COLOR SWITCHING FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING

摘要

By reversing the direction of a first build material fed into an extruder, the first build material can be wholly or partially evacuated from the extruder before a second material is introduced. This approach mitigates transition artifacts and permits faster, more complete changes from one build material to another.

主权项

1. A computer program product for switching filaments in a three-dimensional printer, the computer program product comprising non-transitory computer executable code embodied in a memory of a three-dimensional printer having an extruder with a first input port, a second input port, an extrusion port, and a chamber coupling the first input port, the second input port, and the extrusion port in fluid communication, wherein the computer executable code, when executing on a controller of the three-dimensional printer, performs the steps of:
driving a first build material through the first input port until the first build material extrudes through the extrusion port; withdrawing the first build material through the first input port a predetermined amount; and driving a second build material through the second input port until the second build material extrudes through the extrusion port.