Covering All Technology and Application Areas of Additive Fabrication Including:
RAPID PROTOTYPING 3D PRINTING RAPID TOOLING RAPID MANUFACTURING

Manufacturing

From Update 59 - 6/9/09 to 9/8/09:

United Technologies Corp. also has applied for a patent concerning the use of additive fabrication to make turbine disks from multiple materials in order to minimize both centrifugal and thermal stresses. The parts may, for example, be used in auxiliary power units which are run from gas turbine engines. See Fig. 3.
The Aerospace Corp. describes a radial flow solid fuel rocket motor made by stereolithography or other three dimensional printing process in its just-published patent application. The method provides a complex gas flow path and improved oxidizer/fuel ratio throughout the burn while offering better support for the fuel. See Fig. 4.
Inventor Quang-Viet Nguyen has received a patent for a compact and rugged imaging Raman spectrograph. Stereolithography or other 3D printing processes may be used to make the complex device as a single unit, allowing its use in portable chemical analysis applications.
Gowland and Longfield (UK) have applied for a patent on a means of shimming magnetic coils for MRI and similar equipment. The technique is said to result in improved uniformity of the magnetic field and simplified manufacture.
SAAB AB (Sweden) has applied for a patent on a warhead casing. Fabricated using aluminum filled nylon laser sintering materials, the case is claimed to provide better vibration, heat-resistance and other characteristics as well as to avoid collateral damage exposure.
The Boeing Company's patent application for a high density structural health monitoring system obviously applies to aircraft structures, but it could have many other applications as well for buildings, bridges and perhaps even individual small parts in critical applications. A piezoelectric actuator and a sensor are fabricated in close proximity to each other within or upon the structural element to be monitored by additive techniques. Changes in the resonant frequency of the system may be interpreted as changes in the structure. Years ago this was basically the way railway train wheels were inspected. A "car knocker" would prowl about the rail yard hitting each wheel with a hammer. When a wheel didn't sound right, the car was taken out of service. See Fig. 5.
A potentially significant use to which additive fabrication brings considerable advantage is described in a patent application by Jason Moore. Laser sintering is used to manufacture the complex core of a valve for controlling high pressure and high speed fluid flows such as steam, oil, gas or paper pulp. The design of the valve could obviously be adjusted to provide various turn-on or turn-off features. See Fig. 6.
The use of graded-materials can have some non-obvious, but nevertheless significant applications. One of these is the subject of a patent application by Lehigh University. It concerns a transition joint as a welding aid to help join the mild steel of boiler tubes to the high performance steel used in superheaters. There could be many such applications in industry.
The US Navy has applied for a patent to extend its Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) technology. The technique described can be used to transfer entire chip-level and surface-mount devices according to the authors. The components may be laser-transferred into laser-cut pockets, then interconnected by laser direct writing techniques to create fully-functional circuits.

From Update 58 - 3/10/09 to 6/9/09:

