Real time quality assurance for additive manufacturing

Abstract

In various aspects, 3D printers and recoaters incorporate sensor systems coupled to or integrated with the 3D printers. The sensor systems may include eddy current sensors and other sensors configured to measure an electromagnetic characteristic of the build piece. A three-dimensional (3-D) printer in one aspect includes a depositor configured to deposit metal, an energy beam source configured to selectively melt the metal to form a portion of a build piece, and a sensor configured to move relative to a surface of the print area and to measure an electromagnetic characteristic of the portion of the print area. The measured data can be used to detect defects and other information about the build piece that can be used to fix the defects or enhance the build piece geometry during the printing.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.