System for additively manufacturing composite structure

• Main Authors: Stockett, Ryan C, Morris, Rachael Kathleen
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 25.10.2022
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING; INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; TRANSPORTING; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

A system is disclosed for use in additively manufacturing a structure. The system may include a print head configured to discharge a material, and a support connected to and configured to move the print head during discharging to fabricate a structure. The system may also include a receiver mounted to the print head and configured to generate a signal indicative of at least one of a shape, a size, and a location of the discharged material, and a processor in communication with the receiver and the support. The processor may be configured to generate a data cloud of the structure fabricated by the additive manufacturing system based on the signal and based on a known position of the receiver at a time of signal generation. The processor may also be configured to make a comparison of the data cloud and a virtual model of the structure during discharging, and to selectively affect discharging based on the comparison.