Automated testing and characterization of additive manufacturing

1 . A method for characterizing an additive manufacturing (AM) machine or a feedstock material of the AM machine, comprising:

using the AM machine to generate one or more coupons from the feedstock material;

conducting successive measurements of a parameter associated with the one or more coupons to generate a database using a characterization system; and

applying machine learning to the database to generate a discerned characteristic of one or more of the AM machine and the feedstock material; and

delivering instructions from the characterization system to the AM machine to generate an actuator and to deploy said one or more coupons using said actuator.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the discerned characteristic to perform one or more of identifying the feedstock's quality control, standardizing calibration of processing parameters of the AM machine, determining the sensitivities of an AM material under various conditions, recognizing drift of the AM machine from its intended material process, determining if a material is from a specific vendor or origin, embedding and detecting counterfeiting protocols, and adapting a design for the AM machine's environment through repeated iteration and exploration of design space.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein conducting successive measurements comprises deploying the coupons through impact with an actuator.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein said deploying comprises manufacturing the actuator using the AM machine, and the AM machine launching the coupons by interacting with the actuator to impact the coupons.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising delivering instructions from the characterization system to the AM machine to conduct said generating one or more coupons from the feedstock material.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the coupons are prototypes, the method further comprising successively producing using the AM machine said coupons, each coupon comprising a prototype modified from the previously produced prototype.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the AM machine is a fused deposition modeling (FDM) machine.

8 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for operating a system of integrating testing and characterizing of an additive manufacturing machine (AM) or feedstock material of the AM machine, the computer program comprising a routine of set instructions for causing the system to perform the steps of:

using the AM machine to generate one or more coupons from the feedstock material;

conducting successive measurements of a parameter associated with the one or more coupons and generating a database of said successive measurements using a characterization system; and

applying machine learning to the database to generate a discerned characteristic of one or more of the AM machine and the feedstock material; and

delivering instructions from the characterization system to the AM machine to generate an actuator and to deploy said one or more coupons using said actuator.

9 . The machine-readable storage medium of claim 8 , the set of instructions further causing the system to use the discerned characteristic to perform one or more of identifying the feedstock's quality control, standardizing calibration of processing parameters of the AM machine, determining the sensitivities of an AM material under various conditions, recognizing drift of the AM machine from its intended material process, determining if a material is from a specific vendor or origin, embedding and detecting counterfeiting protocols, and adapting a design for the system's environment through repeated iteration and exploration of design space.

10 . The machine-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein conducting successive measurements comprises deploying the coupons through impact with an actuator.

11 . The machine-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein said deploying comprises manufacturing the actuator using the AM machine, and the AM machine launching the coupons by interacting with the actuator to impact the coupons.

12 . A system for characterizing an additive manufacturing machine (AM) or feedstock material of the AM machine, comprising:

a testing system having:

a sensor, and

a controller operable to generate a database of data collected from successive measurements detected by the sensor of a parameter associated with the one or more coupons manufactured by the AM machine, wherein the controller is configured to deliver to the AM machine instructions to manufacture the one or more coupons and an actuator, and to cause the actuator to launch the one or more coupons, and

a machine learning engine configured to apply machine learning to the database to generate a discerned characteristic of one or more of the AM machine and the feedstock material.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to deliver to the AM machine instructions to manufacture the one or more coupons.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to deliver to the AM machine instructions to manufacture an actuator.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the controller uses the discerned characteristic to perform one or more of identifying the feedstock's quality control, standardizing calibration of processing parameters of the AM machine, determining the sensitivities of an AM material under various conditions, recognizing drift of the AM machine from its intended material process, determining if a material is from a specific vendor or origin, embedding and detecting counterfeiting protocols, and adapting a design for the AM machine's environment through repeated iteration and exploration of design space.

16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the testing system includes a microcontroller for logging dynamic coupon data from the sensor.

17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the testing system further includes a microprocessor for processing data from the microcontroller.

18 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the sensor is a load cell.

19 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the AM machine is a fused deposition modeling (FDM) machine.