System For Adjusting Operation Of A Printer During Three-Dimensional Object Printing Using An Optical Sensor

摘要

A printer compensates for printing errors occurring during production of the layers for the formation of an object in a three-dimensional printer. The printer includes an optical sensor that generates data corresponding to edges of each layer of the object after each layer is printed. Differences between the raster data used to eject the material to form a layer and the data received from the optical sensor are used to modify the raster data that operates a printhead to form a next layer in the object.

主权项

1. A printer comprising:
a platen; a printhead configured with ejectors to eject material onto the platen; an optical sensor configured to generate data corresponding to edges of a top layer of the material ejected onto the platen; and a controller operatively connected to the optical sensor and the printhead, the controller being configured to generate raster image data for layers to be printed to form an object on the platen, to operate the printhead to eject material onto the platen with reference to the raster image data for the layers, to generate differences between the data received from the optical sensor and the raster image data used to operate the printhead to eject material for a previously printed layer of ejected material, and to modify raster image data for layers to be printed with reference to the generated differences between the data received from the optical sensor and the data used to operate the printhead to compensate for errors in the ejection of the material from the ejectors in the printhead.