Consumption of material in additive manufacture
US11027489B2 · kind B2 · utility
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18Claims
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Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 27, 2016 |
| Grant date | Jun 8, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 8, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02P90/30
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method for carrying out additive manufacture while regulating material consumption, comprises making a digital representation of at least part of an object for printing, the representation comprising a plurality of voxels, and then identifying voxels which are flexible in respect of being able to consist of any one of at least two available materials. A balanced material consumption policy is then used to choose between the available materials so as to ensure that as far as possible, different materials are evenly used and wastage is minimized. Finally the object is printed with the selected materials.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.