · Liu et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20070092853A1 · Liu et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20070243502A1 · Wen · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20080083348A1 · Kuo et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090148814A1 · Li et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20130186558A1 · Comb et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130241113A1 · Geers et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140061974A1 · Tyler · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140265034A1 · Dudley · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150097316A1 · DeSimone et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20180345578A1 · Enslow et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190046297A1 · Kopelman et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200290262A1 · Aguilar Mendez et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210030516A1 · O'Leary et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210146619A1 · Shusteff et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210187859A1 · Gmeiner et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210259809A1 · O'Leary et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210268721A1 · Wang et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210276248A1 · Boehm et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20220227051A1 · Regehly · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220258420A1 · Märklin · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220332046A1 · Lenzen et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220339827A1 · Zhu et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220339859A1 · Steele et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20230302728A1 · Yang et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230339181A1 · Habibi et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20240033993A1 · Yang et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240100775A1 · Förster-Romswinckel et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240140030A1 · Lin et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240140031A1 · Stromenger et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240140043A1 · Cole et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240278496A1 · Saurwalt · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240300185A1 · Meenakshisundaram et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20250018650A1 · Singh et al. · 2025 [cited by applicant]
US 20250073990A1 · Cole et al. · 2025 [cited by applicant]
US 20250108562A1 · Choudhary et al. · 2025 [cited by applicant]
CN 113085171A · 2021 [cited by applicant]
EP 3708337A1 · 2020 [cited by examiner]
JP 2020136662A · 2020 [cited by examiner]
KR 20180004081A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2015075094A1 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2015170890A1 · 2015 [cited by examiner]
WO 2016078838A1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
WO 2017115076A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO 2018032022A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2020070639A1 · 2020 [cited by applicant]
WO 2020245456A1 · 2020 [cited by applicant]
WO 2021087061A2 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
WO 2021130657A1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
WO 2021130661A1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
WO 2022011456A1 · 2022 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2022071224A1 · 2022 [cited by examiner]
Machine translation of WO 2022/071224 A1, FIT (Foreign Image and Text), Apr. 7, 2022 (Year: 2022). [cited by examiner]
Wang, Siyang et al., Self-healing polymers, Nature Reviews Materials, 2020, vol. 5, pp. 562-583. [cited by applicant]
Owen, Michael J., Low Surface Energy Inorganic Polymers, Comments on Inorganic Chemistry, 2006, vol. 7, Issue 4, pp. 195-213. [cited by applicant]