High volume manufacturing method for precision articles based on three-dimensional printing including a 3D tag

A non-transient storage system storing software instructions, that when executed by a processor, perform the following steps:

• receive a solid model defining a 3D article;
• receive information defining an information bearing image, the information bearing image defining one or more of a barcode, a two-dimensional barcode, a quick response (QR) code, a set of machine readable indicia, and a set of human readable indicia;
• define a solid model of a 3D tag to be attached to the 3D article, the 3D tag having a varying thickness including thick sections to define dark regions and thin sections to define light regions of the information bearing image as a result of radiation attenuation that varies according to thickness of the 3D tag;
• merge the solid model of the 3D article with the solid model of the 3D tag to provide a composite solid model defining the 3D article integral with the 3D tag;
• send the composite solid model to an additive manufacturing system;
• and
• operate the additive manufacturing print engine to integrally fabricate the 3D article and 3D tag from a single material;
• operate a light source to illuminate the 3D tag with radiation, some of the radiation passes from a backside of the 3D tag to a front side of the 3D tag;
• operate a camera to receive radiation from the 3D tag;
• and
• determine the information bearing image from the radiation from the 3D tag based on a relatively greater radiation intensity from the thin sections and relatively lesser intensity from the thick sections of the 3D tag.

A system for manufacturing a 3D article comprising an additive manufacturing system and a controller configured to:

• receive a solid model defining a 3D article;
• receive information defining an information bearing image, the information bearing image defining one or more of a barcode, a two-dimensional barcode, a quick response (QR) code, a set of machine readable indicia, and a set of human readable indicia;
• define a solid model of a 3D tag to be attached to the 3D article, the 3D tag having a varying thickness including thick sections to define dark regions and thin sections to define light regions of the information bearing image as a result of radiation attenuation that varies according to thickness of the 3D tag;
• merge the solid model of the 3D article with the solid model of the 3D tag to provide a composite solid model defining the 3D article integral with the 3D tag;
• send the composite solid model to an additive manufacturing system;
• and
• operate the additive manufacturing print engine to integrally fabricate the 3D article and 3D tag from a single material;
• operate a light source to illuminate the 3D tag with radiation, some of the radiation passes from a backside of the 3D tag to a front side of the 3D tag;
• operate a camera to receive radiation from the 3D tag;
• and
• determine the information bearing image from the radiation from the 3D tag based on a relatively greater radiation intensity from the thin sections and relatively lesser intensity from the thick sections of the 3D tag.