A method for marking a printed object is disclosed. For example, the method includes printing a three-dimensional (3D) object via a fused filament fabrication (FFF) printer, receiving a desired color marking to be marked on a surface of the 3D object, and controlling a point energy source to emit energy on a thermal treatment layer of the 3D object in accordance with the desired color marking.

A method and an apparatus of a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system that enables a quick change in the optical beam delivery size and intensity across locations of a print surface for different powdered materials while ensuring high availability of the system. A dynamic optical assembly containing a set of lens assemblies of different magnification ratios and a mechanical assembly may change the magnification ratios as needed. The dynamic optical assembly may include a transitional and rotational position control of the optics to minimize variations of the optical beam sizes across the print surface.

Examples described herein relate to a system consistent with the disclosure. For instance, the system may comprise an additive manufacturing device including hardware to form a three-dimensional (3D) model, a memory resource, and a processing resource to receive data related to the 3D model, modify the data related to the 3D model to include a protective structure connected to the 3D model by a fusion bond, and dispense, based on the modified data, a printing agent onto build material layers to produce the 3D model and the protective structure around a portion of the 3D model.

A method and an apparatus for collecting powder samples in real-time in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing may involves an ingester system for in-process collection and characterizations of powder samples. The collection may be performed periodically and uses the results of characterizations for adjustments in the powder bed fusion process. The ingester system of the present disclosure is capable of packaging powder samples collected in real-time into storage containers serving a multitude purposes of audit, process adjustments or actions.

A system and method for providing three dimensional printing production quality prediction is described herein. The system may include logic to scan a region of interest associated with a layer of a plurality of parts during printing to obtain an input for the region of interest and compute an input metric associated with the layer based on the input. In response to an initial set of print jobs, at least a portion of the plurality of parts is mechanically tested to determine at least one output. In response to a production print job, a likelihood of a part of the plurality of parts to satisfy a quality specification is predicted by inputting the input metric to at least one machine learning function comprising the at least one output, wherein the at least one machine learning function is trained during the initial set of print jobs.

A three-dimensional shaping apparatus coupled to a server includes a melting portion melting a material to form a shaping material, an ejection portion ejecting the shaping material supplied from the melting portion, a shaping stage where the shaping material ejected from the ejection portion is stacked, a moving mechanism changing a relative position of the ejection portion and the shaping stage, a shape data generation portion generating second shape data for representing a shape of a three-dimensional shaped article including a shape representing identification information for identifying the three-dimensional shaped article using first shape data and the identification information for identifying the three-dimensional shaped article, a controller controlling the melting portion and the moving mechanism according to the second shape data, thereby producing the three-dimensional shaped article, and a communication portion transmitting the identification information for identifying the three-dimensional shaped article and production information of the three-dimensional shaped article to the server.

A method of forming an additive manufactured part with obfuscated anti-counterfeiting features includes additive manufacturing the part using an approved additive manufacturing method and additive manufacturing a plurality of obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures on a surface of the part using the approved additive manufacturing method. Each of the plurality of obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures has at least one of a prohibitive physical dimension and a prohibitive physical shape that is prohibitive from being formed using at least one unapproved additive manufacturing method such that counterfeit manufacture of the part by the at least one unapproved additive manufacturing method is detected by inspecting the surface or observing a build failure by the at least one unapproved additive manufacturing method. The plurality of obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures includes a plurality of hollow structures, a plurality of solid structures, and/or a plurality of truss structures.

In one example a system is for post-processing a three-dimensional (3D) object generated in an additive manufacturing process in which an identifiable agent is applied to a portion of a build material to form a portion of the 3D object. The system comprises an identification unit and a sensor. The identification unit is to cause the identifiable agent to become distinguishable to thereby cause the portion of the 3D object, corresponding to the portion of build material to which the identifiable agent was applied, to be distinguishable from any build material remnant disposed on the 3D object and to which no identifiable agent was applied. The sensor is to distinguish the build material remnant from the portion of the 3D object.

A method of forming a mated component pair includes forming a first geometry on a first mating surface of a first component and a complementary second geometry on a second mating surface of a second component. The first geometry and the second geometry can be determined from a geometric key associated with a component identifier, e.g., by inputting the geometric key into a mathematical algorithm or random number generator. When a replacement for the second component is needed, the component identifier may be obtained from the first component, the component identifier may be used to obtain the geometric key, and the geometric key may then be used to determine the second geometry. The second geometry may then be formed on the second component such the second component may properly mate with the mated first component.

A method of forming a mated component pair includes forming a first geometry on a first mating surface of a first component and a complementary second geometry on a second mating surface of a second component. The first geometry and the second geometry can be determined from a geometric key associated with a component identifier, e.g., by inputting the geometric key into a mathematical algorithm or random number generator. When a replacement for the second component is needed, the component identifier may be obtained from the first component, the component identifier may be used to obtain the geometric key, and the geometric key may then be used to determine the second geometry. The second geometry may then be formed on the second component such the second component may properly mate with the mated first component.