Bead width manipulation and control for additive construction operations

An electronic device having one or more processors and a memory storing one or more programs to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:

• producing a calibration print process map that correlates a bead width of a calibration print to a gantry feed rate of a gantry of a 3-Dimensional (3D) printer to provide a calibration print correlation from curve fitting on bead width measurements of the bead width which have been measured along a length of the calibration print versus the gantry feed rate, for a calibration print of printing the calibration print out of a cement-based material using the 3D printer having the cement-based material pumped to the 3D printer and having the gantry operating at the gantry feed rate under control of an additive manufacturing software to dispense the cement-based material, the bead width having been measured along a length of the calibration print, the calibration print process map including a range of bead widths between a minimum bead width and a maximum bead width;
• in response to all of one or more desired bead widths for an additive construction print falling within the range of bead widths of the calibration print process map, using the calibration print correlation to modify bead width parameters of the additive manufacturing software for operating the 3D printer to perform bead width manipulation for the additive construction print;
• and
• in response to any of the one or more desired bead widths for the additive construction print not falling within the range of bead widths of the calibration print process map, modifying a pump speed of pumping the cement-based material to the 3D printer and repeating the printing, measuring, performing steps to produce a modified calibration print process map to provide a modified calibration print correlation until all of the one or more desired bead widths fall within the range of bead widths of the calibration print process map and one or more ranges of bead widths of one or more modified calibration print process maps, and using the calibration print correlation and one or more modified calibration print correlations of the one or more modified calibration print process maps to modify bead width parameters of the additive manufacturing software for operating the 3D printer to perform bead width manipulation for the additive construction print.

A method for additive construction using an electronic device having a display device, the method comprising:

• detecting user input to show a calibration print process map that correlates a bead width of a calibration print to a gantry feed rate of a gantry of a 3-Dimensional (3D) printer to provide a calibration print correlation, for a calibration print of printing the calibration print out of a cement-based material using the 3D printer having a pump to pump the cement-based material to the 3D printer and having the gantry operating at the gantry feed rate under control of an additive manufacturing software to dispense the cement-based material, the bead width having been measured along a length of the calibration print;
• in response to detecting the user input the show the calibration print process map, displaying the calibration print process map which includes a range of bead widths from a minimum bead with and a maximum bead width of the calibration print, and the calibration print correlation from curve fitting on bead width measurements of the bead width which have been measured along the length of the calibration print versus the gantry feed rate;
• in response to all of one or more desired bead widths for the additive construction print falling within the range of bead widths of the calibration print process map, detecting user input to change bead width parameters for the additive construction print to be performed;
• and, in response to detecting the user input to change bead width parameters, using the calibration print correlation to modify bead width parameters of the additive manufacturing software for operating the 3D printer to perform bead width manipulation for the additive construction print;
• and
• in response to any of the one or more desired bead widths for the additive construction print not falling within the range of bead widths of the calibration print process map, receiving user input to modify a pump speed of pumping the cement-based material to the 3D printer for repeating:
• printing a modified calibration print out of the cement-based material, measuring a bead width along the length of the modified calibration print, performing curve fitting on bead width measurements of the bead width of the modified calibration print versus the gantry feed rate to produce a modified calibration print process map to provide a modified calibration print correlation, until all of the one or more desired bead widths fall within the range of bead widths of the calibration print process map and one or more ranges of bead widths of one or more modified calibration print process maps, the calibration print correlation and one or more modified calibration print correlations of the one or more modified calibration print process maps to be used to modify bead width parameters of the additive manufacturing software for operating the 3D printer to perform bead width manipulation for the additive construction print.