System and method for sheeting and stacking 3d composite printed sheets

A web sheet processing method for stacking additive manufacturing composite printed sheets, comprising:

• a) pulling one of a plurality of composite printed sheets over a stacker subsystem of an additive manufacturing device until a registration aperture of the composite printed sheet is in alignment over a registration pin of the stacker subsystem with a tractor drive transport assembly positioned above the stacker subsystem, the stacker subsystem including a base and a registration pin extending upwards from the base, the tractor drive transport assembly including a tractor drive transport having a drive belt with a plurality of knobs spatially gapped and protruding outwardly from the drive belt, the plurality of knobs being spaced to align with and protrude a plurality of tractor feed apertures in an additive manufacturing composite printed sheet, the drive belt configured to pull the composite printed sheet over the stacker subsystem until the registration aperture of the composite printed sheet is in alignment over the registration pin of the stacker subsystem;
• b) supporting the composite printed sheet while the composite printed sheet is pulled over the stacker subsystem with a drive guide in contact with the composite printed sheet;
• and
• c) withdrawing the drive guide from contact with the composite printed sheet upon alignment of the registration aperture over the registration pin to release the composite printed sheet from the tractor drive transport to the stacker subsystem.

A web sheet processing system of an additive manufacturing system, comprising:

• a transfer subsystem that supports and forwards a substrate material web in a process direction through the additive manufacturing system, the substrate material web having two edges defining a width of the substrate material web and a plurality of tractor feed apertures;
• a web cutter extending across the width of the substrate material web to cut a plurality of composite printed sheets from the substrate material web, each of the plurality of composite printed sheets including a registration aperture and at least two of the plurality of tractor feed apertures;
• a stacker subsystem downstream the web cutter in the process direction, the stacker subsystem including a base and a registration pin extending upwards from the base;
• a tractor drive transport assembly positioned above a stacker subsystem, the tractor drive transport assembly including a tractor drive transport having a drive belt with a plurality of knobs spatially gapped and protruding outwardly from the drive belt, the plurality of knobs being spaced to engage the plurality of tractor feed apertures in the plurality of composite printed sheets, the drive belt configured to pull one of the composite printed sheets over the stacker subsystem until the registration aperture of the composite printed sheet is in alignment over the registration pin of the stacker subsystem;
• and
• a drive guide configured to temporarily support the composite printed sheet being pulled by the drive belt over the stacker subsystem, the drive guide withdrawing from contact with the composite printed sheet upon alignment of the registration aperture over the registration pin to release the composite printed sheet from the tractor drive transport to the stacker subsystem with the registration pin through the registration aperture,
• the transfer subsystem including a second tractor drive transport upstream the tractor drive transport assembly, the second tractor drive transport having a second drive belt with a plurality of knobs spatially gapped and protruding outwardly from the second drive belt to engage the plurality of tractor feed apertures of the substrate material web and forward the substrate material web in the process direction.