Honeywell International, Inc. has received a patent for a hot gas valve disc used as a switching element in attitude control systems for rockets or missiles. The device uses two layers of material that are each optimized for grain size and/or orientation.
One of the more interesting patent applications published in this category this period is from inventor Zvika Gilad (Israel). This application is a for a pill-shaped TV camera that can be swallowed. microTEC mbH's (Germany) RMPD™ technology is used to fabricate the components. See Fig. 2.
Rosemount, Inc. has received a patent for a pressure sensor using near net shape laser sintered ceramics. The integrally-formed device comprises two ceramic cell halves with an internal sintered ceramic diaphragm.
The Boeing Company's patent for a directly-manufactured, self-contained parts kit is likely intended for aerospace applications as far as that organization is concerned. However, there could certainly be many other fields such as medicine and dentistry that may benefit from the basic idea of making both a container and a kit of parts to perform a specific task simultaneously. In addition, building a porous container around the parts would make it much easier to blow or shake away excess build material and not lose any small items in the powder bed, say for example, in laser sintering. See Fig. 3.
Corning Inc. has applied for a series of patents concerning membrane structures and related items that address a wide variety of industrial and environmental filtration applications. Three dimensional printing and other additive processes may be used to make the devices. Water filtration, capture of CO2, scrubbers for smokestacks and absorbents for heavy metals are among the applications described.
Qinetic Ltd. (UK) has applied for a patent on an axial-flow impeller. The design is said to result in much quieter air flow which is accomplished by breaking the large air stream into many smaller streams using a complex channel geometry. Over the course of time it may be possible to exploit this general approach for many applications that could benefit from quieter cooling. Additive fabrication may both aid in the study, and then end up being the only way to manufacture such devices. See Fig. 4.
Sony Corp. (Japan) describes the custom fabrication of micro-beads. Contemplated applications are for processes such as liquid chromatography where the beads might be coated with specific substances to take part in chemical reactions or physical interactions.
The Cabot Corp. describes using direct write technology to customize circuit boards for such applications as displays and automotive electronics in its just-issued patent. Surface mount or other types of standard electronic packages mounted to a PCB are subsequently interconnected with conductors and passive devices formed by additive fabrication to provide customized functions.
Cisco Technology, Inc. has applied for a patent on a light pipe mounting interface made by additive fabrication. As is often the case in electronics, an indicator LED may be mounted on a printed circuit board remotely from a front panel which may be the only place where an operator could observe it. Injection molded plastic light pipes are often used to bring the light to that location, but the tooling costs can be prohibitive if volumes are low. Stereolithography and other additive methods would allow such complicated light pipes to be made economically in small numbers. See Fig. 5.
Craig Gifford and Scott Nielson disclose a method of making customized artificial fingernails in their patent application. Scanned and digitized nail surfaces are used to form the basis for customized nails that may be made using stereolithography or a variety of CNC methods. See Fig. 6.
Nike Inc. describes the use of additive fabrication to make partially-customized footwear in its published patent application. Components that are conventional in nature are joined with personalized components made by rapid manufacturing techniques. Also mentioned are such items as watch bands, hockey equipment, chest protectors, etc.

From Update 57 - 12/9/08 to 3/10/09:

United Technologies Corp. describes a method of making a gas turbine blade having low transient thermal stress. Material properties are graded to compensate for the thickness of the part from its leading to trailing edges. This provides a heating and cooling rate which is uniform throughout the blade resulting in lower thermal distortion. See Fig. 3.
The Boeing Company describes the use of fused deposition modeling (FDM) to fabricate a customized pressure-intensifying tool to aid in the fabrication of composite parts in a patent issued this quarter. It's yet another example of a niche in the process chain of airplane manufacture being filled by direct digital manufacturing.
Aylward Enterprises Inc. has had several previous patents issued for pill-handling equipment making use of additive fabrication in addition to its just-published application. Pills are a good example for which processing equipment must handle a large array similar, but geometrically distinct items. The ability of RP to provide parts that directly interface to such products on short notice without tooling might also prove beneficial for other fields, such as food or hardware.
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan) has applied for a patent on a photonic crystal band-pass filter for communication applications made by stereolithography. The filter can be tuned over a wide range of frequencies in the GHz region by application of a variable magnetic field.
Northeastern University describes complex meta-materials with embedded dielectric and magnetic particles made by stereolithography. Depending on the geometry the materials can be used as antennas, nano-circuit elements for optics, RF lenses and in many other applications. See Fig. 4.
A patent application by Michael Dunn-Rankin describes a novel writing instrument such as a pencil. A logo or other readable marking is embedded lengthwise in the pencil such that it can be read on the surface of the cone formed by sharpening. Since the marking is embedded throughout the entire length, no matter how small the pencil gets the marking can still be read. See Fig. 5.

From Update 56 - 9/10/08 to 12/9/08:

An active vibration damping system is the subject of a patent issued to The University of Vermont. The main application envisioned is vibration control for electronics, providing damping right at the point where it's required. See Fig. 2.
Antennas and related electromagnetic wave shaping devices made by additive fabrication, usually stereolithography, are appearing more frequently in the IP literature. Several companies have had work published in this field during the period. The picture shows a shaped reflector to provide a substantially uniform wave front from Raytheon Company. See Fig. 3.
The Boeing Company is the assignee for a patent application that describes a more efficient way of connecting large aircraft fuselage sections together. The sections are scanned and assembled virtually. Shims are then created by RP based on the virtual assembly, and used in the actual final assembly. See Fig. 4.
A micro-organ device is described in a patent application from NASA. The interior chambers are designed to contain cell suspensions and are said to be useful for early testing of drugs under closer to physiological conditions.
IN Technology Holding LLC has applied for a patent on contact lenses that can be focused dynamically, much like a patient's biological lens. A fluid reservoir enables the lens surface to change shape under influence of the motion of the eyelid.
The Acushnet Company has applied for a patent on a custom-manufactured golf iron set. The golfer's preferences, playing style, and physical data are used to determine the design parameters.
Three-dimensional food made by three dimensional printing is the subject of a patent application by Wei-Hsiang Lai et al (Taiwan). The possibility of full-color food is discussed as well as simultaneously making the product shipping container itself. See Fig. 5.

