Patent attributes
A method is disclosed for improving the productivity of digitally fabricated 3D objects with the same or different shape and material composition. The improved productivity is enabled by the incorporation of multiple build platforms and multiple objects per build platform within a 3D object fabrication apparatus. Some 3D manufacturing processes such as those based on electrophotography require a wait time to condition the build object before the next layer of build and support material can be applied. Under these fabrication conditions, the utilization of multiple build platforms in the 3D object manufacturing process effectively minimizes the wait time between layer deposition so that the productivity for fabricating 3D objects is improved. Furthermore, the incorporation of an additional adjacent set of multiple platforms enables rapid changeover when the fabrication of one set of 3D objects is completed on an adjacent set of build platforms.
