Apparatus and method for additive manufacturing

A method for additive manufacturing comprising:

• through operation of at least one processor:
• generating instructions usable by a 3D printer to build an article that specify that a deposition head of the 3D printer deposits material in a plurality of successive layers to form a first side wall surface and a second side wall surface of the article, including:
• receiving a 3D model of the article;
• determining a first angular orientation of the first side wall surface of the article from the 3D model as an average of two or more angles at portions of the first wall surface;
• determining portions of the generated instructions effective for rotating a deposition axis of the deposition head of the 3D printer at a first angle to provide material adjacent to the first side wall surface based at least in part on the determined first angular orientation;
• determining a second angular orientation of the second side wall surface of the article from the 3D model;
• determining portions of the generated instructions effective for rotating the deposition axis of the deposition head of the 3D printer at a second angle to provide material adjacent to the second side wall surface based at least in part on the determined second angular orientation, wherein the first and second angles are different;
• and
• determining portions of the generated instructions effective for rotating the deposition axis of the deposition head of the 3D printer at intermediate angles between the first angle and the second angle to deposit material along a deposition path between the first and second side wall surfaces that is not a wall surface, based at least in part on interpolating between the first angle and the second angle for positions along the deposition path between the first and second side wall surfaces that are not wall surfaces, and such that the deposition head of the 3D printer continuously deposits material along the deposition path from the first side wall surface, to between the first and second side wall surfaces, and to the second side wall surface at the first angle, the intermediate angles, and the second angle respectively.

A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with executable instructions that when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method comprising:

• generating instructions usable by a 3D printer to build an article that specify that a deposition head of the 3D printer deposits material in a plurality of successive layers to form a first side wall surface and a second side wall surface of the article, including:
• receiving a 3D model of the article;
• determining a first angular orientation of the first side wall surface of the article from the 3D model as an average of two or more angles at portions of the first wall surface;
• determining portions of the generated instructions effective for rotating a deposition axis of the deposition head of the 3D printer at a first angle to provide material adjacent to the first side wall surface based at least in part on the determined first angular orientation;
• determining a second angular orientation of the second side wall surface of the article from the 3D model;
• determining portions of the generated instructions effective for rotating the deposition axis of the deposition head of the 3D printer at a second angle to provide material adjacent to the second side wall surface based at least in part on the determined second angular orientation, wherein the first and second angles are different;
• and
• determining portions of the generated instructions effective for rotating the deposition axis of the deposition head of the 3D printer at intermediate angles between the first angle and the second angle to deposit material along a deposition path between the first and second side wall surfaces that is not a wall surface, based at least in part on interpolating between the first angle and the second angle for positions along the deposition path between the first and second side wall surfaces, and such that the deposition head of the 3D printer continuously deposits material along the deposition path from the first side wall surface, to between the first and second side wall surfaces, and to the second side wall surface at the first angle, the intermediate angles, and the second angle respectively.