摘要：
The invention provides a fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500), comprising (i) a printer head (501), (ii) a 3D printable material providing device (575), (iii) an actuator (610) for moving one or more of (a) the printer head (501) and (b) a receiver item (550), (iv) an optical sensor (620), and (v) n optical elements (630), wherein n≥1; wherein: - in an operational mode of the fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) the optical sensor (620) senses one or more of (i) reflection of radiation (11) at 3D printed material (202) on the receiver item (550), (ii) reflection of radiation (11) at at least one of the n optical elements (630), and (iii) transmission of radiation (11) through at least one of the n optical elements (630), thereby sensing at least part of a space between the receiver item (550) and the printer head (501); - during the operational mode at least one of the group of optical elements (630) and the optical sensor (610) are configured at equal heights or higher than a printer nozzle (502) functionally coupled to the printer head (501).
技术问题语段：
The patent text describes a 3D printer that uses a fused deposition modeling technique to produce 3D objects. The printer has a printer head, a material providing device, and an actuator for moving the printer head and the receiver item. It also includes an optical sensor that can sense the space between the receiver item and the printer head. The technical problem addressed by the invention is to provide a 3D printer that can monitor the printing process and make adjustments to it in real-time, improving the quality of the printed objects.
技术功效语段：
The invention is a 3D printer that uses a fused deposition modeling (FDM) process to produce 3D objects. The printer has a printer head, a material providing device, an actuator for moving the printer head and a receiver item, and an optical sensor. The optical sensor can sense the space between the receiver item and the printer head by sensing the reflection of radiation at the material and the optical elements. The invention provides a simpler and more cost-effective way to monitor the printing process and make adjustments to improve the quality of the printed objects.
权利要求：
CLAIMS:
1. A fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) of a real-time machine vision- based automated printing execution monitoring, comprising (i) a printer head (501), (ii) a 3D printable material providing device (575), (iii) an actuator (610) for moving one or more of (a) the printer head (501) and (b) a receiver item (550), (iv) an optical sensor (620), and (v) n optical elements (630), wherein n>l; wherein the optical sensor (620) comprises a camera; and wherein: in an operational mode of the fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) the optical sensor (620) is arranged for sensing one or more of (i) reflection of radiation (11) at 3D printed material (202) on the receiver item (550), (ii) reflection of radiation (11) at at least one of the n optical elements (630), and (iii) transmission of radiation (11) through at least one of the n optical elements (630), thereby sensing at least part of a space between the receiver item (550) and the printer head (501); during the operational mode at least one of the group of optical elements (630) and the optical sensor (610) are configured at equal heights or higher than a printer nozzle (502) functionally coupled to the printer head (501); wherein the monitoring is based on observing the part-in-progress with real-time optical sensor data and/or feedback loop; and wherein the fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) is further arranged for providing alert of printing anomalies and/or automatically intervening in the printer process execution.
2. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to claim 1, wherein n>2, and wherein during the operational mode at least two of the optical elements (630) and the optical sensor (620) are configured at different heights
3. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the n optical elements (630) comprise reflective optical elements which are reflective for the radiation (11); and wherein the actuator (610) is configured to move the receiver item (550), and wherein the optical sensor (620) and n optical elements (630) have a fixed height.
4. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) further comprises an enclosure (640), wherein the printer head (501) is configured within the enclosure (640), wherein the optical sensor (620) is configured external of the enclosure (640), wherein the enclosure (640) is transmissive for the radiation (11), and wherein the n optical elements (630) are configured within the enclosure (640).
5. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the optical sensor (620) is configured at equal height or higher than the printer head (501), and wherein at least one of the optical elements (630) is configured lower than the printer head (501).
6. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the optical sensor (620) in combination with at least one of the optical elements (630) is configured to sense during the operational mode one or more of (i) the printer nozzle (502), (ii) extrudate (321) escaping from the printer nozzle (502), and (iii) at least part of 3D printed material (202) on the receiver item (550).
7. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a second optical element (650) configured downstream of the optical sensor (620), wherein in the operational mode of the fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) the second optical element (650) is: configured (i) to receive radiation (11) from at least two of the n optical elements (630) and (ii) to guide to different parts of the optical sensor (620); or configured to temporarily separate different polarizations of the radiation (11).
8. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the radiation (11) is selected from the group consisting of UV radiation, visible radiation, and infrared radiation.
9. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a radiation device (660) configured to generate radiation (11), wherein the radiation device (660) is configured to irradiate one or more of (i)
the n optical elements (630), (ii) the 3D printed material on the receiver item (550), and (iii) the printer nozzle (502).
10. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to claim 8, wherein the radiation device (660) is configured to direct different types of radiation (11) to different parts of the fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500).
11. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a control system (300) configured to control the fused deposition modelling printer (500) in response to a sensor signal of the optical sensor (620).
12. The fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500) according to claim 11, wherein the control system (300) is configured to detect 3D print failures on the basis of the sensor signal of the optical sensor (620) and to terminate a 3D printing process, accordingly.
13. A method for producing a 3D item (1) by means of fused deposition modelling, using a fused deposition modeling 3D printer (500), with a real-time machine vision-based automated printing execution monitoring, comprising (i) a printer head (501), (ii) a 3D printable material providing device (575), (iii) an actuator (610) for moving one or more of (a) the printer head (501) and (b) a receiver item (550), (iv) an optical sensor (620), and (v) n optical elements (630), wherein n>l; wherein the optical sensor (620) comprises a camera; and wherein the method comprises: a 3D printing stage comprising layer-wise depositing 3D printable material
(201), to provide the 3D item (1) comprising 3D printed material (202) on the receiver item (550), wherein the 3D item (1) comprises a plurality of layers (322) of 3D printed material
(202); and sensing at least part of a space between the receiver item (550) and the printer head (501) with the optical sensor (620), and the n optical elements (630); wherein the method further comprises:
- monitoring based on observing the part-in-progress with real-time optical sensor data and/or feedback loop;
- providing alert of printing anomalies and/or automatically intervening in the printer process execution.