ENCODED CONSUMABLE MATERIALS AND SENSOR ASSEMBLIES FOR USE IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A marked consumable material for use in an additive manufacturing system, the marked consumable material comprising:
- an exterior surface; and
encoded markings at the exterior surface, wherein the encoded markings are configured to be read by at least one optical sensor configured to be operated by the additive manufacturing system, and wherein the marked consumable material is configured to be consumed in the additive manufacturing system to build at least a portion of a three-dimensional model.
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Abstract
A consumable material and sensor assembly for use in an additive manufacturing system, the consumable material comprising an exterior surface having encoded markings that are configured to be read by the sensor assembly, where the consumable material is configured to be consumed in the additive manufacturing system to build at least a portion of a three-dimensional model.
146 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A marked consumable material for use in an additive manufacturing system, the marked consumable material comprising:
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an exterior surface; and encoded markings at the exterior surface, wherein the encoded markings are configured to be read by at least one optical sensor configured to be operated by the additive manufacturing system, and wherein the marked consumable material is configured to be consumed in the additive manufacturing system to build at least a portion of a three-dimensional model. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A spooled container for providing a marked filament of a material to an additive manufacturing system, the spooled container comprising:
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a container housing having an exit port; a spool retained in the container housing, the spool being configured to retain a supply of the marked filament, wherein the marked filament comprises an exterior surface and encoded markings at the exterior surface, the encoded markings extending along at least a portion of a longitudinal length of the marked filament; and an optical sensor assembly retained at least partially within the container housing at a location that is upstream from the exit port of the container housing, the optical sensor being configured to read information from the encoded markings from the marked filament. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for building a three-dimensional model with an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
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loading a spooled container to the additive manufacturing system, the spooled container having a marked filament comprising an exterior surface having encoded markings, wherein at least a portion of the encoded markings have indices of refraction that are different from an average index of refraction of the exterior surface; feeding the marked filament to an optical sensor assembly disposed at least partially within the spooled container; reading information from the encoded markings of the fed marked filament with the optical sensor assembly; transmitting the read information to the additive manufacturing system; and directing the fed marked filament out of the spooled contained and to a deposition head of the additive manufacturing system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification