Tagged build material for three-dimensional printing
A supply of build material such as a spool or cartridge is instrumented with a data tag that includes information about the build material. A three-dimensional printer, or a tag reader in communication therewith (directly or indirectly), can read the information from the tag for a determination as to how to use the build material during fabrication of a three-dimensional object.
1. A method, comprising:
reading data from a tag included on a supply of a build material using a tag sensor in communication with a controller of a three-dimensional printer, the data including at least one property of the build material;
determining an operational parameter of a fabrication process using the three-dimensional printer based upon the data, the operational parameter including at least one of a build platform temperature, a build volume temperature, an infill requirement, a rafting requirement, a support structure requirement, and a cooling requirement;
performing a diagnostic test to determine whether the operational parameter is suitable for the three-dimensional printer; and
when the operational parameter is suitable for the three-dimensional printer according to the diagnostic test, controlling operation of the three-dimensional printer during the fabrication process with the controller according to the operational parameter to fabricate an object with the three-dimensional printer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag includes at least one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, an optically-identifiable tag, a magnetically-identifiable tag, and a mechanical feature of the supply.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag sensor includes at least one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, an optical scanner, a magnetic reader, and a contact point sensor.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data includes at least one of a material identification number, a build material type, a build material diameter, an extruder temperature requirement, a build material melting temperature, a build material color, a build material color lot number, a cost per unit of build material, a build material density, a build material tensile strength, a build material viscosity, a build material recycle code, and a build material expiration date.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the supply includes at least one of a cartridge, a spool, a filament, a number of pellets, and a liquid.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and the RFID tag is at least one of a passive RFID tag and an active RFID tag.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag includes an optically-identifiable tag, and the optically-identifiable tag is at least one of bar code and quick read (QR) code.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag includes a magnetically-identifiable tag, and the magnetically-identifiable tag is a magnetic swipe strip.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag includes a mechanical feature of the supply, and the mechanical feature includes a plurality of recesses or protrusions encoding information about the build material.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operational parameter is based upon a build material identification number contained in the data.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operational parameter further includes at least one of an extruder temperature and a feed rate.
12. A system, comprising:
a three-dimensional printer;
a coupling adapted to receive a supply of a build material;
a tag sensor communicatively associated with the three-dimensional printer, the tag sensor configured to read data from a data tag associated with the supply of the build material, the data including at least one property of the build material;
a processor configured to determine an operational parameter of a fabrication process using the three-dimensional printer based upon the data and to perform a diagnostic test to determine whether the operational parameter is suitable for the three-dimensional printer, the operational parameter including at least one of a build platform temperature, a build volume temperature, an infill requirement, a rafting requirement, a support structure requirement, and a cooling requirement; and
a controller for the three-dimensional printer, the controller configured to, when the operational parameter is suitable for the three-dimensional printer according to the diagnostic test, control operation of the three-dimensional printer during the fabrication process according to the operational parameter to fabricate an object with the three-dimensional printer.
13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising a container holding the supply of the build material, wherein the container is configured to connect to the coupling, and wherein the container includes the data tag.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the container includes at least one of a cartridge and a spool.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the build material includes at least one of a filament, a number of pellets, and a liquid.
16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is included on a remote network resource.
17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is included on one or more of the controller and the three-dimensional printer.
18. The system of claim 12 , wherein the tag sensor includes at least one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, an optical scanner, a magnetic reader, and a contact point sensor.
19. A method, comprising:
reading first data from a tag included on a supply of a build material using a tag sensor associated with a three-dimensional printer, the first data related to the build material;
retrieving second data from a data store, the second data including additional data related to the build material;
combining the first data and the second data;
determining an operational parameter to configure the three-dimensional printer for a fabrication process using the build material based upon the combination of the first data and the second data;
performing a diagnostic test to determine whether the operational parameter is suitable for the three-dimensional printer; and
when the operational parameter is suitable for the three-dimensional printer according to the diagnostic test, controlling operation of the three-dimensional printer during the fabrication process according to the operational parameter to fabricate an object with the three-dimensional printer.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein data from the tag includes ordering information for replacement of the build material.