From Update 55 - 6/10/08 to 9/10/08:

One of the more interesting hearing aid patents issued this period is assigned to Sound Design Technologies, Ltd. (Canada). It describes the use of custom-fabricated hearing aid vents to reduce feedback at particular frequencies, a fairly non-obvious benefit of the use of additive technology.
Human tissue phantoms that permit training physicians in clinical examinations of the breast and prostate are the subject of a patent granted to Artahn Laboratories, Inc. The devices are said to closely simulate the feel of the real item and are capable of displaying both normal and diseased states. See Fig. 2.
The fused deposition modeling (FDM) process is used to fabricated ultracapacitors in a patent issued to NaturalNano Research, Inc. A slurry containing mineral microtubules is extruded into electrode structures to form very large value capacitors for energy storage and other applications.
Arcam's electron beam melting (EBM) is the method used to fabricate a radio frequency cavity for an electron accelerator in a patent just issued to Radiabeam Technologies LLC. The metal housing has a complex geometry that allows a gentle, discontinuity-free field gradient. Such accelerators are a component used in several types of scientific instruments. See Fig. 3.
The Boeing Company is the likely assignee for three patent applications concerning heat exchangers. The complex geometries are fabricated by electron beam melting (EBM) from Arcam AB, and are said to couple the advantage of requiring no assembly with high thermal efficiency. See Fig. 4.
Sagem Defense Securite (France) describes the use of stereolithography to fabricate covers for electronic devices such as circuit boards which can guide a cooling air flow to specific components or areas. The technique could both improve performance and lower power and flow requirements for fans and other such components, and takes good advantage of the geometric freedom and low-volume manufacturing capabilities of additive technologies. See Fig. 5.
Chanel Parfums Beaute (France) has applied for a patent on a batch-manufactured cosmetic applicator. The complex plastic device could be made by a variety of additive processes, but most likely laser sintering. Additive fabrication avoids a number of assembly steps and allows great geometric freedom. What's most interesting is that this is a high-volume consumer application with no customized features that might well compete with more conventional methods. See Fig. 6.

From Update 54 - 3/4/08 to 6/10/08:

With all the work going on in the field, gas turbine blades are well on their way to becoming the next "hearing-aid" for rapid manufacturing. Their complex geometry and high-value-added nature means that it is becoming increasingly inevitable that additive fabrication will be preferably used for either their tooling or direct manufacture. This quarter, two issued patents to Rolls-Royce Corp. describe a complex mold generated by three dimensional printing which permits directional solidification to produce single-crystal blades. Numerous additional documents in the field were also published this period. See Fig. 3.
Sonitus Medical, Inc. has had additional patent applications published this quarter that describe a novel approach to hearing aid fabrication. One or more extra microphones are mounted to the teeth and receive sounds by bone conduction. The signal may be used to cancel unwanted noise or otherwise improve information processing for the patient. One of the applications this period concerns using the instrumentation to treat tinnitus, the common condition of ringing in the ears.
Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC is the assignee for a device that can be used to quickly determine biological or chemical threats. Specific additive fabrication technologies are not mentioned, but the method of making these "plastic antibodies" is architecturally the same as micro-stereolithography. An inverted microscope is used to expose photopolymer-based substance recognition sites in nano- to micro-scale sizes. See Fig. 4.
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Netherlands) uses fused deposition modeling (FDM) to fabricate seamless enclosures for NMR radio frequency coils in its patent application. Depending on use, such coils can come in intimate contact with a patient and the seamless feature makes them easier and safer to clean.
Lockheed Martin Corp. is the likely assignee for a patent application by Hestness et al. A tool is described for accurately applying epoxy to bond aircraft skins to underlying frames. The tool guarantees that neither too much nor too little material is applied. See Fig. 5.

