Abstract: The present invention provides methods, processes, and systems for the manufacture of three-dimensional articles made of polymers using 3D printing. A layer of prepolymer is deposited on a build plate to form a powder bed. Then, solutions of first and/or second binding agents are printed on the powder bed in a predetermined pattern. After a predetermined period of time, sequential layers are printed to provide the three-dimensional article. The removable binding agent is then removed. The removable binding agent may be solubilized polyetheretherketone. Examples of solubilized polyetheretherketone include, but are not limited to, sulfonated polyetheretherketone and/or nitrated polyetheretherketone. The three-dimensional object can be cured to produce the three-dimensional article composed of the final polymers.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods, processes, and systems for the manufacture of three-dimensional articles made of polymers using 3D printing. A layer of powder is deposited on a build plate to form a powder bed. Then, a sintering agent is printed on the powder bed in a predetermined pattern. The printed sintering agent is exposed to stimulus which results in the selective sintering of the power printed with the sintering agent. Sequential layers are printed to provide the three-dimensional article. The sintering agent may include a croconaine dye. The sintering agent may further include a surfactant. The three-dimensional object can be cured to produce the three-dimensional article composed of the final polymers.

Abstract: Methods, processes, and systems for the manufacture of three-dimensional articles made of polymers using 3D printing are provided. A layer of high performance polymer can be deposited on a build plate to form a powder bed. Then, a solution of a photothermal dye can be printed on the powder bed in a predetermined pattern. Alternatively, the photothermal dye can be added to the entire powder bed. Electromagnetic radiation can be applied, either to the entire bed or in a predetermined pattern, to form the final polymer. After a predetermined period of time, sequential layers are printed to provide the three-dimensional article. The three-dimensional object can be cured to produce the three-dimensional article composed of the final polymers.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods, processes, and systems for the manufacture of three-dimensional articles made of polymers using 3D printing. A layer of prepolymer is deposited on a build plate to form a powder bed. Then, solutions of first and/or second binding agents are printed on the powder bed in a predetermined pattern. After a predetermined period of time, sequential layers are printed to provide the three-dimensional article. The removable binding agent is then removed. The three-dimensional object can be cured to produce the three-dimensional article composed of the final polymers.

Abstract: Methods, processes, and systems for the manufacture of three-dimensional articles made of polymers using 3D printing are provided. A layer of high performance polymer can be deposited on a build plate to form a powder bed. Then, a solution of a photothermal dye can be printed on the powder bed in a predetermined pattern. Alternatively, the photothermal dye can be added to the entire powder bed. Electromagnetic radiation can be applied, either to the entire bed or in a predetermined pattern, to form the final polymer. After a predetermined period of time, sequential layers are printed to provide the three-dimensional article. The three-dimensional object can be cured to produce the three-dimensional article composed of the final polymers.

Abstract: The present invention provides high performance polymer (HPP) compositions, methods, processes, and systems for the manufacture of three-dimensional articles made of polymers using molding or 3D printing. The HPP compositions comprise a first HPP dissolved in a solvent and a second HPP present as a solid.

Abstract: The present invention provides high performance polymer (HPP) compositions, methods, processes, and systems for the manufacture of three-dimensional articles made of polymers using molding or 3D printing. The HPP compositions comprise a first HPP dissolved in a solvent and a second HPP present as a solid.

Abstract: A method for modeling an object, particularly suited to complex objects such as anatomical objects, and manipulating the modeled object in a CAD environment includes obtaining volumetric scan data of a region and segmenting the scan data to identify a first object to produce a first set of signed distance values on a grid. Wavelet analysis of the first set of signed distance values provides a function-based representation of the object. A signed distance value model of a second object is obtained, and one or both sets of signed distance values are manipulated to perform a CAD operation.

