3D Printed Marks for Automated Material Treatment Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for additive manufacturing do not effectively automate or simplify the subsequent treatment of workpieces by utilizing marks created during the process for controlling material application or ablation, limiting the precision and efficiency of further processing operations.
Innovation Solution
The method employs marks such as depressions and protrusions on workpieces to control material ablation or application processes, using visual, optical, or tactile sensors to assess their disappearance, allowing for automated control of grinding, varnishing, or printing operations, and incorporating additional encoded information for layer thickness and type.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If marks are used only for identification purposes in additive manufacturing, then workpiece identification is achieved, but subsequent treatment processes remain manual and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The mark structure is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both an identification code for workpiece recognition and as a control pattern for automated material application or ablation processes. The same depressions or protrusions that encode identification information also guide the subsequent treatment, eliminating the need for separate identification and control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The mark structure serves as an intermediary between the workpiece and the treatment process. Sensors detect the mark features (depressions or protrusions), and this information mediates the control of material application or ablation, enabling automated decision-making about where and how much material to apply or remove.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple layers of material are applied manually to achieve desired thickness, then coating coverage is achieved, but process time and labor increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mark structure with varying depression or protrusion heights is created during the additive manufacturing process itself, before the subsequent treatment. This preliminary encoding of thickness information allows the system to pre-plan the exact material application requirements, eliminating the need for multiple manual trial-and-error coating passes.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors (optical or tactile) detect the mark features on the workpiece, providing feedback information about the required material thickness and distribution. This feedback enables the treatment system to automatically adjust material application parameters in real-time, achieving precise thickness control without manual intervention or multiple passes.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform material ablation is applied across the entire workpiece surface, then surface smoothing is achieved, but excessive material is removed from areas requiring less treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The mark structure encodes location-specific information about the required ablation depth and extent. Different areas of the workpiece have different depression or protrusion patterns that indicate their specific treatment requirements. This allows the ablation process to be customized for each local area, removing only the necessary amount of material from each region rather than applying uniform treatment across the entire surface.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for controlling the subsequent treatment of a workpiece that has previously been manufactured in an additive manufacturing process and has had marks formed thereon during the additive manufacturing process. The marks are used to control the application or ablation of material in the subsequent treatment of the workpiece.