3D printing and assembly system

A 3D printing and assembly system, comprising:

• a 3D printer having a build volume;
• a robotic arm separate from the 3D printer and configured to access both within the build volume and outside of the 3D printer;
• and
• a 3D computer hardware system connected to both the 3D printer and the robotic arm, wherein
• the 3D printing and assembly system is configured to perform:
• identifying, by a vision system, an already-generated object positioned outside of the build volume and accessible by the robotic arm;
• identifying a 3D object assembly to be generated by the 3D printer;
• real-time analyzing, using the 3D computer hardware system, a combination of the already-generated object and the 3D object assembly to generate sequential instructions for the 3D printer and sequential instructions for the robotic arm;
• positioning, within the build volume, the already-generated object using the robotic arm with the sequential instructions for the robotic arm;
• and
• 3D printing around the already-generated object using the 3D printer with the sequential instructions for the 3D printer to generate the 3D object assembly, wherein
• the sequential instructions for the 3D printer and the sequential instructions for the robotic arm are interdependent.

A computer program product for a 3D printing and assembly system including a 3D computer hardware system, a robotic arm and a 3D printer having a build volume, comprising:

• a computer readable storage medium having stored therein program code,
• the program code, which when executed by the 3D printing and assembly system, causes the 3D printing and assembly system to perform:
• identifying, by a vision system, an already-generated object positioned outside of the build volume and accessible by the robotic arm;
• identifying a 3D object assembly to be generated by the 3D printer;
• real-time analyzing, using the 3D computer hardware system, a combination of the already-generated object and the 3D object assembly to generate sequential instructions for the 3D printer and sequential instructions for the robotic arm;
• positioning, within the build volume, the already-generated object using the robotic arm with the sequential instructions for the robotic arm;
• and
• 3D printing around the already-generated object using the 3D printer with the sequential instructions for the 3D printer to generate the 3D object assembly, wherein
• the sequential instructions for the 3D printer and the sequential instructions for the robotic arm are interdependent, and
• the robotic arm is separate from the 3D printer and is configured to access both within the build volume and outside of the 3D printer.