Additive manufacturing system with fabricated support structure facilitating contaminant removal
Complexity of a geometry of a desired (i.e., target) three-dimensional (3D) object being produced by an additive manufacturing system, as well as atypical behavior of the processes employed by such a system, pose challenges for producing a final version of the desired 3D object with fidelity relative to the desired object. An example embodiment enables such challenges to be overcome as a function of feedback to enable the final version to be produced with fidelity. The feedback may be at least one value that is associated with at least one characteristic of a printed object following processing of the printed object. Such feedback may be obtained as part of a calibration process of the 3D printing system or as part of an operational process of the 3D printing system.
1. A printer system configured to print a three-dimensional (3D) metal object, the system comprising:
a carrier for dispensing a build material;
a build surface configured to receive the build material during printing;
a laser scanner configured to measure a printed object formed from the build material to generate a laser measurement after the printed object is sintered in a sintering furnace; and
a controller configured to compare the laser measurement to a representation of a target object, and to modify a computer aided design (CAD) file to change the representation of the target object if there is a discrepancy between the laser measurement and the representation of the target object,
wherein modifying the CAD file includes modifying the representation of the target object to include two or more supports, wherein the two or more supports are configured to be printed with the target object, wherein a first of the two or more supports, once printed, is configured to be removed from the printed object before it is sintered in the sintering furnace, and wherein a second of the two or more supports, once printed, is configured to be removed from the printed object during or after it is sintered in the sintering furnace.
2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to convert the modified CAD file to one or more instructions for controlling the carrier to dispense the build material based on the changed representation of the target object.
3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to control the printer system to dispense the build material to form a subsequent printed object based on the modified CAD file.
4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein modifying the CAD file includes changing a size of the representation of the target object.
5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein changing the size of the representation of the target object includes changing a plurality of dimensions of the representation of the target object by a same ratio.
6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the modified CAD file causes the controller to control an output parameter of the print system, wherein the output parameter includes one or more of a print speed, a print temperature, or a toolpath.
7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein modifying the CAD file includes incorporating a base plate, and wherein the controller is configured to control the print system to print the base plate and the printed object.
8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the modified CAD file further includes an interface layer between the base plate and the target object, and wherein the controller is configured to control the print system to dispense the interface layer between the base plate and the printed object.
9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to change an output parameter of the printer system for a subsequently printed object based on the modified CAD file.
10. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a contact measurement device configured to measure a geometry of the printed object formed from the build material.
11. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a display, wherein the display is configured to display a graphical representation of one or more of the laser measurement or the laser measurement relative to the representation of the target object.
12. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the laser scanner is configured to be manually operated.
13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the second of the two or more supports is configured to be sintered with the printed object, and wherein a material of the second of the two or more supports is configured to remove contaminants from a sintering environment during the sintering process.
14. A method of printing a three-dimensional (3D) metal object using a printer system, the method comprising:
dispensing a build material to form a printed object;
measuring at least one characteristic of the printed object using a laser scanner after it is sintered in a sintering furnace;
comparing the at least one measured characteristic of the printed object to a corresponding characteristic of a target object;
generating an image of the printed object, wherein the image shows a comparison between the at least one measured characteristic of the printed object and the corresponding characteristic of the target object;
modifying a computer aided design (CAD) file based on the comparison, including incorporating a base plate into the CAD file and an interface layer between the base plate and the target object;
dispensing the build material to form the base plate; and
dispensing the interface layer onto a topmost surface of the base plate prior to dispensing the build material to form the target object.
15. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising modifying the modified CAD file to change a representation of the target object if there is a discrepancy between the at least one measured characteristic of the printed object and the corresponding characteristic of the target object.
16. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising converting the modified CAD file to one or more instructions for controlling the printer system to dispense the build material to form a subsequent printed object.
17. The method according to claim 15 , wherein modifying the CAD file includes changing a size of the representation of the target object.
18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein changing the size of the representation of the target object includes changing a plurality of dimensions of the representation of the target object by a same ratio.
19. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising controlling an output parameter of the print system based on the modified CAD file, wherein the output parameter includes one or more of a print speed, a print temperature, or a toolpath.
20. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the at least one measured characteristic of the printed object and the corresponding characteristic of the target object are geometric characteristics.
21. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising changing an output parameter of the printer system for a subsequently printed object based on the modified CAD file.
22. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the image identifies one or more areas of the target object to be adjusted based on the at least one measured characteristic of the printed object.
23. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising:
dispensing the build material to form one or more subsequent printed objects;
measuring at least one characteristic of the subsequent printed object using the laser scanner;
comparing the at least one measured characteristic of the subsequent printed object to the corresponding characteristic of the target object; and
generating an image of the subsequent printed object, wherein the image shows a comparison between the at least one measured characteristic of the subsequent printed object and the corresponding characteristic of the target object.
24. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising displaying the image on a display.