Abstract: Claimed is an imaging and diagnostic system and method for focal scanning of a specimen using optical projection tomographic microscopy and computer generation of three-dimensional images. One embodiment comprises a light source and an imaging system having an adjustable focal position which acquires a plurality of digital 2D projection images of biological tissue placed within a specimen tube that translates and rotates past an optical lens in a helical pattern. A computer captures the images and generates a 3D composite image. Also claimed is a system and method for preparing a specimen for optical microscopy. One embodiment comprises fixing, staining, and/or optically clearing biological tissue within a microfluidic specimen chamber prior to placement in a specimen tube.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for the solid modeling of objects that is particularly suitable to modeling objects obtained from scan data, typically voxel-based data, for example medical imaging data. The method provides a more direct approach to providing solid modeling capabilities in modeling complex objects, such as organic objects, that are identified through a segmentation of the scanned data. The voxel-based data is obtained, and segmented to identify in the data the surface of the object. The segmentation is preferably accomplished using a graph cuts/level set method to obtain a grid of signed distance function data. The signed distance function data is then interpolated using wavelets, to produce a functional representation model of the object. The model does not require tessellation, and may be relatively compact. In particular, the resulting wavelet analysis is inherently amenable to multi-resolution analysis and compaction.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for the solid modeling of objects that is particularly suitable to modeling objects obtained from scan data, typically voxel-based data, for example medical imaging data. The method provides a more direct approach to providing solid modeling capabilities in modeling complex objects, such as organic objects, that are identified through a segmentation of the scanned data. The voxel-based data is obtained, and segmented to identify in the data the surface of the object. The segmentation is preferably accomplished using a graph cuts/level set method to obtain a grid of signed distance function data. The signed distance function data is then interpolated using wavelets, to produce a functional representation model of the object. The model does not require tessellation, and may be relatively compact. In particular, the resulting wavelet analysis is inherently amenable to multi-resolution analysis and compaction.

Abstract: Starting with a solid model of a 3D object, an accurate skeleton is produced by minimizing internal and edge errors of an initial approximate skeleton. To produce the initial approximate skeleton, the boundary of the solid is densely sampled to obtain a set of surface data points. Delaunay triangulation is performed on the surface data points and exterior and spurious tetrahedra are removed, leaving substantially interior tetrahedra. Circumspheres are constructed that enclose the tetrahedra, and the centers of the circumspheres are connected based on tetrahedra adjacency, to form a Voronoi diagram. Closed Voronoi cells are identified comprising the initial approximate skeleton. The position of skeleton interior vertices are then adjusted to minimize their error, producing a refined polygonal approximation of the skeleton interior geometry. Positions of the skeleton edge vertices are adjusted to minimize the edge error, yielding an accurate polygonal approximation of the skeleton.

Abstract: A solid model is constructed from surface point data that represent layers of an object. The model is represented as the level set of an implicit function that is fitted to the surface point data. In the two-dimensional application of the technique, a Delaunay triangulation is performed for each layer. In this step, surface points are connected to form Delaunay triangles; the data points are the vertices of the Delaunay triangles. A circumcircle is then created around each Delaunay triangle, passing through the three vertices of the triangle. To decimate the circumcircle data, overlapping circumspheres are merged according to a merging criterion. A pseudo-union of implicit functions for the reduced number of circumcircles provides an initial implicit function for the layer. Errors in the implicit function are substantially reduced by optimizing the position and/or radii of the circumcircles.

Abstract: The present invention provides a unified, automated approach to 3D object interpolation and 3D morphing based on a geometric descriptor known as the skeleton. The skeleton of an object consists of the closure of the set of points minimally equidistant from two points on the object's boundary. An "intermediate 3D object" between a pair of two other 3D objects is obtained as the (trimmed) skeleton of the symmetric difference of the pair of objects. By applying this process recursively, any desired number of intermediate 3D objects between a first and a last object may be obtained to produce a discrete 3D morph. A discrete morph can be thought of as an animation starting from the initial object and ending with the final object after a given number of the intermediate objects. Alternatively, the skeleton is used to identify corresponding points on the surfaces of the objects. Interpolation between the location of the corresponding points is then used to determine a continuum of intermediate 3D objects.