Dynamic in-flight characterization of build material in a 3d printer and system and methods thereof

Abstract

A system and method of characterizing drops of printing material in a 3D printer is disclosed, which includes ejecting a drop from a nozzle of an ejector in the 3D printer, intersecting the drop with a beam while the drop is in-flight, and determining one or more physical characteristics of the drop. The system and method may include where the drop intersects the beam between the nozzle and a substrate of the 3D printer or the drop intersects the beam between the nozzle and a top surface of a part printed by the 3D printer. The beam is located between an emitter and a detector are each positioned external to one or more side walls of a 3D printer. A physical characteristic of the drop may include drop size, drop shape, or drop mass and comparison with a reference.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.