# US 12,600,084 B2 · Additive manufacturing system

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 12,600,084 B2
- Document ID: US12600084B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/312,234
- Filed: 2023-05-04
- Published: 2023-11-16
- Granted: 2026-04-14
- Earliest claimed: 2022-05-12
- Assignees: Continuous Composites Inc.
- Applicants: Continuous Composites Inc.
- Inventors: Stephen Tyler Wilson; John Paul Brendel; Ryan C. Stockett; Nathan Andrew Stranberg; Andrew John Overby; Sam Armstrong; Maxwell Joseph Johnson; Brennon Scott Wilsey; Matt Howard
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12600084B2

## CPC

- B29C 64/106: using only liquids or viscous materials, e.g. depositing a continuous bead of viscous material
- B29C 64/118: using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM]
- B29C 64/209: Heads; Nozzles
- B29C 64/218: Rollers
- B29C 64/30: Auxiliary operations or equipment
- B29C 64/393: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B33Y 40/00: Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling
- B33Y 70/10: Composites of different types of material, e.g. mixtures of ceramics and polymers or mixtures of metals and biomaterials
- B29C 64/336: of two or more materials
- B33Y 10/00: Processes of additive manufacturing
- B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B33Y 50/02: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00)
- B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING

## Abstract

A system is disclosed for additively manufacturing a structure. The system may have a support, and a print head operatively connected to and moveable by the support. The print head may include a first module configured to discharge a material, a second module configured to compact the material as it discharges from the first module, and a controller in communication with the second module. The controller may be configured to determine an as-discharged characteristic of the material, and to selectively adjust a force of the second module based on the as-discharged characteristic.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An additive manufacturing system, comprising:
a support; and
a print head operatively connected to and moveable by the support, the print head including:
a first module configured to discharge a path of material within a layer;
a second module configured to compact the path of material with a compaction pressure as the path of material discharges from the first module; and
a controller in communication with the second module and configured to:
determine a characteristic of the material within the layer while the path of material is being discharged; and
selectively adjust a force of the second module while the path of material is being discharged based on the characteristic such that the compaction pressure applied by the second module on the path of material remains constant.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein:
discharging the path of material includes discharging the material as a path adjacent at least one previously discharged path; and
the characteristic is associated with a number of paths, including the path and the at least one previously discharged path, that are simultaneously compacted by the second module.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 2, wherein when the print head discharges the path of material as a path adjacent an existing surface within the layer, the characteristic is a sum of a width of the path and a dimension of the existing surface simultaneously engaged by the second module with the path.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 3, wherein:
the second module includes a wheel that rolls over the path and the existing surface; and
the dimension of the existing surface is a dimension in an axial direction of the wheel.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a dimension.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 5, wherein the dimension is a dimension of the material before the material is compacted.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1, 5)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 5, wherein the force is adjusted to apply the constant pressure defined in claim 1 to the material regardless of the dimension.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 5, wherein the dimension is a width of the material being compacted.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 8, wherein the width is a known value stored within a memory of the controller.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 8, further including a sensor mounted to the print head and configured to detect the width.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to determine the width based on monitored operation of the print head.

### Claim 12

An additive manufacturing system, comprising:
a support; and
a print head operatively connected to and moveable by the support, the print head including:
a first module configured to discharge a path of material within a layer;
a second module configured to compact the path of material with a compaction pressure as the path of material discharges from the first module; and
a controller in communication with the second module and configured to:
cause the second module to compact the path of material with a first force when the path of material is a sole path of material being compacted; and
cause the second module to apply a second force that is greater than the first force when the path of material is being simultaneously compacted together with another path of material within the same layer by the second module, wherein the first and second forces cause the path of material to be compacted with a same pressure throughout the layer during discharge when the path of material is the sole path and when the path of material is being compacted together with the another path of material.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 12, wherein the second module includes a wheel that rolls over the path.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the second force based on a combined width of paths within the same layer being simultaneously compacted with the path of material being discharged and the another path of material.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 14, wherein the width of the combined width is a known value stored within a memory of the controller.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 14 further including a sensor mounted to the print head and configured to detect the combined width.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to determine the combined width based on monitored operation of the print head.

### Claim 18

An additive manufacturing system, comprising:
a support; and
a print head operatively connected to and moveable by the support, the print head including:
a first module configured to discharge a path of material within a layer;
a second module configured to compact the path of material as it discharges from the first module; and
a controller in communication with the second module and configured to:
cause the second module to exert a first force when the path of material is a sole path of material being compacted; and
cause the second module to exert an incrementally increasing second force that is greater than the first force as a greater number of paths of material, including the path of material, are being simultaneously compacted, such that the path of material is compacted with a same pressure throughout the layer regardless of an existence of adjacent paths of materials being simultaneously compacted together with the path of material in the layer.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The additive manufacturing system of claim 17, wherein a magnitude of the increase is the same for each additional path of material being simultaneously compacted.