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 recycling information for the build material;
transmitting the data including the recycling information to the controller;
fabricating an object with the three-dimensional printer; and
controlling operation of the three-dimensional printer with the controller to impart a symbol related to the recycling information onto the object.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying at least one of a recycling code and a recycling symbol based on the recycling information for the build material.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the symbol imparted onto the object includes one or more of the recycling code and the recycling symbol.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the recycling information on the tag included on the supply of the build material.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the recycling information includes a Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) resin identification code.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the symbol imparted onto the object includes the SPI resin identification code.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving instructions regarding how to deploy recycling labeling when the object includes multiple build materials; and
fabricating the object according to the instructions.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the symbol imparted onto the object is related to a recycling category for the build material.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data further 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, and a build material expiration date.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag includes at least one of an optically-identifiable tag and a magnetically identifiable tag.
13. 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.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data further includes at least one property of the build material, the method further comprising:
determining an operational parameter of a fabrication process using the three-dimensional printer based upon the data; and
controlling operation of the three-dimensional printer with the controller during fabrication of the object according to the operational parameter.
15. 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 recycling information for the build material; and
a controller for the three-dimensional printer, the controller configured to control operation of the three-dimensional printer to fabricate an object, and the controller further configured to control operation of the three-dimensional printer to impart a symbol related to the recycling information onto the object.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to identify at least one of a recycling code and a recycling symbol based on the recycling information for the build material.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the symbol imparted onto the object includes one or more of the recycling code and the recycling symbol.
18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the controller fabricates the object based on a model of the object that includes the symbol.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling operation of the three-dimensional printer with the controller to impart the symbol includes fabricating the object based on a model of the object that includes the symbol.
20. The method of claim 1 , further comprising creating the symbol in a digital model of the object to be fabricated, and fabricating the object based on the digital model.