A reading apparatus includes an irradiation unit that performs irradiation with light, a light receiving unit that receives light reflected from an object to be imaged, a first optical path in which specularly reflected light, which is obtained as light emitted by the irradiation unit is reflected from a first reflection surface so that a front surface of the object to be imaged in an irradiation region is irradiated with the reflected light, and the reflected light is specularly reflected from the front surface of the object to be imaged, is guided to the light receiving unit as a read image, a second optical path in which diffusely reflected light, which is obtained as the light emitted by the irradiation unit is reflected from a second reflection surface so that the front surface of the object to be imaged in the irradiation region is irradiated with the reflected light, and the reflected light is diffusely reflected from the front surface of the object to be imaged, is guided to the light receiving unit as a read image, and a switching section that switches between the first optical path and the second optical path by rotating the irradiation unit.

A part material for printing three-dimensional parts with an electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system, the part material including a composition having a semi-crystalline thermoplastic material and a charge control agent. The part material is provided in a powder form having a controlled particle size, and is configured for use in the electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system having a layer transfusion assembly for printing the three-dimensional parts in a layer-by-layer manner.

A 3D object according to the invention involves substrate layers infiltrated by a hardened material. The 3D object may be fabricated by a method comprising the following steps: Flatten a substrate layer. Position powder on all or part of a substrate layer. Repeat this step for the remaining substrate layers. Stack the substrate layers. Transform the powder into a substance that flows and subsequently hardens into the hardened material. The hardened material solidifies in a spatial pattern that infiltrates positive regions in the substrate layers and does not infiltrate negative regions in the substrate layers. In a preferred embodiment, the substrate is carbon fiber and excess substrate is removed by abrasion.

An additive manufacturing system comprising a transfer medium configured to receive the layers from a imaging engine, a heater configured to heat the layers on the transfer medium, and a layer transfusion assembly that includes a build platform, and is configured to transfuse the heated layers onto the build platform in a layer-by-layer manner to print a three-dimensional part.

A platen assembly for use in an additive manufacturing system, which includes a platen plate that is preferably secured to a gantry mechanism of the additive manufacturing system, and having a top surface, and one or more magnets secured to the platen plate and configured to generate one or more magnetic fields at the top surface of the platen plate. The platen gantry is configured to magnetically couple interchangeable and replaceable build sheets to the top surface of the platen plate due to the one or more generated magnetic fields, and where the magnetically-coupled build sheets are configured to receive the printed layers from the printing mechanism.

An image fixing device includes an elastic roller; a back-up unit forming a fixing nip with the roller therebetween, the back-up unit including a cylindrical film, a film guide, extending inside the film, for guiding the film, and an end portion guiding member including a guiding portion for guiding an inner surface of an end portion of the film. The film guide includes plural ribs contacting the film and arranged in a generatrix direction at positions upstream of the fixing nip with respect to a feeding direction of a sheet. The ribs have free end portions retracted more toward a downstream side with respect to the feeding direction of the recording material than the guiding portion of the end portion guiding member. An inside rib has a free end portion which is retracted more toward the downstream side than free end portions of the opposite end ribs.

Provided is an image data setting apparatus capable of setting image data related to a foil forming image. The image data setting apparatus includes a hardware processor determining whether a setting for the foil forming image is included in a printing job related to the image data, in which the hardware processor changes a halftone dot setting of the image data, according to a determination result.

An additive manufacturing system comprising a transfer medium configured to receive the layers from a imaging engine, a heater configured to heat the layers on the transfer medium, and a layer transfusion assembly that includes a build platform, and is configured to transfuse the heated layers onto the build platform in a layer-by-layer manner to print a three-dimensional part.

A method and system for printing a three-dimensional part, which includes printing a plurality of successive layers of the three-dimensional part with the additive manufacturing system based on bitslices in a bitslice stack, measuring surface heights of the successive layers after each of the successive layers are printed, determining differences between the measured surface heights and predicted stack heights of the bitslices, identifying one or more topographical error regions based on the determined differences, and modifying the bitslice stack to compensate for the one or more topographical error regions.

An image-forming apparatus includes, in a body having a predetermined house, an image-reading unit and an image-forming unit that is configured to form an image read by the image-reading unit. A discharge portion is configured to discharge a sheet on which the image was formed onto a discharge tray. An intra-apparatus-discharge space is formed in the body between the image-reading unit and the image-forming unit. The housing includes therein a consumption article mounting portion in which a consumption article used by the image-forming unit is mounted. At least a portion of a surface of the housing at a region of the consumption article mounting portion has a light-transmissive property. When the consumption article is consumed and needs to be replenished, the operator can visually check the region of the consumption article mounting portion in the housing from the outside of the body through the transparent portion.