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A laminated object manufacturing (LOM) system for forming a plurality of laminations into a stack to create a three-dimensional object. The system includes an X-Y plotter device positioned above a work table, the work table being vertically movable. The X-Y plotter device includes a forming tool for

A laminated object manufacturing (LOM) system for forming a plurality of laminations into a stack to create a three-dimensional object. The system includes an X-Y plotter device positioned above a work table, the work table being vertically movable. The X-Y plotter device includes a forming tool for forming a layer from a sheet of material positioned on the work table. The layers are bonded to each other with heat sensitive adhesives provided on one side thereof. A bonding tool or fuser is mounted to translate across the work table and apply a lamination force and heat to each of the layers. The X-Y plotter device and bonding tool are mounted to translate along rails mounted on a common reference frame. The reference frame includes two rigid beams positioned on a base frame. A sensor is provided between the bonding tool and the reference frame to sense the force applied by the bonding tool to the laminations and adjust the height of the work table in response thereto. An infrared sensor senses the temperature of the layers to also provide feedback to a control device for adjusting the speed of the bonding tool. The forming tool may be a laser system which includes a laser mounted to the reference frame, a plurality of mirrors, and a lens mounted on the X-Y plotter device.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A laminated object manufacturing system for converting sheet material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of layers of said sheet material, comprising:a base frame;a reference frame on said base frame, the reference frame comprising at least one refer

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A laminated object manufacturing system for converting sheet material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of layers of said sheet material, comprising:a base frame;a reference frame on said base frame, the reference frame comprising at least one reference frame member comprised of first and second rail portions disposed on a common support structure portion;a work station adapted to position said sheet material relative to said reference frame;a forming tool movably mounted on said first rail portion, said forming tool being driven to move relative to said work station so as to form said layers from the sheet material;a bonding tool movably mounted on said second rail portion, said bonding tool being driven to move relative to said work station so as to bond adjacent layers of said sheet material to each other; anda controller which electronically controls the movements of said forming tool and said bonding tool. [29.] A method of converting sheet material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of layers, including the steps of:positioning said sheet material over a work station;forming a layer from the sheet material using a forming tool movably mounted over the work station;bonding said formed layer to an adjacent layer of sheet material to result in a bonded layer using a bonding tool movably mounted over the work station;sensing the temperature of the sheet material;adjusting the speed of the bonding tool on a subsequent bonding step based on the temperature sensed.