Issued patent
Fully Automated High-Throughput Additive Manufacturing
An issued NASA patent from the Technology Transfer catalog.
About this technology
Overview
The Additive Manufacturing (AM) process uses a 3D printer to convert a filament into a three-dimensional manufactured object by melting the filament and depositing it in built-up layers to form the desired object, where the movement of the printing head is controlled by computer code. The automation of AM is limited and usually still requires human labor workflows, including the fundamental step of removing the finished object from the printer platform. NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel method to increase automation of AM by embedding additional instructions into the manufacturing toolpath to create manufacturing tools in situ, such as linear springs on the printer platform, and to instruct movement of the printer’s parts to autonomously move the finished object off the platform. The technology eliminates the need for humans in the loop for high-throughput applications. Testing can also be integrated into the manufacturing toolpath.