Additive manufacturing system and method for printing three-dimensional parts using velocimetry
First Claim
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1. A method of calibrating a print head for use in an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
- extruding a molten material from the print head as an extrudate;
routing a pulsed laser beam toward the extrudate to scatter light rays of the pulsed laser beam from the extrudate;
detecting at least a portion of the scattered light rays with a detector over multiple sequential captured frames captured at time intervals based upon a timing of the pulsing of the laser beam, wherein each captured frame has a speckle pattern;
processing the captured frames with a controller to generate speckle patterns;
comparing the speckle patterns of the sequential multiple captured frames;
determining a spatial shift in the speckle patterns;
calculating a velocity of the extrudate with the controller based on the determined spatial shift and the time intervals;
determining at least one average flow rate of the extrudate based at least on the calculated velocity; and
producing calibration information for the print head based upon the at least one average flow rate.
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Abstract
An additive manufacturing system that retains a print head for printing a three-dimensional part in a layer-by-layer manner using an additive manufacturing technique, where the retained print head is configured to receive a consumable material, melt the consumable material, and extrude the molten material. The system also includes a velocimetry assembly configured to determine flow rates of the molten material, and a controller assembly configured to manage the extrusion of the molten material from the print head, and to receive signals from the velocimetry assembly relating to the determined flow rates.
97 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of calibrating a print head for use in an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
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extruding a molten material from the print head as an extrudate; routing a pulsed laser beam toward the extrudate to scatter light rays of the pulsed laser beam from the extrudate; detecting at least a portion of the scattered light rays with a detector over multiple sequential captured frames captured at time intervals based upon a timing of the pulsing of the laser beam, wherein each captured frame has a speckle pattern; processing the captured frames with a controller to generate speckle patterns; comparing the speckle patterns of the sequential multiple captured frames; determining a spatial shift in the speckle patterns; calculating a velocity of the extrudate with the controller based on the determined spatial shift and the time intervals; determining at least one average flow rate of the extrudate based at least on the calculated velocity; and producing calibration information for the print head based upon the at least one average flow rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of calibrating a print head for use in an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising steps of:
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feeding a consumable material to the print head using a drive mechanism based on a current feed rate setting having a predicted average flow rate; melting the consumable material in the print head to produce a molten material; extruding the molten material from the print head as an extrudate; routing a pulsed laser beam toward the extrudate to scatter light rays of the pulsed laser beam from the extrudate; detecting at least a portion of the scattered light rays with a detector over multiple sequential captured frames captured at time intervals based upon a timing of the pulsing of the laser beam, wherein each captured frame has a speckle pattern; processing the captured frames with a controller to generate speckle patterns; comparing the speckle patterns of the multiple captured frames; determining a spatial shift in the speckle patterns; calculating a velocity of the extrudate with the controller based on the determined spatial shift and the time intervals; determining an average flow rate of the extrudate at the current feed rate setting based at least on the calculated velocity; comparing the determined average flow rate to the predicted average flow rate; updating calibration information for the print head based on the determined average flow rate; changing the current feed rate setting to another feed rate setting having another predicted flow rate; and repeating the steps a limited number of times. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification