Applying an additive manufacturing agent based on actual platform displacement
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsWesley R Schalk, Arthur H Barnes, Morgan T Schramm, Xin Cheng, Miguel Angel Lopez Alvarez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In one example, a control process for an additive manufacturing machine includes displacing a platform, measuring the actual displacement of the platform, determining that the actual displacement varies from a nominal displacement, and determining an amount of an agent to be applied to build material layered on the displaced platform based on the determined variation.
Claims12
An additive manufacturing machine, comprising:
- a lowering device to lower a platform incrementally to accommodate a succession of layers of a build material;
- a layering device to layer the build material on to the platform;
- a measuring device to measure an actual distance the platform is lowered;
- an applicator to selectively apply an agent to the build material on the platform;
- and
- a controller programmed to:
- instruct the lowering device to lower the platform a nominal distance;
- determine from the measuring device the actual distance the platform is lowered;
- instruct the layering device to layer the build material on to the lowered platform;
- and
- instruct the applicator to apply the agent to the build material on the platform in an amount corresponding to the actual distance measured by the measuring device.
A memory having instructions thereon that when executed cause an additive manufacturing machine to apply an amount of an agent to each of multiple successive layers of a build material to keep the amount of agent applied per unit volume of the build material constant for each of the layers of the build material, including instructions that when executed cause the additive manufacturing machine to, for each of the multiple successive layer of the build material:
- displace a platform;
- determine an actual displacement of the platform;
- determine the amount of the agent to be applied to the build material layered on the displaced platform based on the actual displacement;
- instruct a layering device of the additive manufacturing machine to layer the build material on the displaced platform;
- and
- instruct an applicator of the additive manufacturing machine to apply the determined amount of the agent to the build material layered on the displaced platform.
A control process for an additive manufacturing machine, comprising:
- displacing a platform;
- measuring an actual displacement of the platform;
- determining that the actual displacement varies from a nominal displacement;
- layering a volume of a build material on the displaced platform;
- determining an amount of an a fusing agent to be applied to the volume of the build material layered on the displaced platform based on the determined actual displacement variation;
- instructing an applicator to apply the determined amount of the fusing agent to the volume of the build material layered on the displaced platform;
- and
- instructing an energy source to apply fusing energy to the volume of the build material on the displaced platform to which the fusing agent has been applied.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.