System and method for additive manufacturing with toolpath bridges and resultant structure

A method of improving an additive manufacturing toolpath for an object, the method comprising:

• obtaining a base toolpath;
• identifying a plurality of isolated paths in the base toolpath, each of the plurality of isolated paths including a plurality of vertices;
• adding a plurality of bridge paths to the base toolpath, wherein each bridge path connects one vertex of the plurality of vertices from one of the plurality of isolated paths to a neighboring vertex from the plurality of vertices from a different one of the plurality of isolated paths;
• generating printer instructions for each layer of the object, wherein the printer instructions for one layer are generated based on the base toolpath including the plurality of added bridge paths;
• and
• wherein the printer instructions for the one layer include instructions to decrease extrusion speed during printing of the plurality of added bridge paths.

A method of improving additive manufacturing of an object, the method comprising:

• obtaining a plurality of toolpaths for additive manufacture of the object, wherein each of the plurality of toolpaths includes a plurality of vertices and a plurality of isolated paths between different sets of two or more of the plurality of vertices;
• defining a plurality of bridge paths, wherein each bridge path connects one of the plurality of vertices of one of the isolated paths to a neighboring vertex of a different one of the plurality of isolated paths;
• generating additive manufacturing instructions for additive manufacture of the object based on the plurality of toolpaths and the plurality of bridge paths;
• additively manufacturing the object according to the additive manufacturing instructions;
• and
• tracking whether a number of paths emanating from each vertex, including the plurality of isolated paths between the vertices and the plurality of defined bridge paths, is an odd number of paths, and in response defining an additional, different, bridge path from that vertex to a neighboring vertex or removing a previously defined bridge path.

A method of improving additive manufacturing of an object, the method comprising:

• obtaining a plurality of toolpaths for additive manufacture of the object, wherein each of the plurality of toolpaths includes a plurality of vertices and a plurality of isolated paths between different sets of two or more of the plurality of vertices;
• defining a plurality of bridge paths, wherein each bridge path connects one of the plurality of vertices of one of the isolated paths to a neighboring vertex of a different one of the plurality of isolated paths;
• generating additive manufacturing instructions for additive manufacture of the object based on the plurality of toolpaths and the plurality of bridge paths;
• and
• additively manufacturing the object according to the additive manufacturing instructions using a deposition-based additive manufacturing machine, in a series of layers by a controller of the deposition-based additive manufacturing machine moving a deposition nozzle of the deposition-based additive manufacturing machine according to the additive manufacturing instructions, wherein the deposition nozzle follows a continuous path during deposition of each of the layers of the series of layers, and wherein an extrusion rate of the deposition nozzle is reduced during deposition on the plurality of bridge paths.