From Update 53 - 12/4/07 to 3/4/08:

Honeywell International Inc. has received an interesting patent for a small pressure sensor, ostensibly for medical, automotive or industrial applications. What’s most interesting is that Optomec’s Maskless Mesoscale Material Deposition (M3D) (TM) is one method of making the sensor itself, and MicroTEC mbH’s micro-stereolithography is a method of making the package. Combining additive technologies in this way has the potential to become an important factor in many future applications. See Fig. 3.
The Boeing Company describes making a new type of fastener using RP in its just-published patent application. The recess for a tool (slot, star, etc.) in the face of the fastener is filled by a spring-loaded insert when not in use. Such an easy-to-remove fastener provides smooth external surfaces for an aircraft, while not requiring laborious secondary operations such as filling with cement for drag reduction. See Fig. 4.
Siemens Corp. has applied for a patent on a hearing aid with a shell comprising multiple layers that form a battery to power the device. Such a construction is said to considerably decrease the overall volume of the device. See Fig. 5.
Encap Technlogies, Inc. has applied for several patents on aspects of manufacturing electric motors with complex cooling features obtained using additively-fabricated molds. Essentially this is conformal cooling applied to a field other than injection molds. The motors are most likely to be of interest for such applications as hybrid vehicles. See Fig. 6.
Michigan State University has designed a complete gas turbine engine with millimeter cross-sectional dimensions according to their patent application. Local power generation for MMD devices is an obvious application, but the authors also envision the devices as being useful for providing thrust for tiny aerial drones, and when used in the millions able to fly a manned aircraft. See Fig. 7.

From Update 52 - 9/4/07 to 12/4/07:

Siemens AG (Germany) is the likely assignee for a patent application written by Michael Eberler et al. Laser sintering is used to directly manufacture complex gradient coil structures for nuclear magnetic resonance instruments. See Fig. 3.
Caterpillar Inc. has received a patent for the use of additive fabrication in making a complex power system component. Laser powder forming technology is used to make a turbine wheel for a supercharger. Operation at 200,000 RPM requires precision and material integrity. See Fig. 4.
Sonitus Medical, Inc. has had several patent applications published this quarter that describe a novel approach to hearing aid fabrication. One or more extra microphones are mounted to the teeth and receive sounds by bone conduction. The signal may be used to cancel unwanted noise or otherwise improve information processing for the patient. See Fig. 5.
A published patent application by Francis Reininger describes a fiber-coupled artificial compound eye. The system is modeled after the eyes of insects and provides a wide angle view with an infinite depth of field. The structure is made using stereolithography and then coated with aluminum. See Fig. 6, above.
Stereolithography permits the direct fabrication of single piece, light-weight, complex missile igniters without tooling according to a patent issued to the US Army this period.
A published patent application from Lucent Technologies, Inc. uses raised micro-scale features to provide surfaces which reduce the resistance to flow of fluids to very low values. In addition, such hydrophobic surfaces can make biochips, micro-reactors and the like self-cleaning. See Fig. 7.

From Update 51 - 6/6/07 to 9/4/07:

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has received a patent on a method of marking tires using additive fabrication. Inkjet technology and selective laser sintering are mentioned as being appropriate to apply writing of various types to sidewalls. The method is said to be less susceptibile to damage or removal, and can also be used to provide variable information or custom designs on each tire. See Fig. 3.
DaimlerChrysler AG (Germany) describes extending selective laser sintering and three dimensional printing to carbon particle materials in its published patent application. Porous carbon electrodes are formed which are said to offer great geometric and design freedom for fuel cell applications.
Nuveatix, Inc. has received a patent for a complex IC heat sink made by stereolithography. The device incorporates its own means for forming a matrix of jets of heat transfer fluid for cooling. See Fig. 4.
Solidica's Ultrasonic Consolidation offers some unobvious advantages in a patent application by Frederick Fortson. Metal packaging for sensors and circuitry can be formed around sensitive devices that avoids the heating which would be caused by more typical methods such as welding. See Fig. 5.
Running white-gloved hands over smooth surfaces is often the method used to detect flaws on finely-finished consumer goods like automobiles. What if the gloves had a mind of their own and could amplify small errors for the inspector? Gloves which amplify these small differences contain parts that are geometrically complex and made by stereolithography. See Fig. 6.
Jennifer Lewis and Scott White have applied for a patent on a material containing microcapillary networks. The potential applications are very advanced such as smart materials containing integral sensors, self-healing materials, fluid mixing, etc.

From Update 50 - 3/6/07 to 6/6/07:

SonicBlue Aerospace, Inc. is the likely assignee for a patent application written by Richard Lugg. Additive fabrication is used to make graded-index parts for a hybrid jet/electric turbine engine (called advanced hypersonic magnetic jet/electric turbine AHMJET). The company is a start-up engaged in designing aircraft that will use electrically-driven fans for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), and gas turbines for forward propulsion. The system is claimed to be considerably more energy-efficient than other schemes. See Fig. 2.
A series of patent applications by Huang et al has been published that hold the prospect of being able to separate, measure, alter or enrich circulating tumor cells or other specific particles from a living organism's blood stream. Specific cells are caused to separate from the main fluid stream by running them through what amounts to a miniature obstacle course. Once free of the main stream they can be worked on with a focused intent that can't be accomplished with more scattershot approaches. The work has profound implications for many medical diagnoses and treatments. See Fig. 3.
Osram Sylvania Inc. describes using stereolithography to make a ceramic bulb for a high pressure discharge lamp. After sintering, the material becomes translucent to allow light transmission. The claimed advantages are fast fabrication without tools. The component could also be made by other additive processes.

From Update 49 - 12/5/06 to 3/6/07:

Low-cost fabrication of satellites is the subject of a patent application by Mosher and Stucker. The authors describe the combined use of several additive technologies such as ultrasonic consolidation and direct writing to make highly-integrated and instrumented satellite systems. See Fig. 3.
EFAB technology from Microfabrica Inc. is described as an appropriate means to make an extremely sensitive and rapid miniature detector for specific proteins and other substances according to a just-issued patent. The tips of numerous micro-tuning forks are coated with different chemical binders for specific substances. As the tuning forks resonate in the presence of target materials that become bound to the tuning forks, their mass changes. A consequent frequency shift can be detected with very great precision. The patent claims a sensitivity of 0.05 picograms. See Fig. 4.
Microfabrica Inc. has had a patent application published for a method of making microtools using its electrochemical fabrication technology (EFAB). The primary use contemplated is multi-functional endoscopic tools, but there could be many industrial uses, as well. Various tools are swung into position and unsheathed at the end of a chain-like arrangement making the device much like a tiny, remote-controlled, Swiss Army knife for surgeons. See Fig. 5.
Patent applications by a Swedish group discuss the use of additive fabrication, particularly selective laser sintering, to make jewelry products from precious metals. Much of the discussion concerns the advantages for producing chain-like and interlinked objects.

From Update 48 - 9/5/06 to 12/5/06:

Road wheels for tracked vehicles are the subject of a patent assigned to GS Engineering, Inc. Additive fabrication is said to allow the production of complex hollow features that optimize weight and inertia. Such wheels might be used, for example, on military vehicles like tanks or on commercial earth-moving equipment. See Fig. 3.
A small implantable glucose sensing system for diabetes treatment and control is described in three patent applications published this period. The work addresses overcoming problems of the human foreign body response which causes materials to be deposited on sensors which interfere with ongoing measurement.
A patent application has been published concerning a microfluidic sperm isolation and insemination device for in vitro fertilization and other applications. Stereolithography may be used to form the complex channels. See Fig. 4.
A sorting device with complex channels can be made using additive fabrication according to a recent patent application. Many uses are foreseen but the main one may be for sorting out sub-standard rice grains from a product stream. See Fig. 5.
Two patents have been applied for on ultrasonic inspection tools and standards. Additive fabrication is said to make it much faster and less expensive to create such devices. Savings can be considerable since a typical composite step wedge standard costs thousands of dollars to fabricate at present. See Fig. 6.
Adrian Marshall (UK) has written a patent application that should make the manufacture of candies and other three dimensional novelty shaped food items like Gummi Bears faster as well as easily customizable. Wheels are fabricated by stereolithography with quadrant sections of the final product shape desired arranged around their periphery. Several such wheels are run together, rather like a rotating extrusion die, to form a continuous stream of feed material into the final desired shapes. See Fig. 7.