US-12618597-B2 - System and method for rapidly printing ice into a three-dimensional structure

US12618597B2US 12618597 B2US12618597 B2US 12618597B2US-12618597-B2

Abstract

A 3D printing system for producing an object from ice. Precooled water is directed into dispensing heads. The dispensing heads produce bands of water in patterns that are governed by a 3D model. The water droplets come into contact with an actively cooled transfer surface. The water bands partially freeze and adhere to the transfer surface. The transfer surface is on a track, belt, or drum that moves the partially frozen water bands into positions for use. The transfer surface is connected to a positioning system that can move the transfer surface and the semi-frozen bands of water. The positioning system moves the transfer surface causing the bands of water to be brought into contact with a surface of the object being formed. Upon contact with the object being formed, the bands of water fully freeze into ice bands that adhere to the object being formed.

Inventors

Simeon E. Tiefel
Daniel Lamet

Assignees

KorPrinters LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240513

Claims (9)

1 . A method of 3D printing an object from ice, comprising the steps of: providing a dispensing head that selectively produces a droplet of water; contacting said droplet of water to a cooled transfer surface, wherein said droplet of water partially freezes upon contact with said transfer surface and adheres to said transfer surface; manipulating said transfer surface to precisely position said droplet of water on a target surface, wherein said droplet of water freezes into an ice band while in contact with said target surface therein adding said ice band to said target surface.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , further including rotating said transfer surface away from said ice band to separate said ice band from said transfer surface.
3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein said transfer surface is a track element that rotates around a continuous path.
4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein said transfer surface is part of a cylindrical drum that can selectively rotate.
5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said dispensing head has a nozzle where said droplet of water forms, wherein providing said dispensing head includes positioning said nozzle a first distance from said transfer surface, wherein said droplet of water can contact both said nozzle and said transfer surface simultaneously.
6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein manipulating said transfer surface includes moving said transfer surface relative to said dispensing head to move said droplet of water away from said transfer surface.
7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein manipulating said transfer surface includes moving said transfer surface and said dispensing head as a unit relative to said target surface.
8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said transfer surface is metal and is actively cooled to a freezing temperature for said ice.
9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein said droplet of water is sourced from a water supply, and wherein said method includes a precooling system for cooling said water supply to within five degrees Celsius of said freezing temperature.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention In general, the present invention relates to 3D printing techniques that utilize water-based ice as the printing medium. The present invention also relates to the structure and operational methodology of 3D printing systems where a printing head prints onto a transfer surface that then physically moves the printed material to the object being printed. 2. Prior Art Description In traditional 3D printing systems, moving print heads selectively deposit layers of printing material atop one another to form a three dimensional object. The printing material being deposited is typically a polymer compound that cures shortly after being exposed to air and/or light. Due to the viscosity of the printing material and the capacity of the printing heads, 3D printing systems are typically only utilized to produce parts that have a volume of less than one liter. Furthermore, 3D printing is notoriously slow. As such, the printing of large objects takes much longer than does the printing of small objects. In addition, the deposit rate of a 3D printing process is typically inversely proportional to the printing resolution. As a result, 3D printed parts that have a high resolution take much longer to print. Accordingly, printing a single large object at a high resolution using commercially available 3D printers can take many hours, if not many days. Although traditional 3D printing techniques offer many advantages over manufacturing by machining, it also has many drawbacks. Only a limited number of materials can be used in 3D printers. Furthermore, when printing with traditional 3D printers, only specific materials that are compatible with the printing machine can be used. Often, printing different materials requires using different printing machines, or at least different printing heads. This makes it very difficult to 3D print any object that has layers of different materials or is otherwise non-homogenous. Furthermore, many commonly used manufacturing materials, such as polymer foams, cannot be used in a 3D printer. Such materials tend to expand as they cure, therein jamming printer heads and distorting the resolution of deposited materials. In many circumstances, it is desirable to make a part from polymer foam, or similar materials. Such materials cannot be easily 3D printed using conventional equipment. In such circumstances, a custom mold is typically made and the desired part is a cast in the mold. Often the mold is used only for a single casting. If the part being made is small, it may be possible for the mold itself to be made on a traditional 3D printer. However, for larger objects, such as architectural pieces and construction components, the model must be made using traditional techniques. This makes the use of a custom mold not economical, especially if the mold is only going to be used once. In theory, one of the best materials to build a single-use mold is water ice. Water is extremely inexpensive. Furthermore, any mold made from ice produces no waste after use. Rather, the mold merely melts away in an environmentally beneficial manner. The primary reason that ice molds are not used is due to the complexity of production. Water can be run through the printing head of a 3D printer. However, the printed water does not cure. Rather, the water must be frozen into ice at the moment it is printed. One way to do this is to print the water into a cryogenic fluid, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 11,584,066 to Rubinsky. However, using cryogenic fluids is expensive, complicated, dangerous, and expensive. In addition, many cryogenic fluids require pressurized atmospheres in order to be stable. Otherwise, the cryogenic fluid will agitate and boil, therein disturbing the part being printed. Another way to 3D print water is to spray the water onto a cooled surface in successive layers. The water is sprayed onto a cooled surface to keep the printing head separated from the cooled surface. This keeps the printing head from freezing and becoming clogged. Such a process is disclosed in Chinese Patent No. CN104985116. The problem with such a system is that the spraying of water onto a surface is a low resolution deposition process. As a consequence, parts produced by spray deposition have low resolution and tend to have imprecise tolerances. Furthermore, spraying techniques often require the use of baffles and surface masks to prevent spray from inadvertently being deposited where it is not wanted. Thus, water spraying techniques are typically only used to make generalized shapes that have no fine details, surface texturing or other features that require a high resolution. A need therefore exists for an improved system and method for 3D printing ice that does not require the use of cryogenic materials. A need also exists for an improved system and method of 3D printing ice that can be used to form large objects, such as ice molds for architectural features and constructio