3D Printer Material Usage Tracking for Object and Support Reporting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current management systems for 3D printers lack the capability to accurately track and report the usage of materials, particularly for objects that require supports during the molding process, as they do not have specific counters for material usage like conventional 2D printers, making it difficult to generate reports on material consumption.
Innovation Solution
A management system comprising a management server that collects and totals the usage of materials used for both the object and any required supports by generating execution history from the control device, allowing for accurate reporting of material usage based on collected data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a 3D printer molds both the object and support structures using the same material, then the support provides necessary structural assistance during molding, but it becomes difficult to accurately track and report material usage since the system cannot distinguish between material used for the object versus material used for supports
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments material usage tracking by creating separate counters for object material and support material. The control device divides the total material consumption into distinct categories, allowing independent tracking of each component's material usage even when both are molded using the same physical material.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary management server that acts as a mediator between the control device and the reporting system. The server receives molding result information from the control device, processes the data to separate object and support material usage, and generates detailed reports, thereby enabling accurate tracking without increasing complexity at the printer level.
2Loss of information
If a management system implements detailed tracking of material usage for both objects and supports, then accurate reporting becomes possible, but the system complexity and data processing requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The control device automatically generates molding result information that includes separate material usage data for objects and supports. This self-service approach allows the system to track material usage without requiring manual intervention or complex external monitoring systems, as the control device itself produces the necessary tracking data.
Solution Approach 2:
The management server is designed to handle multiple functions: receiving molding results, processing material usage data, generating reports, and managing counter information. This multi-functional design consolidates complexity into a single versatile system rather than requiring separate specialized systems for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
A management system at least has a management server configured to manage information regarding a control device configured to execute a job for molding, by using a material, a three-dimensional object including an object corresponding to three-dimensional model data to be molded. The management system generates execution history of a job including a result of molding received from the control device and a control command used for the molding, collects the generated execution history of the job, and totalize a used amount (or usage) of a material used for molding the molded object including the object based on the collected execution history. The management system totalizes usages of the material used for a non-object for execution of the job.