IDENTIFYING A CHARACTERISTIC OF A MATERIAL FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
First Claim
1. A method for authenticating a build material for use in an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
- receiving a build material, from a material container, at a material input of the additive manufacturing system, the build material including at least one of a powder and a filament strand;
sensing information about a characteristic of the build material using a sensor;
comparing the sensed information about the characteristic of the build material to a reference characteristic;
determining an authentication score based on the comparison of the sensed information and the reference characteristic, wherein the determined authentication score includes a non-binary, relative indication about whether the sensed information corresponds to an authentic material from a specified source; and
enabling or disabling a portion of the additive manufacturing system in response to the determined authentication score.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, devices, and methods according to the present disclosure are configured for use in additive manufacturing, e.g. 3D printing. Various materials, including thermoplastic materials, can be used with an additive manufacturing system to create a part composite. Systems, devices, and methods described herein can be used to identify a characteristic of a material or of a material container for use with an additive manufacturing system. The identified characteristic can be used to determine an authenticity of the material. Based on the authenticity, one or more features or functions of the additive manufacturing system can be updated. The characteristic of the material may be optical information on the container of the material, e.g. a bar code, may be identified by emitting x-ray radiation and receiving a spectral characteristic, may be an electrical or magnetic characteristic or may be engraved on the surface of the material itself.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for authenticating a build material for use in an additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:
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receiving a build material, from a material container, at a material input of the additive manufacturing system, the build material including at least one of a powder and a filament strand; sensing information about a characteristic of the build material using a sensor; comparing the sensed information about the characteristic of the build material to a reference characteristic; determining an authentication score based on the comparison of the sensed information and the reference characteristic, wherein the determined authentication score includes a non-binary, relative indication about whether the sensed information corresponds to an authentic material from a specified source; and enabling or disabling a portion of the additive manufacturing system in response to the determined authentication score. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification